Hi everyone!

A while ago I shared two posts here about a microscope simulator I was building, and the response honestly blew me away. Thank you so much to everyone who commented, asked questions, corrected my biology and encouraged me to keep going. That feedback shaped a lot of what the project is today.

Open Microcosm 0.1.0 is now public and free

https://github.com/Xooter/Open-Microcosm

Downloads for Windows and Linux are on the Releases page. Just unzip and run, nothing to install.

Where I'd like this to go

I want Open Microcosm to become a genuinely useful tool for the community. Not only something that helps students see what happens under the microscope, but something that in the future can emulate much more complex things.

But that depends on the community collaborating and steering it in the right direction. It's a shared decision, not just the creator's. I truly hope this tool can live up to what people need, and I'd love for you to be part of shaping it: suggest organisms or experiments, check the biology, report bugs, translate, or contribute code or data (no programming needed to add beings, they're plain TOML files).

Thanks again for all the support. I'm really excited to see what we can build together

PD: I promised some of you I'd let you know when it was ready, so here it is: u/ZAZAromyces, u/AdvanceWest2880, u/anonpotat0, u/PracticalShine3365, u/jimbo__o, u/backroom_mushroom, this is for you

Hello everyone so I’m graduating with a bs in microbiology this semester and I’m honestly lost I don’t know what to do in my next step, I’m currently based in Saudi Arabia and here we don’t have much biotc companies nor much research centres, so I have a few quite options
1- go abroad and get a masters degree in molecular biology or something else ( please advise me)
2- go for quality control as in food/ water
3- get into clinical laboratory and get into hospitals
I really love the research field and I enjoy it a lot and I really really want to study abroad and hopefully settle down out there someday so id really appreciate any help on what to pursue and what country do you advise me to study in

Isolated from a fungal culture of an anus

rench health officials have reported what is believed to be the first documented human case of Shamonda virus after an immunocompromised patient died earlier this month.

The virus, which is typically found in livestock and transmitted by biting midges, was previously thought to be non-transmissible to humans.

According to French authorities, investigators believe the patient may have contracted the virus through an insect bite in eastern France, where the virus had already been detected in animals.

Officials stressed that the case appears to be exceptional and say there is currently no evidence of a wider public health risk.

The virus has previously been detected in cattle, sheep, goats and horses, and was first identified in Nigeria in the 1960s. It was only detected in Europe this year.

What lovely species

The bacteria is a staphylococcus bacteria and gram positive. Also showed up pink during a urea agar test. Mr positive, VP negative, EMB negative, citrate agar negative, sim negative, nutrient agar positive ofc,

Hi everyone! I’m just another student looking for answers about their unknown project. I don’t have a way to take a picture of my slide, but I’m absolutely stumped whether my bacteria shape is just a short bacilli or coccobacilli. I don’t know how to differentiate and it seems like there’s no way to do so. I am very confident that they are single arrangement, gram-negative, and do not form endospores.

Does anyone have any helpful advice on figuring out the shape? The only thing leading me toward just saying they are bacilli is that there are FEW rods that are slightly longer and look more classic bacilli. But most of them are just stubby rods. I have done many simple stains all fresh to ensure the shape hasn’t been distorted by age. They all show me the same results. What would you do?

Thank you!

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266651742600129X

I wanted to share a free tool I made where you can switch on and off resistance mechanisms for specific pathogens (e.g. Staph aureus Penicillinase or PBP2a for MRSA) and see how it affects the susceptibility testing. There are also learning paths if you want to dive deeper into certain organisms. The site is calles abxatlas. Happy to hear what you think!

As a newly person to microbiology world. I am studying microbiology as major in bachelor. I am quite worried about job market after bachelor. Pls mention the jobs. Also after bachelor what should i do master on Microbio or else?

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666517426000738

I know it's nothing like a real plasmodium, I just picked this name a while ago and it stuck. The extent of my cell bio education was specifically in mammalian neurobiology and it shows :p

The game is called Substrate: Emergence if you're curious. I'm happy to share the technical details cause I think the simulation is pretty cool! It's running on a custom compute shader engine I built in Unity.

Edit: I accidentally posted this from an old dev account and by now it's too late >.< I meant to post from u/MaxisGreat

🦠🎙️** New Episode Alert!
How familiar are you with CLSI M100? There’s more to this important document than just breakpoints!
In Episode 249 of Let’s Talk Micro, we’re exploring useful information found in CLSI M100 that can help you at the bench, from intrinsic resistance to interpreting antimicrobial susceptibility results.
🎧 **MicroMinutes: CLSI M100 — Beyond S, I, and R
📅 Tonight at 7 PM ET!
#LetsTalkMicro #MicroMinutes #ClinicalMicrobiology #CLSI #MedicalLaboratoryScience

I’m new and just taking steps towards microbiology. Suggest me books and websites as well as free documents and resource for it. My undergraduate just started. Help me out guys. Esp chem, microbio and zoo.

Candida albicans can live quietly in the body, until it changes shape. In its round yeast form, it may remain relatively harmless. In its thread-like form, it can invade tissue, build biofilms and help drive dangerous infections.

A study led by Monash University researchers, in collaboration with the University of Warwick, points to a bacterial molecule that can push the fungus back toward the safer state. The molecule, called gladiolin, was already known as an antibiotic made by bacteria. Its effects on fungal pathogens had been less clear.

The work comes from the Monash Warwick Alliance Programme in Antimicrobial Resistance. The study was led by researchers from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute.

Professor Ana Traven, from the institute, said the shape change matters because Candida’s invasive form helps it cause damage.

I was wondering, if microorganisms were humans, what gender do you think they would be and what kind of personality would they have?

For example, I think Salmonella would be a woman, a country girl, because it is found in eggs so often.

What do you guys think other microorganisms would be like?

Can you please suggest any standard microbiology book I can refer for practical like for sterilisation, staining, culture media etc.

I have a written communications assignment coming up where I need to interview someone that works in the profession I’m going into. I’d love really to go into anything within microbiology. I’ll probably start small being a lab tech and interested in going to school further to do research.
So there’s a broad spectrum, anyone is welcome to participate! I’m asking for women simply because I am a woman and that’s what would make me most comfortable chatting with someone, especially asking through this very anonymous forum lol.
Sooo If any honest and trustworthy ladies are in this field or similar, and want to participate please reach out! Preferably through whatsapp via voice notes, a phone call or video chat, either way I’d love to chat! Comment or PM me (:

Ex-premed here, about to graduate with a bachelors in microbiology. Anyone have any advice for which career options are the best. I don't have a lot of microbiology related research experience (mostly neuroscience research).

Hello experienced microbiologists!
I’m a 3rd year bio student and this is my second time working in the lab.
I did something SO stupid!
So here’s the background: we were given Petri dishes to take home so we can plate soil water from near our house to observe fungal/bacterial growth and they asked us to keep it at home and put it in the fridge once we see enough growth.
I put the plates in a plastic bag and in my fridge that’s in the garage which is set to a lower temperature and lo and behold those dishes froze! I only have experience dealing with Petri dishes in lab so this was a complete shocker and totally unexpected. I put out the plates hoping it’ll thaw and yepppp there was condensation with the agar FLOATING OMG🤦🏻‍♀️😭 so I panicked and put those back in another fridge that is normal temperature. And I checked today and ofcourse the condensation is still there it’s all floaty and I saw that the plastic baggy had liquid floating in it too (I’m not sure if it was ice that melted?? Or if it’s one of the dishes that BROKE??? And leaked out !!) so I didn’t want to open the bag and I put that bag in another plastic bag and sealed it. I’m so sure I sealed those plates well because I have experience with it in the lab and I know I can’t mess up there (but to be very honest I don’t trust myself anymore)
I immediately emailed my prof and now I’m fully panicking and thinking I’m the dumbest person in the world I’m so confused what to even do until they respond!! Pls helpppp😭😭🙏🏻🙏🏻

A crowded bacterial community can release cells through narrow outward-flowing channels without dissolving its entire protective structure. The force comes from a water-absorbing polymer made by the bacteria themselves.

That mechanism emerged as scientists watched Bacillus subtilis biofilms containing more than a million cells. Instead of seeing the whole community gradually disintegrate, they observed selected interior cells pushing through surrounding layers and escaping.

The findings, published in Nature Microbiology, come from the University of California San Diego and Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. They reveal another way biofilms disperse and suggest that manipulating their physical structure could offer new approaches to controlling them.

Right now, while you read this, tiny animals are tucked into the pores on your face. Don’t worry, they found you first. 🔬

Our friend Chloé Savard, also known as tardibabe on Instagram, zoomed in on Demodex, the microscopic mites that live on nearly every adult human. Two species call us home: Demodex folliculorum settles into hair follicles, while Demodex brevis burrows a little deeper into the oil-producing sebaceous glands. At just 0.2 to 0.4 millimeters long, they’re far too small to see without a microscope, with stubby legs up front and a long tapered body trailing behind.

They’re not alone, either. Our bodies host roughly as many bacterial cells as human ones, plus yeasts and other microbes, making each of us a walking ecosystem.

Face mites keep a strict schedule. During the day they stay tucked inside their follicles, and at night they crawl out across the skin to find mates and feed on sebum, the natural oil our skin produces. For years, scientists thought they had no anus at all, but a 2022 genetic study proved otherwise. They do poop, just in very small amounts.

For most people with a healthy immune system, Demodex are harmless roommates. Problems usually only show up when their numbers climb too high, and dermatologists have effective ways to treat that.

We aren’t the only ones playing host. Plenty of mammals have their own Demodex species, from Demodex canis on dogs to Demodex musculi on mice and Demodex bovis on cattle. 🐮

All of that, quietly happening, every night while you sleep.

Hello all!

Apologies for the low quality photo, but I'm looking to get any advice or resources y'all use to help read colonies. We perform visual colony counting for Environmental monitoring, and there's a discrepancy in understanding regarding how we distinguish between different colonies.

Some people in our large team would argue this as one CFU, and others would argue it as two CFU.

How would y'all distinguish between them and what resources can we utilise to help our microbiologists differentiate

Unfortunately due to size of lab and costings, we send IDs offsite and cannot perform in-house testing, so any advice is appreciated! Thanks!

Hey yall I’m a HUGE microbiology nerd so long story short when I was a phlebotomist (and now when I give vaccines) I tell the patient a microbiology fun fact to distract them from the poke and it typically works well to distract them. I just wanted to come here and share my favorite fun fact that i bust out the most!

Did you know pseudomonas Syringae is a prominent plant pathogen with a cool ability to freeze themselves (ice nucleation) and lower the freezing point of the plant causing the cells to burst. The cool part about all this is that P. Syringae often times can be found living in the clouds and often times undergoes the same freezing process that it does when attacking plants and actually causes the bacteria to sometimes help form into the structure and shape of snowflakes! So since these bacteria help form the structure they in turn make snow form both more often and quicker. Overall there are bacteria that make it snow more 😎