I know it's nothing like a real plasmodium, I just picked this name a while ago and it stuck. The extent of my cell bio education was specifically in mammalian neurobiology and it shows :p

The game is called Substrate: Emergence if you're curious. I'm happy to share the technical details cause I think the simulation is pretty cool! It's running on a custom compute shader engine I built in Unity.

Edit: I accidentally posted this from an old dev account and by now it's too late >.< I meant to post from u/MaxisGreat

Can you please suggest any standard microbiology book I can refer for practical like for sterilisation, staining, culture media etc.

Candida albicans can live quietly in the body, until it changes shape. In its round yeast form, it may remain relatively harmless. In its thread-like form, it can invade tissue, build biofilms and help drive dangerous infections.

A study led by Monash University researchers, in collaboration with the University of Warwick, points to a bacterial molecule that can push the fungus back toward the safer state. The molecule, called gladiolin, was already known as an antibiotic made by bacteria. Its effects on fungal pathogens had been less clear.

The work comes from the Monash Warwick Alliance Programme in Antimicrobial Resistance. The study was led by researchers from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute.

Professor Ana Traven, from the institute, said the shape change matters because Candida’s invasive form helps it cause damage.

Ex-premed here, about to graduate with a bachelors in microbiology. Anyone have any advice for which career options are the best. I don't have a lot of microbiology related research experience (mostly neuroscience research).

Hello experienced microbiologists!
I’m a 3rd year bio student and this is my second time working in the lab.
I did something SO stupid!
So here’s the background: we were given Petri dishes to take home so we can plate soil water from near our house to observe fungal/bacterial growth and they asked us to keep it at home and put it in the fridge once we see enough growth.
I put the plates in a plastic bag and in my fridge that’s in the garage which is set to a lower temperature and lo and behold those dishes froze! I only have experience dealing with Petri dishes in lab so this was a complete shocker and totally unexpected. I put out the plates hoping it’ll thaw and yepppp there was condensation with the agar FLOATING OMG🤦🏻‍♀️😭 so I panicked and put those back in another fridge that is normal temperature. And I checked today and ofcourse the condensation is still there it’s all floaty and I saw that the plastic baggy had liquid floating in it too (I’m not sure if it was ice that melted?? Or if it’s one of the dishes that BROKE??? And leaked out !!) so I didn’t want to open the bag and I put that bag in another plastic bag and sealed it. I’m so sure I sealed those plates well because I have experience with it in the lab and I know I can’t mess up there (but to be very honest I don’t trust myself anymore)
I immediately emailed my prof and now I’m fully panicking and thinking I’m the dumbest person in the world I’m so confused what to even do until they respond!! Pls helpppp😭😭🙏🏻🙏🏻

A crowded bacterial community can release cells through narrow outward-flowing channels without dissolving its entire protective structure. The force comes from a water-absorbing polymer made by the bacteria themselves.

That mechanism emerged as scientists watched Bacillus subtilis biofilms containing more than a million cells. Instead of seeing the whole community gradually disintegrate, they observed selected interior cells pushing through surrounding layers and escaping.

The findings, published in Nature Microbiology, come from the University of California San Diego and Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. They reveal another way biofilms disperse and suggest that manipulating their physical structure could offer new approaches to controlling them.

I wanted to share what I’ve grown on my agar plate. I love seeing the biodiversity from a single swab. I find the white colony on the left side that has a geometric pattern on it particularly interesting!

Right now, while you read this, tiny animals are tucked into the pores on your face. Don’t worry, they found you first. 🔬

Our friend Chloé Savard, also known as tardibabe on Instagram, zoomed in on Demodex, the microscopic mites that live on nearly every adult human. Two species call us home: Demodex folliculorum settles into hair follicles, while Demodex brevis burrows a little deeper into the oil-producing sebaceous glands. At just 0.2 to 0.4 millimeters long, they’re far too small to see without a microscope, with stubby legs up front and a long tapered body trailing behind.

They’re not alone, either. Our bodies host roughly as many bacterial cells as human ones, plus yeasts and other microbes, making each of us a walking ecosystem.

Face mites keep a strict schedule. During the day they stay tucked inside their follicles, and at night they crawl out across the skin to find mates and feed on sebum, the natural oil our skin produces. For years, scientists thought they had no anus at all, but a 2022 genetic study proved otherwise. They do poop, just in very small amounts.

For most people with a healthy immune system, Demodex are harmless roommates. Problems usually only show up when their numbers climb too high, and dermatologists have effective ways to treat that.

We aren’t the only ones playing host. Plenty of mammals have their own Demodex species, from Demodex canis on dogs to Demodex musculi on mice and Demodex bovis on cattle. 🐮

All of that, quietly happening, every night while you sleep.

Hello all!

Apologies for the low quality photo, but I'm looking to get any advice or resources y'all use to help read colonies. We perform visual colony counting for Environmental monitoring, and there's a discrepancy in understanding regarding how we distinguish between different colonies.

Some people in our large team would argue this as one CFU, and others would argue it as two CFU.

How would y'all distinguish between them and what resources can we utilise to help our microbiologists differentiate

Unfortunately due to size of lab and costings, we send IDs offsite and cannot perform in-house testing, so any advice is appreciated! Thanks!

Hey yall I’m a HUGE microbiology nerd so long story short when I was a phlebotomist (and now when I give vaccines) I tell the patient a microbiology fun fact to distract them from the poke and it typically works well to distract them. I just wanted to come here and share my favorite fun fact that i bust out the most!

Did you know pseudomonas Syringae is a prominent plant pathogen with a cool ability to freeze themselves (ice nucleation) and lower the freezing point of the plant causing the cells to burst. The cool part about all this is that P. Syringae often times can be found living in the clouds and often times undergoes the same freezing process that it does when attacking plants and actually causes the bacteria to sometimes help form into the structure and shape of snowflakes! So since these bacteria help form the structure they in turn make snow form both more often and quicker. Overall there are bacteria that make it snow more 😎

Hey,

I've just made a new YouTube Video about Cyanobacteria, and the Great Oxidation Event, don't hesitate to check it out if you're interested, and tell me what you think !

Here Is The Video

Have a Great Day !

Medical knowledge is constantly evolving. How can healthcare professionals keep up?
In Episode 243 of Let’s Talk Micro, Dr. Declan Kelly discusses the rapid growth of medical knowledge and why artificial intelligence could play an important role in helping clinicians access and navigate this expanding information.
🎙️* When AI Meets Medicin*e
🎧 Listen here: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/42853300
This episode is brought to you in collaboration with Eolas Medical.

i bought this coagulase test from liofilchem and the instruction suggests using S. aureus grown in BHI. i currently only have TSB media, should i buy BHI?

could anyone help me determine if this is a positive capsule stain or not ?

So currently im taking a college intro to microbiology class and made a slight mistake since its online and didnt see that I needed 2 72 hour periods to incubate and its due Saturday at midnight. What I wanna know is can I use an egg incubator to speed up the colony growth if I keep it around 35C instead of room temp.

Hello! I'm taking a microbiology course this semester, and I brought my lab coat home with me to do a mid-semester clean/disinfection. My professor recommended I wash it twice with color-safe bleach and detergent, with nothing else in the washer. Every disinfectant product I find that meets the above requirements is either a regular detergent or an oxygen bleach, not sodium hypochlorite. Everything I find on oxygen bleach says it doesn't disinfect/isn't as thorough as the chlorite is.

Our lab is BSL-1, so nothing too scary, but I still want to make sure the coat gets completely clean. I need color-safe because there are a few purple parts on it. Would I be safe to use the oxygen bleach still, and would it adequately disinfect everything? Does anyone have recommendations if not? Thank you!

There’s a wealth of clinical knowledge within healthcare systems, but how much of it is readily accessible at the point of care?
In Episode 243 of Let’s Talk Micro, Dr. Declan Kelly discusses how artificial intelligence, particularly large language models, is helping make institutional knowledge more accessible to healthcare professionals.
🎙️ When AI Meets Medicine
🎧 Listen here: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/42853300
This episode is brought to you in collaboration with Eolas Medical.

If this question is not in line with the rules I apologize, and I'll accept my post being removed. My question does come from an anxious place.

I have tried to research this and have gotten conflicting information, so I am looking for clarification. Some sources say that botulism toxin degrades and loses toxicity when it becomes exposed to an open air environment in as little as 12 hours, while other sources say it retains toxicity until neutralized by chemicals, heat, or UV. So what is the answer? If something containing botulism toxin was spilled on a surface and left exposed to open air (but no sunlight) for a long period of time, would it lose toxicity as the liquid in the food evaporates? I'm talking days, weeks, months of air exposure.

Hello

I have a bsc in microbiology and msc in biochemistry from a university in Ontario.

My first job I made 55k (60k after OT) as a qa tech in the food industry.

I started a new job a year later, making 70k before ot as a micro I in pharma (about 63k before shift differentials).

Im wondering what everyone else's journey has been like. It just seems like the work is a lot for the pay still and I worry there wont be much room to grow from here.

After 30-something bugs with similar names, the same gram stain and overlapping test results, everything starts to blur. The thing that works best for most people is drawing the ID flowchart or classification tree from memory, then checking what you missed.

I built an app called Novis around that. On the iPad you draw it by hand, ask what you left out, and it points it out on your page. Then it covers the labels and quizzes you out loud, one branch at a time (shown in the video).

Two parts that sync:

• iPad: draw from memory and get the gaps pointed out, quiz on diagrams and flowcharts, turn lectures into notes
• Web: turn your slides into flashcards, set exam and practical dates, get a study plan you approve
• Agents: they keep everything organized for you. They look at your week and your exam dates, flag which bugs you’re not ready for, and suggest a review plan. Nothing changes until you approve it.

What I’m asking: use it, then tell me honestly what you like, what you don’t, and whether you’d keep using it. If not, what would change your mind?

Free during beta:

• iPad: https://testflight.apple.com/join/WXVEXyjf
• Web: DM me and I’ll send you the web login.

All beta testers use it free during the beta. A good number of the people who give the most helpful feedback will also get free access later on, as soon as I can afford to support free accounts. It would mean a lot.

(Posted with mod approval.)

Aside from the obvious mold, are the colorful spots bacterial growth? This is a boiled beetroot left on the fridge for 2 weeks.

Sharing someone elses post from r/algae

You can interact with the live platform here: https://algaeexplorers.org/

The platform is designed to make core concepts in photosynthesis, aquatic food webs, and environmental science accessible and engaging for elementary and middle school students. It provides differentiated learning across three grade-tiered modules:

Little Explorers (K–2nd): An interactive pond simulation featuring characters Albie the Algae and Finny the Fish, where students adjust sunlight, temperature, and nutrients to observe biological responses in real time, paired with built-in voice narration and mini-lessons.

Ecosystem Detective (3rd–5th): Scenario-based investigation focusing on energy transfer, food webs, and environmental balance.

DIY Algae Home Lab (6th–8th): Guided experimental design and data collection connecting virtual concepts to hands-on biological cultivation.

I'm a researcher looking for advice from people experienced in food microbiology and process validation.

A client asked me to conduct inoculation, pre- and post-roasting microbial load analyses for a peanut roasting challenge study using Enterococcus faecium as a surrogate organism. My initial proposal was a laboratory-scale study based on a published paper that used 400 g peanut batches and 25 mL of inoculum, targeting an initial load of approximately (10^7) CFU/g before roasting.

However, the client requires 145 kg of inoculated peanuts. I explained that my laboratory isn't equipped to inoculate that quantity. Their proposed solution is for me to inoculate 400 g in the lab, then have their plant mix it with the 145 kg remaining peanuts.

My concern is that this approach would require additional validation of microbial distribution, initial load, sampling representativeness, and roasting conditions. The published methodology supports the lab-scale study but doesn't automatically validate the proposed scale-up.

I'm considering sticking to my original proposal unless a separate validation plan can be established.

For those experienced in food microbiology or industrial processing:

• Is this approach potentially defensible if the initial microbial load and distribution can be adequately verified?
• Would you treat this as a separate scale-up validation study?
• Would you decline the large-scale scope if your laboratory couldn't adequately validate the process?

I want to accommodate the client, but I also need to ensure the results are scientifically defensible.

I'd appreciate your thoughts and advice. Thanks! :)