Planarians, hydras, DNA extracting and Miller/Levine Biology labs...

[Joan in GE]

I'd gotten the Miller/Levine set but my ds preferred Campbell. Since dd is a lot younger, I'm now preparing to use ML Biology with my dd next year so lining up lab equipment. BTW we really liked the Biology Labs On-Line with Campbell Biology recommended by Kathy in Richmond and will use them again, but dd is still a bit young for them.

 

Looking through the M/L labs, some seem quite interesting without a lot of fancy lab equipment and I'm wondering if people who have used this lab book could give tips about catching

 

planarians

 

hydras

 

Daphnia

 

and finding things like "auxin paste", glucose test strips, milk digestion aids, mushroom growing kits, agar for agar plates, bromthymol blue, and other items not common in the household without spending a fortune on a Labpaq...

 

In one of the labs, students examine planarians because the stem cells that collect at the site of an injury allow them to regenerate body parts and even grow two heads :001_huh:

 

Also looking for any other helpful tips from people who have done the labs.

 

Thanks!

Joan

Edited May 18, 2011 by Joan in Geneva
misspelled bromthymol

[Jane in NC]

A number of items on your list should be available from a pharmacy. Or perhaps a physician will give you a couple of glucose strips so that you do not need to purchase a quantity.

 

Planaria are cool but whether they live in Switzerland is beyond me. Perhaps someone at a natural history museum or a university can lead you to a collection spot.

 

Mushroom growing kits are available from garden catalogs here in the US. Some people grow their own sh*takis (apparently I cannot spell out this work here on the boards). You need to have a small limb cut from a living tree (not dead wood) into which you drill holes and inject the spores. I have known people who have done this.

 

I once went for a mushroom walk with a mycologist. It was fascinating--he saw things that no one in the group realized were there. I would see if a nature group in your city does mushroom walks. Or try it on your own with a good guide book.

 

Sounds like fun, Joan!

[Joan in GE]

Hi Jane - thanks for the tips! I'm going to look online right away for the mushroom growing kit - I love that kind of mushroom. I hadn't thought of being able to eat them myself. So it sounds like things shouldn't be too troublesome - is there anything that stands out as "not" available at a pharmacy? (Pharmacies over here are quite different - though you can get some chemicals at a "droguerie" that would probably qualify as bomb making materials without problem. But lots of things that are in the US are not available here or are so expensive - like alcohol). I'm getting ready to go home but will have little running around time, so am trying to order everything possible so that I can just pack it up.

 

Do you know a reliable garden online store? (I'm also looking for a throwing tomahawk - I know that has nothing to do with this, I'm just having trouble finding one and don't want to order from just any online store when I don't know it's reputation).

 

ETA - I just found a Shiitake mushroom kit on Amazon! and that made me wonder about throwing tomahawks and they even have them! I don't like to shop in just one place, but it sure makes it easier from over here.

 

Oh I hope there are planaria here. Have you caught them intentionally?

 

Thanks Jane!

Joan

Edited May 17, 2011 by Joan in Geneva

[Jane in NC]

 

Oh I hope there are planaria here. Have you caught them intentionally?

 

Thanks Jane!

Joan

 

My son caught planaria at his summer science school. The kids all loved them. I think it is adults who become squeamish at the thought of wormy-like creatures.

 

Sorry--I don't have a catalog gardening source for you. Nor can I identify anything on your list as an unlikely thing for a pharmacy to carry. I just know that we have asked our local pharmacist for some odd things through the years! :lol:

[MomsintheGarden]

A lot of gardening catalogs sell mushroom growing kits. One of my favorite companies, Pinetree, has several:

https://www.superseeds.com/products.php?cat=342

 

#M22, pearl oyster mushroom, can be done in a bucket with shredded newspaper or coffee grounds.

 

HTH,

GardenMom

[Brenda in MA]

Joan,

 

In the US, homesciencetools and carolina biological are good sources for bio supplies. Homesciencetools sells a dry culture kit for protozoa that might be an option.

 

I wonder if Carolina has a subsidiary in Europe, or maybe if you contact them, they would be able to steer you towards a similar company overseas. I would think that there would be companies there that supply schools.

 

Homesciencetools might have some of the other items you mentioned that you could get while you're back here.

 

When my older son did bio many years ago, we sampled our local pond and found some tiny creatures, but there were only a few types, and they weren't easy to find. This time around, I'm going to order a few live cultures so we can be pretty sure of seeing the little guys.

 

HTH,

Brenda

[Joan in GE]

A lot of gardening catalogs sell mushroom growing kits. One of my favorite companies, Pinetree, has several:

https://www.superseeds.com/products.php?cat=342

 

#M22, pearl oyster mushroom, can be done in a bucket with shredded newspaper or coffee grounds.

 

Great - I like to support good companies - I'll use them. Does it give the directions for the coffee ground/ newspaper base?

 

Joan,

 

In the US, homesciencetools and carolina biological are good sources for bio supplies. Homesciencetools sells a dry culture kit for protozoa that might be an option.

 

I wonder if Carolina has a subsidiary in Europe, or maybe if you contact them, they would be able to steer you towards a similar company overseas. I would think that there would be companies there that supply schools.

 

Homesciencetools might have some of the other items you mentioned that you could get while you're back here.

 

When my older son did bio many years ago, we sampled our local pond and found some tiny creatures, but there were only a few types, and they weren't easy to find. This time around, I'm going to order a few live cultures so we can be pretty sure of seeing the little guys.

 

Thank you Brenda! I'll check those out right away, I'm really running out of time, and also try to see if Carolina is over here... It's true that schools must get supplies somewhere, at least the international schools...The local ones do surprisingly few experiments.

 

ETA - I've found that they're in France and this is useful for living things (eg bacteria) since I wouldn't be able to keep them cold while traveling. Great idea!

 

Protozoa sound interesting - do you have an experiment that uses them?

 

ETA - I've just been looking at homesciencetools and see that they have both plastic and glass petri dishes... have you used glass ones? any considerations? I also just looked at their glucose strips and they are cheaper than the online CVS pharmacy and you can get a small number. But I've just been looking through the experiments and see that I need a lot, but over time. Can you freeze glucose test strips?

 

 

My son caught planaria at his summer science school.

 

Well today I found out why I was getting the wrong info from Google...I was using the wrong verbs.... if I enter "catch" planaria, "collect" daphnia and hydras, I get better results...before I was getting all kinds of hits about "hydras" in World of Warcraft, etc! I think I'd used "finding" before...

 

MIT lab sheet about planaria (and how to catch them with chicken livers) and a little discussion

 

College Board discussion about labs with planaria (scroll to planaria question)

 

Another page with planaria info

 

 

Daphnia - This site is very good. (One of the experiments calls for watching their heart, since they are transparent, to see the effect of a chemical on heart rate)

 

Hydras - One page, but when I get time I'm going to look for others. One of the other hydra pages really slowed my computer down so I'm a bit leary now.

 

Thank you everyone!!!

Joan

Edited May 18, 2011 by Joan in Geneva

[MomsintheGarden]

Joan,

 

I would suggest emailing Pinetree to ask them for the mushroom growing instructions.

 

Thank you so much for sharing your search tips! Dd was so excited this past year because she got to see a large variety of microorganisms in her Bio lab. We "caught" some from a local pond but there wasn't a large variety. It will be great to be able to do the lab more extensively with your tips.

 

Thanks!

GardenMom

[Joan in GE]

You're welcome. I was amazed to see these lab possibilities without much equipment.

 

BTW - is there a better time of year to grow mushrooms?

 

Joan

[MomsintheGarden]

BTW - is there a better time of year to grow mushrooms?

Outdoors - whenever it's moist and damp, but not freezing. Indoors, anytime. The kits are popular Christmas presents for gardeners. My sil got one in the fall, and grew mushrooms indoors all winter long.

 

GardenMom

[Joan in GE]

Thanks! Sounds great!

[6packofun]

Planaria is the cutest worm--how can you not love their little crossed eyes?? Of course, no other worms ARE cute...

[Capt_Uhura]

 

Looking through the M/L labs, some seem quite interesting without a lot of fancy lab equipment and I'm wondering if people who have used this lab book could give tips about catching

 

planarians

 

hydras

 

Daphnia

 

and finding things like "auxin paste", glucose test strips, milk digestion aids, mushroom growing kits, agar for agar plates, bromthymol blue, and other items not common in the household without spending a fortune on a Labpaq...

 

In one of the labs, students examine planarians because the stem cells that collect at the site of an injury allow them to regenerate body parts and even grow two heads :001_huh:

 

Also looking for any other helpful tips from people who have done the labs.

 

Thanks!

Joan

 

You can get Bromothymol blue from Homesciencetools. I would go w/ plastic petri dishes. There is no need to use glass for those. You can buy the agar already made up and sterile and you just put it in the microwave and pour. I like that kind. :001_smile: Planarians can usually be caught w/ liver tied to a string and placed in a pond. I don't know if the aquatic planarians live in New Zealand. New Zealand does have a land planarian.

[Joan in GE]

You can get Bromothymol blue from Homesciencetools. I would go w/ plastic petri dishes. There is no need to use glass for those. You can buy the agar already made up and sterile and you just put it in the microwave and pour. I like that kind. :001_smile: Planarians can usually be caught w/ liver tied to a string and placed in a pond. I don't know if the aquatic planarians live in New Zealand. New Zealand does have a land planarian.

 

I'm kicking myself because I already placed my order and for some reason, after looking for 1% starch sol'n and 15% glucose sol'n where chem labs came up, I suddenly thought that the Bromthymol blue would be in my chemistry kits which are buried in a cupboard. Today I searched and the Bromthymol blue is not there, neither the other solutions...and the shipping costs more than the Bb... how irritating.

 

My dh says I should go and beg a few drops from a local high school.

 

Any idea where to find "starch powder" to make the 1% starch solution?

 

A land planarian sounds interesting...

 

Thanks Capt,

Joan

 

Oh, and for people thinking of ordering mushroom kits - I found out that they can take 4- 6 weeks to be delivered! So order well in advance.

Edited May 21, 2011 by Joan in Geneva

[Jane in NC]

 

Any idea where to find "starch powder" to make the 1% starch solution?

 

 

 

Idea: maybe ask one of the chem moms on these boards. Corn starch is readily available in a supermarket. There is laundry starch.

 

I suspect you can improvise this.

 

Jane

[Joan in GE]

Idea: maybe ask one of the chem moms on these boards. Corn starch is readily available in a supermarket. There is laundry starch.

 

I suspect you can improvise this.

 

Jane

 

Jane it's kind of you to brainstorm with me! You've gotten me thinking more.

 

I was thinking about corn starch but it talks about cooking it and I was imagining all those funny things that can happen with cornstarch - but maybe similar things happen with other starches...thinking aloud here...but if it is only 1% there's not much starch... the recipe for the solution called for starch powder.. anyway, I'm going to do what you propose...ask around...:001_smile:

 

 

Here's another item that I'd overlooked - "oil-eating bacteria"!

 

I've searched on the internet and find sites that talk about the Gulf oil spill, but can't find a place to buy them... I guess I'm going to have to give up on that one...

 

Thanks Jane!

Joan

[Capt_Uhura]

here is starch powder. http://www.hometrainingtools.com/starch-water-soluble-30-g/p/CH-STARCH/

[Joan in GE]

Thanks Capt!

 

You know I searched there but always added either solution or powder and did not get that product. It pays to know how to search! Now I've searched "glucose" by itself and found that too.

 

Thanks for helping me!

Joan