bacteria portrait
I want to grow bacteria from different parts of my body on different petri dishes. The cultivated bacteria are to be assembled into a photo collage that represents a kind of self-portrait. Further idea: If this is successful, I could grow the personal bacteria of some volunteers. On the one hand, this would allow us to compare the results of different people. Can we detect a decisive difference? On the other hand, I would like to show that a picture or photo of ourselves is not the only way to represent ourselves.
But it is important to remember that this idea is a speculation and not a scientific experiment. There is no proof that the cultured bacteria are actually endogenous.
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Medium
For the cultivation of bacteria you can use the LB - medium. It is the most popular medium for Escherichia coli bacteria.
- Yeast extract (5g/l)
- tryptone (10g/l)
- sodium chloride (0.5-10g/l)
- agar (15g/l)
- sodium hydroxide to adjust the pH to 7.
The medium is autoclaved for 20 minutes at 121 degrees.
Realisation
I used 5 Petri dishes. I transferred bacteria from different parts of the body into each dish with a cotton swab: Petri dish (P.) A - eyes, P. B - oral cavity, P. C - belly button, P.D - vagina, P.E - feet The bacteria have grown for 2 weeks. The temperature was usually 20 degrees.
P. A-E after two weeks
Presentation
There are several ways to present the portrait.
One of them is a photo collage. Combining only the photos of the bacteria or combining the photos of the bacteria with photos from the person.
Another way of presenting is an exhibition. Each person would have their own wall. The photos could be presented individually and in close-up. Both, the direct photos and those under the microscope. Instead of showing the photos, one could also display the petri dishes with the bacteria. With a microscope provided, the visitors could actively participate.
Alternatively, the bacteria could be grown on a larger culture medium for better presentation.