Long before rapid analysis of bacterial cultures, the most common way to quickly determine the nature of a bacterial culture was to smell it. Just open up the petri dish or the test tube, inhale and the odors would provide some clues as to which species were growing inside. Pseudomonas aeruginosa has a distinct grape smell. Escherichia coli has a distinct fecal odor. Then there are the staphylococci. Staphylococcus aureus smells like decomposition while S. epidermis smells like old sweat.
To celebrate the birthday of German microbiologist Julius Richard Petri, inventor of the eponymous dish, Google has created a very germ-y, somewhat unsettling Doodle. The animation shows a gloved hand smearing samples into six Google-colored Petri dishes. Over the next few seconds, some pretty gnarly looking bacterial cultures grow in each dish, spelling out G-O-O-G-L-E (of course). Mouse over each culture and a bubble pops up displaying the origin of each type of bacteria. The germs from a dog's mouth are the grossest, with the keyboard bacteria a close second (hold on, need to grab some Clorox wipes stat.)
Science has been trying for years to grow the perfect sirloin in a petri dish, but animal hides, rather than animal meat, might be a simpler, easier-to-sell product you can harvest in the lab. A company called Modern Meadow could have a full-scale leather production facility up and running within five years, CEO and cofounder Andras Forgacs says.
Japanese researchers working with induced pluripotent stem cells have coaxed a semi-functional, liver-like tissue from a petri dish in what could mark a significant step forward for regenerative medicine and the science of creating new, working organs from scratch. There's still a long way to go of course, but researchers are enthusiastic that the work could light the way forward for pluripotent stem cell research into organ generating technologies.
In 2009, we heard the wonderful news that scientists at Holland's Eindhoven University of Technology had successfully grown pork in a petri dish: a giant step toward the dream of eating a pork chop without slaughtering a pig for it. Unfortunately, the lab-grown meat was floppy, "soggy," and structureless, not at all what you'd like to toss on your grill and tuck into.
