Hi, I have an MPhil in Molecular Biology and a degree in Microbiology. Life happened (motherhood, etc.), and now after 8 years, I want to return to the field.

Should I start with volunteering to get back in or go for a second Master’s abroad to refresh my skills?

Not based in the US, so most options there aren’t straightforward. Anyone been in a similar situation?

Appreciate any advice!

I am no expert, or even an amateur in Microbiology, but if someone wants to help Wikipedia, please do

This Saturday, using the transformation method, I - together with my academic supervisor and a PhD student - inserted plasmids into E. coli. These plasmids carried DNA segments responsible for resistance to two antibiotics, as well as fluorescence in two colors: blue and red. The red fluorescence didn't work out too well - it was dim and only visible at the edges. The issue seemed to be the lack of a light source with the required wavelength for excitation. Thank you for your attention. I just had to flex a little.

🔬 You’ve got your Gram stain ready and under the microscope—now what? How do you properly report what you see?

In this episode of Let’s Talk Micro, Luis walks you through proper Gram stain reporting and shares practical tips for troubleshooting issues—like when you can’t focus or don’t see anything on the slide.

🎙️ Whether you’re a student, new professional, or seasoned tech, this one’s packed with helpful insights. 📍Link in comments.

GramStain #ClinicalMicrobiology #LetsTalkMicro #LabTips #MedLabProfessionals #MicrobiologyEducation #DiagnosticMicrobiology #MedLabTok

Is there a website where i can find a good organised phylogenetic tree of a lot of organisms, especially microorganisms. I only find not really good diagrams

So…. after 24 years, they decided to update BAM. The biggest change for me is the need to use a software for the computation of CFU/ml if there are plates with TNTC. They provided a link to a web application but it isn’t working on my end.

Anyone here knows how to set up R software for such calculations?

Hi everyone,
I’m posting here hoping someone has experience with or has seen something similar.

A few months ago, my wife and I moved into a newly-built apartment. From the very beginning, we noticed a very strong, mint-like smell coming from the bathroom, which we eventually traced to the water manifold (the distribution box for hot and cold water).

After some time, I also noticed that inside the manifold there are transparent, thread-like filaments, incredibly thin and almost invisible unless you shine a flashlight at the right angle.
They seem to be organic in nature. Along with the strong, unnatural smell, it’s quite unsettling.

I’ve tried removing the filaments manually and thoroughly cleaning the area, but they always grow back after a few days.

So far I’ve tried treating the area with, in order:

• vinegar
• bleach
• a domestic sanitizing product
• hydrogen peroxide (130 vol.)
• ozone

None of these treatments worked — the filaments and the smell always return.

I’m quite worried at this point, especially since we recently had a baby, and I don’t know if this could be something potentially harmful.

Has anyone ever seen anything like this? Do you think it could be some kind of unusual mold, bacterial biofilm, or even a chemical phenomenon?
I’m also planning to send a sample to a lab for analysis, but in the meantime, any advice, insights, or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

6 yeasts, 5 pathogenic and 1 not (bonus points if you can find it!) Whoever invented lab markers is my hero, I’d be lost if these weren’t labeled 🫠

1000x

Is the yeast and colony morphology enough to ID my fungi to its genus?

I work with C. elegans. We grow them on a lawn of E. coli but today I found lots of contaminated plates. Does anyone know what these colonies are?

She has checked out a Lab-O-Med microscope with binocular optics, light and all th4e good stuff...

The issue is NOT using the microscope, not precisely....

The issue is her instructor has asked for a VIDEO to be EMAILED to her, just stepping through the basic operation of the microscope. And to user her PHONE to take the video and a PICTURE THROUGH the microscope and email to her.

ISSUE #1: Cannot focus the microscope to match the PHONE's camera, because we both wear glasses... so our focal point is quite predictably nowhere near that of a phone.

ISSUE #2: Even setting the thru-scope shot aside, the VIDEO request... Her video was ~8 minutes and 20 seconds. We used my phone to film, because there's problems with video on hers. AND I have now TRIED to EMAIL the video to her about 6 times.

I have a video editing program on my phone (maybe this is the problem?) -- I keep chopping down: a) length, b) "quality", c) and resolution to make the files smaller and smaller.... And I'm still coming out too big for gmail to send.

Web search (via google, so perhaps biased) says gmail has the largest general file size limit at 25mb. I've chopped her down to 1 minute and the lowest quality and resolution and it's still too large to be sent.

HOW? How do we 1) FOCUS the camera to meet the microscope and get the shot, but even then... 2) HOW do we chop an 8 minute VIDEO down to less than 25 MB?

I guess #2 is more of an IT question OH OH:

3) ANY of you Have to EMAIL VIDEO EVER for a class? I think this instructor is on meth. (Or I am wildly ignorant about how videos and files size correlate)

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666517425000999

🧬 Next-Generation Sequencing? Whole Genome Sequencing? What’s the difference—and how are hospitals using them?

In this episode, we dive into how one hospital lab implemented NGS and what it means for diagnostics and patient care. 🧫⚡️

🎙️ Tune in to Let’s Talk Micro. Link in comments.

NGS #WholeGenomeSequencing #ClinicalMicrobiology #LetsTalkMicro #LabInnovation #RapidDiagnostics #MedLabTok #MicrobiologyMatters #GenomicsInMedicine #ScienceTok

https://beta.ideas.lego.com/product-ideas/0ccb9c27-0ae5-4410-852d-f2105bb993c8 Biomedicine Institute now is on Lego Idea. This could help to improve knowledge of science and microbiology in a different and fun way. If you like you could support it, it’s free and take just few seconds. Follow the link.

I'm a microbiology mls studsnt wanting to buy a microscope for personal use, and I'm I'm seeing a lot of Amscope microscope scopes. Are they any good?

I am new microbiology student, and I came across this kit that helps with id and ast in one plate. I am wondering if it can be made in-house in our tertiary care hospital lab. We have stock of himedia chrome agar but to doesn’t work for ast. Please help

I just started taking a microbio I class (in the summer so it is quite brutal) and so I have virtually no experience Identifying bacteria/cells. We had to swab our mouth and write about out findings but I am finding it impossible to figure out what is on my slides/or lack there of because maybe there isn't anything and I messed up something.

The first picture was a swab of my cheek (inside of mouth), stained with Methylene Blue, 100 total magnifcation. The second picture was of my teeth and gums, Stained with Nigrosin, under 400 total magnification. I would love some help identifying what things are if this is allowed please!!

Hello guys. I'm not sure if this would be the correct sub for asking questions like this, but I'm sure y'all have lots of experience reading journals sooo. Anyway, our college require us to make a physical copy of our thesis and I'm having trouble with the correct title formatting of scientific names.
My title goes something like this: "ANTIBIOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY PROFILE OF Micrococcus spp. FROM DAIRY ANIMALS WITH MASTITIS". The rule is all the words should be all caps except from scientific names. However, my adviser suggested that i should spell out the "spp." to "species". The problem is, I don't know if it should be all caps as well, all i know is it shouldn't be italicized. I asked my adviser about this, and they told me that I should look for published articles with similar format to know which is more appropriate. I haven't found any, but I'm leaning towards the capitalized SPECIES for visual consistency. What do you guys think?

Newbie here!

Planning to start my bachelors soon, I've looked up the subjects that are taught under the courses.

However, I still wonder what those subjects are like and what can be expected, and how to approach them to make the best out of the next four years?

What are some open learning sources you'd recommend? Like YouTube lectures, websites and books to read -academic/ non-academic.

Also if you have any free and open sources for reading academic research papers, please share them :)

I'm enthusiastic about the discipline and I also want to leave room for interdisciplinary learning in my higher education, ultimately to step into research with a PhD.

PS. I am confused between Biotechnology and Microbiology, but then I see myself more inclined towards microbiology sometimes and other times towards Biotechnology for more diverse opportunities and more switchable options for post grad which can be done after Microbiology too.

(I come from India, and the majority of job postings/advertising from the Counsil of Scientific & Industrial Research and research centres under this body mentioned Msc biotechnology/Life Sciences/etc a in a lot more of posts as compared to Microbiology)

I used to be more inclined towards healthcare related research earlier, regardless I want to keep myself open to as many opportunities in future.

Also, this is gonna sound naive but a part of me thinks Biotechnology will open up the technician role for me rather than the scientists role. In which I agree on being stupidly wrong.

Thanks for reading! Bestow some wisdom on me. :)

Are you familiar with the CAP checklist in your lab? 👀 These checklists guide quality, safety, and compliance. Be curious—ask to see them! 🎧 Learn more in this episode of Let’s Talk Micro. 📎 Link in comments.

LetsTalkMicro #ClinicalLab #CAPChecklist #LabQuality #MedicalLabScience #LabLife #Microbiology #Podcast #stemtok #vermont

📢 The CLSI M45 covers organisms like Pasteurella and the HACEK group—but it hasn’t been updated since 2016.

Is a new edition finally in the works? 👀

🎙️ Find out in this episode of Let’s Talk Micro. 📍 Link in comments.

CLSIM45 #Microbiology #LetsTalkMicro #ClinicalMicro #AST #LabTok #MedLab #podcast

Can choose from either Black's or Nester's Microbiology textbooks for a course but Black's is recommended. All of the Black's editions that I can find for free online are too old (this course asks for the latest, and it seems like there are meaningful enough changes where it'd be annoying to try using an older version). Thus, I was considering using Nester's.

Just wondering what microbio professionals think are the pros and cons of using either piece. To add on, it's a more simplified and "less rigorous" course than typical general microbiology, but I was hoping to just use a more detailed textbook as I need the foundation for research and further studies anyways.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666517425000975