I need help to select and research an idea of ​​my science project

[SciB]

Hi Daniel. Glad to hear that you got a lens to use. I have a 10x lens that is mounted in an eyepiece that I taped over the phone camera lens and it takes pretty good close-up photos. The resolution is good so the photos can be enlarged a lot without looking too grainy.
Don't buy a cheap scope. You will just be disappointed and will have wasted your money. There are good used scopes for sale online and I can help you find one that is useful and not too expensive.
The fungi that you are after form a network of tiny filaments around the roots of a plant. I would dig up a wild plant being careful not to disturb the soil around the roots. Then put the root ball into a shallow pan or plate and gently wash away the dirt while looking at the root hairs to find fungal hyphae. They are pretty fine fibers but if you look closely with the hand lens, I think you will be able to see them.
Keep reading online about soil fungi and try to find out how scientists prepare plant roots for examining mycorrhizae.
I hope some of the companies that make fungal soil additives will help you by sending a sample and providing information. If you don't get any responses to the emails, you should call the company, ask for technical support and tell them you are a student doing a science project. They should be willing to help if you can convince them that you know what you are doing and that your project is important.
Good luck!
Sybee

[deleted-650361]

Well, the first phase that consisted of sending summaries of our projects happened and they selected those that would participate.

I did mine and well, my idea was rejected.

But the subject keeps me interested. As soon I will enter the university to study biology, I want to study the subject thoroughly.

I'm thinking maybe I could participate in the Google Science Fair next year with this topic

Thank you very much for your help!

[SciB]

Sorry to hear that, Daniel. I think they were wrong to reject your project, but maybe they just thought it was too difficult too accomplish. They idea of manipulating the soil microbiome to improve crop yield or reduce pesticide and fertilizer use is really a good one and I do hope you pursue it as part of your career in biology or ecology. Climate change is bound to alter the soil environment and we need people like you who will study the interaction between plant roots and fungal mycelia to understand what is happening and how it is going to affect plant life on Earth.

Keep working on getting that good, used microscope. You need to be able to see soil microbes in order to study them and the only way to do that is to have a good microscope that you can use for photography. Having that one tool will give you a huge advantage in science fairs. Look on ebay or other sites for used microscopes. Learn more about them so that you can ask the right questions and make sure you are getting a usable instrument for the money.

I can help you with whatever project you decide to do for the next sci fair. Fungi just happen to be one of my special interests because they are uniquely versatile organisms.

Keep in touch. I'm here to discuss ideas for projects as well as the details to make them work, so when you think of something that interests you post it here so we can talk about it.

Good luck!

Sybee

[deleted-624639]

Yes, I will try to apport my bit to that matter of climate change in the future.

A topic that I'm interested in is about create a natural antibiotic. I think it could be a good idea for the next science fair.

[SciB]

Hi Daniel,

Finding new antimicrobial compounds is extremely important as bacteria,fungi and viruses become resistant to more and more of the available drugs.

Are you familiar with the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion test for antibiotics? That's the standard method for testing a substance for antibacterial activity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx1uDYSfINA

There are lots of herbs and extracts that are said to have antibacterial properties. You can read about them online and then select some to test. Testing plant extracts that are not known to have antibiotic properties would be even more interesting. You might find something with extremely potent antibacterial activity that no one knew about simply because they never thought to test it.

Let me know whenever you need help.

Sybee

[deleted-624639]

Greetings and Many thanks for the tips!

I was already reading some academic google articles about natural plants with anti-bacterial properties and ScienceBuddies guides
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... leshooting

My doubt is:

Let's say I want to test the anti-bacterial properties of garlic with the kirby's method for example. Should I make a garlic tea or something?

see you!

[SciB]

Yeah, you found the problem with this kind of test--what form is the antimicrobial substance when you put it on the filter disk?

Well, all I can tell you is that you would want to try several different formulations.

The other problem is what to compare. If your hypothesis is that garlic is better than turmeric at killing E coli or preventing them from growing on the agar, how much do you use? And in what form? You could compare garlic powder to turmeric powder, but you need an accurate scale to weigh it, and then what do you do? Sprinkle it on the disk? That's not accurate. You could mix a measured amount into sterile water and then put a drop of that on the disk. That would probably be the best way to compare substances like this.

There are lots of plants that might have antimicrobial activity, but here again what do you do? Put some leaves in a blender with sterile water, whiz them up and put a drop onto the disk? I don't know the answer. You'll just have to do some experiments before you do the experiments.

I like this project, however, so stick with it. You can make it work and it will be fun.

Sybee

[deleted-624639]

I get it. I will have to find out what would be the best way to use the plants for experimentation.

But while I wait for the vacations to end to access the school lab we continue to see what the other details would be like (:

What would be the best way to get the bateria culture? Should I grow them by myself?

Happy holydays!

[SciB]

Hope you are having some good times on your vacation.

You can buy the E coli and disposable plastic Petri dishes containing nutrient agar from Carolina Bio:

https://www.carolina.com/bacteria/esche ... ion=e+coli

https://www.carolina.com/prepared-biolo ... gar+plates

The E coli K12 (harmless to humans) bacterial culture is sent to you growing on the agar surface and will keep for 4-6 weeks (or longer) in the refrigerator at 4 degrees Celsius. To get some bacteria to spread on an agar plate, all you have to do is make some sterile saline and use a sterile inoculating loop to scrape off some of the E coli colonies, put the material into the saline and swirl it around until the cells are resuspended in the liquid. Then using your sterile dropper, put one drop on the agar in a plate and spread it with a flamed metal spreader made from a large paper clip. This will make the bacterial 'lawn' that you need to test the antibiotic.

If you don't understand some of these tech details, just go to youtube and look them up. Watching a lab person doing these procedures in the best way to learn sterile bacterial technique. It's easy as long as you practice some first and pay attention to what you are doing. Gather all the stuff you need first before you start and try to work in a clean area away from people, pets, drafts, dirt, etc. Oh, and always wear dispo gloves and eye protection.

Have fun!

Sybee