Week #3 Josh and Matt Caught Me Working on My Calculus!

It has been an extremely busy week. I am behind on my homework and going crazy with my classes. I actually go to the lab to get away from the campus. Although it's a lot of work, it's more relaxing. Yes, I admit it; Matt and Josh saw me working on my calculus. It was rather embarrassing because every time I swabbed, I felt like I was gagging. At one point, my inner voice was questioning the potential geographical location of a partially digested peanut butter sandwich. 

Yesterday, with the help of Cori, I prepared Mitis Salivarius Agar. I made a small batch of 500 ml. Cori said that would yield 24 plates. I think the maximum I have been able to pour from that amount is 20 or 21. So I put Cori to the challenge. Not only did she pour 24 plates, she had some leftover. So, I thank you Cori for all of your help; especially, for the mini-lesson on the candle jar and gas-pack today. 

Today, I prepared nine streak plates; three swabs each of my tongue, teeth, and throat. Each set was placed in a different incubation environment: (37°C) for all three but one conducive to aerobes, one to microaerophiles, and one to anaerobes. Although there are many more bacteria in our mouths, I hope to isolate Streptococcus salivarius, Streptococcus oralis, Streptococcus mutans, and Streptococcus pyogenes; the latter only because I discovered I was a carrier of Strep in Microbiology.

If you have already taken Microbiology, you know that Streptococcus mutans is a facultatively anaerobic, gram positive coccus shaped bacterium responsible for plaque (otherwise known as calculus) build-up and ultimately tooth decay. Wait a second, what calculus did you think I was referring to?

Streptococcus mutans

Mitis Agar