This week, I went into Evocative
and as usual continued to experiment on my own experiment. For those who do not
remember what this was about, the purpose of this experiment is to determine
the effect of potassium bicarbonate on the growth rate of the mycelium in
plated agar culture. During my last visit, I made 3 sets of plates: one set was
made with a high concentration of Potassium Bicarbonate (17.6 g/L), one was
made with a low concentration of Potassium Bicarbonate (1.76 g/L) , and a
control set (made with your every-day Potato Glucose Agar [PGA]). Thus, all
combined, I made a total of 24 plates.
Upon measuring the plates, I have
found that the mycelium placed within a medium made with a high concentration
did not grow at all. In addition, I
was also shocked to find that the mycelium placed within the control agar
plates, in general, grew the most. Those in low concentration did how, but only
ever so slightly. An added observation that I noted was that there was no mold
on any of the plates—thus, I knew my results were not the effect of
contamination. This made me come to the conclusion that it is highly possible
that the amount of high concentration I used (17.6 g/L) inhibited the mycelium
from growing at all. As of now, I do not have a clear reason why this is so and
consequently, this calls for more research on my part which I am also excited
about! I really love unexpected results like these and rather than being
disappointed at my results, this unanticipated outcome is one of the very
reasons why I love science and it’s factor of the unknown J!!
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Starting from the top down and in the picture in the left (and from left to right in the picture above) are 2 high concentration, low concentration, and control plates. Although due to the condensation that formed inside the plates the growth is not that visible, the results, as mentioned in my post were very surprising! |
Great post, Christi! Your experiment seems well reasoned and interesting, even though you got unexpected results. Your attitude toward this scientific curve ball is perfect. I am impressed with your use and understanding of the control group. Best of all, you included great photographs WITH captions! Keep up the great work. I am looking forward to what you discover discover at the fungi lab!
ReplyDeleteChristi, as one of the managers of the signature I'm going to be reading your blog posts this semester. I'm always interested in the ways science and visual arts overlap, and I feel like this post is a great example. When you're experimenting, whether with paint or fungi, the results can be so unexpected. It would be nice if everything always turned out as you planned. But as you pointed out, it takes you on a new path of exploration. In a way it's neat to know that this means the work is never done. I can't wait to read more!
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