In order to view organisms or objects closer, microscopes magnify the organism or object that is placed on the slide. The most common type of microscope is called the compound microscope, because it has two oculars for viewing. Different lenses are used to switch between low, intermediate, and high-power magnification.  When the magnification of the microscope lens increases, the brightness decreases within the field of view. I relied heavily on microscopes in Microbiology and Biology II to view specimens closer.

Streaking is a technique used to isolate a pure strain from a single species of microorganism, often bacteria. Samples can then be taken from the resulting colonies and a microbiological culture can be grown on a new plate so that the organism can be identified, studied, or tested. In Microbiology, we learned and demonstrated this technique to discover unknown bacteria.

Biochemical Testing such as SIM, MR/VP, SIM Agar, Motility Agar, and Urease Testing all are selective and/or differential media testing. Depending on the chemical or agar used, it has the ability to distinguish between groups of bacteria based upon appearance. Some of the biochemical testing are selective, which inhibits the growth of some bacteria, but favors the growth of other bacteria. In Microbiology, we used these testing methods to discover unknown bacteria.

Patch clamp is a type of intracellular recording that relies on attaching a flat open tip glass pipette, or electrode, to the outer membrane of a single cell by means of suction and then recording the activity of ion channels in the membrane. In Investigation and Research III with Dr. Overholt, we were able to learn this technique by first mastering making electrodes, and using them to patch clamp cells to present the data in Scholarship Day at WSSU 2018.