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Some questions on the basics


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I have been studying microbiology on my own for the past year got a microscope and a few books. However i have very little knowledge when it comes to implementing anything. For instances how do i get a virus or find one, how do i encourage the growth of microbes. I had some pond water i wanted to try to increase the population of microbes to better examine then because they were few and hard to follow with my scope. Anyone know of a cheap place to buy lab gear?>:D

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There are quite a lot of levels and things you can do with microbiology, not just microscope. I have an experiment on my site (video, so it's a pretty decent walk-through) about how to take your own "DNA" (not precisely dna, that stuff's too small but it will create a string of amino acids inside a bottle. Very cool to watch). It's a nice experiment you can do at home without anything too complicated.

 

http://www.smarterthanthat.com/experiments/dna-madness/

 

Other than that, I recommend you check a university close to you and try to take a basic course - it might cost money, but you will get muchmuch muuuuch more than you would have every gotten at home, and you will have access to very complicated equipment you would otherwise have no access to.

 

Good luck,

 

~moo

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There's a relatively new journal (Journal of Visualized Experiments, or JoVE) that publishes videos instead of traditional texts. So instead of spending money on expensive lab gear and put yourself at risk of exposure to pathogenic microbes, you could check that out. Unfortunately I think the majority of the videos in that website require a some sort of subscription. But there's a free 1-day option that might be sufficient for your needs. I haven't tested this, but I think you can simply start a new account when one expires as many times as you need to.

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That depends which microbes, MustKnow.. not all would strive on the same environments. You need to be a bit more specific..

 

i dunno know what they were i just found them in some pond water. They were just single cells that had a bunch of fudge-jell-lens.

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i dunno know what they were i just found them in some pond water. They were just single cells that had a bunch of fudge-jell-lens.

What resolution/magnification does your microscope have?

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Feed them :D

 

Of course, what to feed them depends on what you are trying to grow...

 

i dunno know what they are. Do they like Italian? The are just single cells with outboard props. :eek:

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