Katie UR: Wash Your Hands for 20-30 Seconds. Always.

Bacteria on a Human hand.

Bacteria is defined as microscopic single-celled organisms that thrive in diverse environments. This single celled organism is what my project is thriving off of if you think about it. I m testing for bacteria found in 2 species of sharks. Bacteria can live in soil, the ocean and inside the human gut. Bacteria is all around us, its either something that is helpful or something that is destructive. Bacteria can help with our digestion but can also cause diseases like pneumonia and MRSA. This single-celled organism is what is leading me on this journey and I am excited to share with you guys the methods I will be using during this whole process
                     

Methods

         

Catching the Shark
First we will be using a Big Game Pro Extreme 10 Foot Rod, with 25 pound grade line. The bait that will be used will be caught with a fishing net at the site of where we will be doing the catching at. Once the bait is on and we have caught a shark we will bring it up to the side of the boat and if it is small enough it will be brought onto the boat but if it is to big we will leave it on the side of the boat to conduct the scrapings. If brought onto the boat we will cover its eyes with a wet towel and take the fork length, length, find out the gender and the species of shark.

Getting the Samples
By then the mouth will be dried enough for me to do the samples. I have built a swabbing device (Ill bring it on Friday to show you guys!) that will extend and be able to swab the sharks inside and outside gum so I do not have to stick my hand in its mouth. If brought onto the boat we will cover the sharks eyes with a damp towel and take the fork length, length, find out the sex and then also the species of shark. we will have a bit down piece so we wont have to yank the sharks snout back to take the swab. While getting the sample I will be wearing gloves and so will my grandfather so there is not a chance of cross-contamination. I lock the swab into place in the swabbing device and I will swab the sharks mouths. Once done i will break off the swab into a Santi-bag and then once that is done I will transfer it to the Petri dish and label the bottom of the dish. I;l tap the dish super tight so nothing gets in or out then place it into a cooler with ice packs to keep the bacteria at a good temperature.  

Returning to the lab 

Once the samples for the day have been written down and labeled I will bring the samples to Dr.Woodall and from there we will hopefully have the help of Dr.Horikami who will help us ran the tests on figuring out what bacteria inhabits the sharks mouths.