Category Archives: bacteria growth

OSM (Pronounced Awesome) Hardware Makes DNA in Space

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OSM stands for Oligonucleotide Synthesizer designed for use in Microgravity, meaning that it’s a device that makes arbitrary DNA strands (of moderate length) in space. Cool eh? I’ve been working on this project for the last eight months with a wonderful team of fellow hackers as part of the Stanford Student Space Initiative, and I’d like to share what we’re doing, what we’ve already done, and where we’re going.

Why space? Well, first of all, space is cool. But more seriously, access to arbitrary DNA in space could accelerate research in a plethora of fields, and the ability …read more

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Mega-Plate Petri-Dish Let’s You Watch The Evolution Of Bacteria

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Rearchers of the Harvard Medical School built a 2 feet by 4 feet (61 x 122 cm) large petri-dish to visualize the evolution of bacteria. Their experiment induces mutations in E. coli bacteria by exposing them to gradually increasing concentrations of antibiotics.

Their assembly consists of a large glass tank with a thick agar at its bottom and a thinner agar on top of it, which acts as a mobility layer, allowing the bacteria to move around in the dish. The bottom layer is divided into 9 bands, which are treated with gradually increasing concentrations of antibiotics: No antibiotics in …read more

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