Helpful Staph Colonies
I isolated Staph epidermis from a nose swab and learned that colonization of S. epidermis can actually be helpful in warding off Influenza infections and other pathogens, which is pretty cool!
Here’s a link to my Google doc :
So Happy Together
Isolation and Characterization of
Sphingomonas paucimobilis and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens
from Household Kitchen Faucet Aerator
MM Ragusa
Here I characterized two bacteria species isolated from a sample from my kitchen faucet, and experimented with how they interacted with each other.
An exploration into a pharmacist’s microbes
Title:
An exploration into a pharmacist’s microbes
Description:
As an area of intrest, I isolated a bacteria from the contents of my father’s pocket, a practicing pharmacist as from the options available around me it presented itself as the most microbially interesting area available, both from having possible unusual outliers and from being socially relevant. This paper details my efforts in this endeavour and what I found (Spoiler: as can be seen in the picture for this post, I found a nice example of Staphylococcus epidermidis).
Google Drive Link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PtbwWfIOt7I5WrKXzG5DTiWuih7B7LGw/view?usp=sharing
An exploration of microbes present in the blood of processed moose
I isolated a bacterium from the blood of a package of locally packaged moose meat. Using bioinformatic systems and physiological tests, I attempted to classify the bacterium found. I narrowed the possibilities to two organisms: Macrococcus caseolyticus or Staphylococcus auerus, and compare and contrast the two using my own observations and support from scientific literature.
You can access my paper here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11TAEqeFzE1WtopEQML4xRDzzdndnVPaP/view?usp=sharing
An image of my Krona Chart, obtained from the online bioinformatic server: KAIJU
The physiological and genetic evaluation of Paracoccus spp. and Brevundimonas spp. from a coffee mug
What might be in your water holding tank?? In this paper, I talk about what two bacterial species I found in my water holding tank. Our water is hauled by Water Wagon, and we rent, so we have no idea when the last time our tank/lines was cleaned!
The project initiative actually began because I was curious which method of dish washing proved to be “cleaner.” Below is a picture of my first TSA plate where you can see dishes washed in dish water have MUCH more colonies than dishes washed with soap and then rinsed. 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XZmZd8NEENlOnPkVIKknlanpYplUTxMci_QqDhpki38/edit?usp=sharing
Bacterial Isolate from Dog’s Mouth
-Paper Title: Staphylococcus species isolated from dog’s mouth.
-Description: I chose to swab the bottom of my dog’s mouth for my bacterial isolate project, because my dog likes to lick my family members’ hands and faces. I isolated a bacterial species and identified it as a Staphylococcus species that is similar to Staphylococcus pasteuri. Below is a picture of it under a microscope after Gram staining.
-Link to paper: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yi28cN2C0FysSf8GfLU7tWojOB1QgUU7/view?usp=sharing
The investigation of a microbe isolated from a home window sill and assessment of its potential pathogenicity
Description: I cultured what appeared to be black looking mold from the window sill of my children’s room behind a fan that blew across their beds. My concern was whether this was in fact toxic black mold or some other pathogen that could cause them harm.
Figure: completed genome construction of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SoSeT5rt1kAhf_TojIo9hT7mwPqBGA1wjz27RiB68aM/edit?usp=sharing
Isolation of Bacillus cereus from Boa constrictor – Bryant Griffith
Krona chart of the isolate taken from the report.
Look into what may be on the surface of Boa constrictor. This isolation was conducted in order to look into the possibility of more reptile friendly bacterial inhibition methods on an industrial scale.
To learn more about this paper, click here
Identification of unknown bacterium from a Lynx canadensis
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TgHh82BlG4N2X53bDq4ob9kSagUOjjfK/view?usp=sharing
This paper is the results of looking into the possibility of antibiotic resistant bacteria in a wild Lynx canadensis.
Isolation of Bacillus Subtilis From a Stainless-Steel Dog Bowl
Isolation of Bacillus subtilis from a Stainless-Steel Dog Bowl
Want to know what kind of bacteria can be found on a dogs’ food bowl? This report outlines my results of isolating Bacillus subtilis from a stainless-steel dog bowl.
Read the report here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Lj_YZLEbOfsb_0Xt3uOxZWRVF4YqzT2PYYDx6BLJ8QQ/edit?usp=sharing