• Question: Are you grossed out when working with bacteria

    Asked by 868mcrk46 to Lea, Ashley, Aaron on 6 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Ashley Otter

      Ashley Otter answered on 6 Nov 2017:

      Nope! I love it, they can smell gross and sometimes look gross, but some bacteria look incredible up close (look on google images for “bacterial colonies”, as there’s lots of amazing shapes that the bacteria make). What amazes me the most is that bacterial colonies start from just one single bacterial cell that has multiplied over and over until it makes these really cool colonies

      Some bacteria also smell quite nice such as Psuedomonas aeruginosa, when grown on an agar plate, this bacterium smells like grapes. But the worst bacteria to smell is Clostridium difficile, this actually smells like poo when you grow it, when you start working with it, it’s hard to ignore the smell but you eventually get used to it

    • Photo: Aaron Brown

      Aaron Brown answered on 6 Nov 2017:

      I think because I find them so amazing I’m not grossed out by them.

    • Photo: Lea Carlesso

      Lea Carlesso answered on 9 Nov 2017:

      I am not working with bacteria. But even though, some would say the organisms I am looking at are not very pleasant (all very closed from insects or spiders). I do really like them, I think some are even pretty.
      Try to google Tardigrade if you don’t believe me. 😉

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