Simple staining and Gram staining Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Simple staining and Gram staining - Lab Report Example Microbiology is a branch of biology which is considered vital in bringing a profound understanding of microorganisms and how they effect and react on other living organisms. Microbes are tiny organisms that can only be seen with an aid of a microscope. The tiny nature of microbes has revolutionized the use of stains to aid in having a vivid and transparent picture of microbes under microscope (Ryu 60). Because the bacterial cell is transparent, motile and difficult to see when using microscope, cells are stained to make them more visible. Staining tends to provide a reliable and clear means for observing bacteria’s morphology, relative size, and cellular arrangement. Gram staining and simple staining are the ultimate procedures that were used. 1. Place a loopful of culture into a test tube consisting of sterile distilled water so as to make a suspension of bacterial cells on the water. Place that bacterial suspension on a clear or clean slide. This will give room for the bacteria to air dry. 2. Heat fixing the bacteria cells by passing the slide quickly over the flame (Bunsen burner) three or four times, ensuring that the glass surface is exposed to the flame. Ensure that the slide is not so hot to be uncomfortable when touch. Simple stains allow us to distinguish the ultimate shape (morphology) of the mounted bacteria. Bacillus Subtillus and E. coli turned out to be rod-shaped. Many bacilli tend to occur singularly, but in some cases, chains are also observed. Bacilli are greatly in diameter and length. Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus are spherical (cocci). They may culminate singularly, in clusters such as Staphylococcus aureus or others in pairs such as Streptococcus pneumonia. R. rubrum was observed to be a curved bacterium (spirillum). It culminates singularly. The bacteria that stains blue is considered to be a Gram-positive while the bacteria that stains pink is considered to be Gram negative.

Introduction to Geography - Food and Climate Assignment

Introduction to Geography - Food and Climate - Assignment Example According to Moneo & Iglesias (2004, par. 2), â€Å"climate is one of the main factors which controls what natural resources we have and is an important element of sustainable development. Agriculture and water resources are intrinsically linked with climate†. In Asia for example, known for countries enjoying a tropical climate, the staple food is rice. This applies to countries such as Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, among others. Rice has been known to grow in tropical countries with lots of high temperatures the whole year round concurrent with a well defined rainy season, conducive to planting rice. Aside from rice, tropical countries are conducive to producing fruits such as pineapple, mango, banana; legumes; root crops like potatoes, cassava and yams, among a host of other foods. These crops like warm weather with intermittent rain. In the United States, where geography and climate differ across various regions, food production likewise varies depending on climatic conditions. The CIA World Factbook (2010) described the climate in the USA as â€Å"mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains†. As such, the major crops produced are corn, soybeans, hay, wheat, and sorghum (EPA, 2009). Foods in midlatitude climates such as those coming from Colombia are mostly coffee, banana, sugarcane, and other staple crops like â€Å"rice, beans, cassava, potatoes, barley, corn, and wheat† (US Library of Congress, n.d., para. 10). Corn is also considered a staple crop together with wheat and barley which is adaptable to a climate in higher grounds. The moist continental climate in regions such as Japan have foods such as â€Å"rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit.  Ã‚