Unveiling the World of Microbiology to the next generation of Scientists!
New Scientist Laboratory Experience at SGL
SGL is keen to support the next generation of Scientists, and to further this aim works with several schools and universities to offer Laboratory Work Experience to their aspiring Science students. Over the past two weeks, Emily has worked alongside the SGL quality control team in our busy ISO 17025 UKAS-accredited microbiology laboratory. Emily first came to SGL in 2017 as a taster to see what life in a lab was like! She has since started studying virology and immunology at Bristol University. Having started her degree Emily wanted to further expand her microbiology knowledge by working alongside real scientists in a live testing environment.
SGL produces over 700 pre-poured Microbiological Culture Media products for all microbiology applications. As well as associated products such as diluents, reagents & buffer solutions, all of which require a wide range of accredited tests and quality checks conducted by the QC laboratory before their release for sale.
This is what Emily has to say about her experience at SGL:
“Being able to work in the lab at SGL is an amazing experience. It was fascinating to see how things you learn in lectures can be applied practically in a working environment. From streaking plates for quality control to helping count colony growth to check environmental sterility. The whole experience was unforgettable. Everyone is so lovely and inviting, answering any questions I had and demonstrating different microbial properties to me – including fluorescent bacteria and some that appear metallic. I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the day-to-day life of laboratory science and observing how agar plates and bottles are actually produced. I owe a massive thank you to Damian, Dani, Victoria and Jade for everything they have done for the past few weeks.”
The QC lab kept Emily very busy. Here’s some of the work she took part in:
Chromogenic E. coli coliform plates (7686). This media is a selective agar for detecting E.coli and other coliform bacteria in water and food sources.
E.coli forms blue/green colonies, Klebsiella forms pink colonies and Pseudomonas forms buff-coloured colonies by use of the chromogen in the formulation of the agar.
This amber-coloured plate is Malt Extract Agar + Lactic Acid (7682). This media is for the isolation of yeasts and Moulds.
The bacteria streaked on this media shown in the picture is Candida albicans (yeast).
Chromogenic Listeria Agar (8126). This media is selective for the isolation and identification of Listeria monocytogenes.
The chromogen in the agar allows the bacteria to grow turquoise in colour and can differentiate between Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria innocua, by use of a halo around the colonies produced by Listeria monocytogenes (as seen in the picture) and not by Listeria innocua.
It was fantastic seeing Emily, good luck on your scientific journey.
For more information on our pre-poured culture media, our sales team are are here to help, email sales@sglab.co.uk or visit our website
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