Oh Happy Day Its Turkey Day Tomorrow Plus A Four Day Weekend!!!

M.I.A that is what I have been for this week. However, I didn’t get a break to rest. I have been on the go since the weekend trying to get my projects done for my other classes. With all the madness going on I almost forgot to turn in my reapplication for next semester for the S-STEM program. However, I did get it in and hopefully I get reaccepted back for the spring term. As for my research paper it is still under construction. With the four day weekend I am hoping to have it done by Monday so Matt or Josh can take a look at it before I have to turn it in. Like me I am sure most of you are going to be using this four day weekend to hammer out everything or close to everything that has to get done. Good luck everyone and may you all have a happy and safe thanksgiving.

http://www.glogster.com/lou2roxsox13/stress/g-6lm68c0m8ivdfskcd2iuva0

A week of playing keeping up...

Hello, my follow S-STEM scholars. How many of you can believe that the end of this semester is right around the corner. Who else out there is freaking out and happy at the same time? Like my title says this past week, I have been trying to keep up in all my classes and rewrite my rough draft. However, despite the week being packed full of things to do, I still got to sit down with Matt to talk about my next project. I get to embark on fomites. I cannot wait to start this project but more then likely I will start on this project after the Thanksgiving holiday because next week is so short. I have already started researching the topic of fomites. Fomite is a term for any inanimate object that can carry disease-causing organisms. Things like cutting boards, kitchen skins, the change in your pocket, and the pens you use to write all have fomites. For my project I get to go around PC to collect samples and see what I can find. I am really looking forward to do this experiment but at the same time terrified at what I am going to find out there on.

The image above came from http://previncblog.com/what-are-fomites-and-how-do-they-transfer-viruses/

A whole lot of typing going on!!!

This short week has been a very busy week. It feels like all I have been doing is typing away on a computer ever since Saturday. On top of researching and typing up the rough draft for my unknown, I had two other papers due this week for my BIO 181 and ENG 102 class. Other than getting my rough draft ready to turn in this week was spent meeting with Matt to talk about the next project I will be embarking on. On another note last Friday (11-8-2013) I got to go to the Mesa Natural History Museum with some other of my follow S-STEM scholars and wonderful chaperons. It was a great trip and I learned some great new information. Blow are two pictures I took at the museum that were my favorite items to learn about. The first one is of the moon forming. The moon came into existence after a planet-size body smashed into the Earth. The final picture is of a mammoth a specie that lived about 150,000 years ago.

YES!!! I KNOW MY UNKNOWN…

This week I finally figured out my unknown. Last week I left off doing an oxidase test and a glucose fermentation test. The oxidase test turned out positive and the glucose fermentation test turned out positive for acid and negative for gas. With a positive result of acid on the glucose fermentation test, lead me to do a SIM (Sulfide-Indole-Motility) test. My SIM test was positive for motility, which lead me to do other test this time it was a Gelatin test. In both the SIM and Gelatin test, I had to take my unknown sample and put some on a needle then stab it through the media that was already in a test tube. Then I had to place both the SIM and Gelatin tests in the incubator for 24-hours. When I came back today, (11-7-2013) I had to take my Gelatin test out of the incubator and put it in an ice bath for 20 minutes. Once I took it out of the ice bath, I saw that I had a positive hydrolysis for the Gelatin test. Finally, my unknown was no longer unknown. Serratia marcescens!!!

Gelatin Test