February 2, 2021, by Lee Mei Kee

The Science in Life

Article written by: Siew Zhen Yun (Year 2 BSc Biomedical Sciences student)

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As a biomedical scientist, I understand that everything around us is science, and everything under the same ecosphere is highly related to each other. I love to study the connection and interaction between living things and non-living things. Despite the global pandemic disrupted my study and the time I used to play around with the science I love, but nothing can stop me from loving and pursuing it.

Scientific study can be any kind of literature review, theoretical assumption or designed experiment. I love to play around with microbe especially bacteria. Usually, I will design and set up a suitable environment to contain colonies of bacteria and fungus, this allows me to observe and study these tiny and viable organisms. It is always interesting and exciting for me to have “rendezvous” with my little fellows that work together in pursuing our dreams (survival for them).

As you can see from the diagram, sample A and B were kept in a candy jar. Sample A was containing steamed rice (also known as cooked rice or white rice). Sample B was containing cooked chicken rice. Pictures: A1 and B1 were taken from above while A2 and B2 were the side view. The samples were incubated for one week and obviously, the colonies in sample A were overgrown and occupied the whole surface of the steamed rice. In sample B, only a few white and light green colonies can be observed. For my prediction based on the comparison of sample A with sample B, the white and light green colonies in sample B are quite similar to the white colonies located at the centre, so they might be the same species. The temperature during the preparation of chicken rice will be higher than the steamed rice since the boiling point of the cooking oil is somewhat higher than water. So, I will assume that the bacteria from the white colony can withstand a higher temperature. To be more specific, it may be a spore former, because most bacteria can be tolerant to high temperature in its dormant form, not the bacteria itself but the endospore. Hence, one of the suspected bacteria will be Bacillus cereus.

The statement and diagram above are just an example of what I will do for the thing I am interested in. Also, people will keep a pet and slowly it becomes an important part of the person’s life. Same goes to me, I will take those microbes as my “pet”, there are so many things we can learn from and learn about them. Lastly, I would like to put the pandemic, my hobby with passion and myself together for the ending. My statement at the very beginning is a reasonable fact, this is the reality of our physical realm, this is exactly ‘the way, the truth and the life’. Remember what I said in here about life based on my understanding. Life is an endless succession of species over species.

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