TOPIC 2: Microscopy & TOPIC 3: Prokaryotes

REFLECTIVE JOURNAL TOPIC 2

Assalamualaikum W.B.T

    Hello readers, so I'm going to continue my weekly journal about the topics that I've mentioned in the title of my post. 

MICROSCOPY

       On Monday's class 7th of March, we have learnt about the second topic which is microscopy. In the previous week, Dr. Wan Zuhanis gave a task to a few students (group 2) to find out how to learn the microscopy's chapter in interesting way to avoid a boring environment. So, these few students had come out with a brilliant idea even though its not as what as Dr. Wan had requested. But personally, their's effort and work had impressed me! 

      So what did they do? They did a kind of story mode's slide show and read it for us. Based on my understanding and what I  still remembered, it is about a scientist which found a new microbe then he wants to discover it in details. He did a few experiments and at the end he found out the particular microbe hates light. At the same time, a microscope is created. But they changed the story to make it more interesting and funny but the facts are still there. (please correct me if I was wrong) We were laughing in the class as well as Dr. Wan. We started the class with happy mode.

     Luckily, we all already get familiar with the components of the normal microscope because we have been exposed and used it since the primary school. So, it just a refreshment for us to remember the functions of each part of the microscope. Then only I know, the microscope that I have been normally used before is bright-field microscope.

Bright-field Microscope

     There are actually many kind of invented microscopes to discover microbes which need special treatments or techniques and cannot be seen with ordinary microscope. Below are several type of microscopes. 

   

Phase Contrast Microscope

Fluorescence Microscope

Confocal Microscope

Transmission Electron Microscope

Atomic Force Microscope

     Even though we do not have the opportunity to use the other type of microscopes but we still could see the example of images formed by using each type of the microscope. The structures are really beautiful and amazing. So, no wonder scientist called it "Bacteria is an Art" and behind these beautiful art, it is a living thing and have their own life.

       There are few type of stains which are 

• Simple stains
• Differential stains
• Acid fast stains
• Special stains for capsule, endospore and flagella.

       Based on what I have found and information shared by my classmates, simple staining is used to to determine cell shape, size and arrangement. It's the simplest staining involving only one stain such as gram safranin, methylene blue and gram crystal violet. Next, the differential stains. The usual differential stains is the gram staining. In other words, gram staining use to dyes to differentiate gram positive and gram negative bacteria. While, the acid fast stains is a differential stain that used to identify acid-fast organisms for microbacteria, Last, the special stains which is use to identify capsule (polysaccharide layer), endospore (bacteria that can produce endospore under unfavorable condition e.g: Bacillus anthracis) and flagella (movement of the microbe). 

       Furthermore, there are also a few questions in the "check" slide such as:

• What are fluorochromes?
• What can be diagnosed using bright field, phase contrast and fluorescence microscopy? 
• What is the basis of gram staining?
• Name three gram positive and three gram negative bacteria.
• What did you learn from the tri to the Microscope unit?

      I already posted the answers to padlet as Dr. Wan Zuhainis have requested. Kindly refer to this link padlet.com/zuhainis/intromicrobe for more information. 

      At the end of the Tuesday's class, we did a quiz for this chapter about six questions and also group quiz. It was very exciting moments.

     Have you ever think how useful and helpful the technology is? I'm so grateful and I hope in one beautiful day I will be one of the Malaysian's scientist and able to have all of these experiences. What if I could discover a new type of microbe? Wow, it is a really big dream to achieve but nothing is impossible, am I right? We will go for it and do pray for us too. 

PROKARYOTES

    Before the class, we were needed to submit an online mind map to PutraBlast about prokaryotes. So, I have chosen Popplet as the medium to make it. I did a revision and go through the notes before I did it. I also find some extra information and a few definition about unfamiliar science terms from the internet to make an 'informative' mind map. I shared the extras information on my mind map so my friends would also get the knowledge too.

Kindly check out my mind map here, http://www.popplet.com/app/#/3076444

   On Thursday 10th of March, Dr. Wan Zuhainis have made a 'mind map' game at which all the students are needed to make only ONE mind map on the whiteboard. Each of the students should fill up the branches for at least one information about prokaryotes. But the rule is to make it silently so we could not talking to each other. But yet there are still a few students were talking including me actually. No, i'm not talking to my friends! I just talked to myself "hmm what else to write? oh seems like there are few infos are repeated here" .


     We also did an activity on Quizlet at which we have to write down any terms or subjects from prokaryotes and give their definitions. We were been given 10 minutes to do it and I could made it 11 terms with definitions. Next, we have to do a quiz which the questions are from the previous activity we did on the Quizlet. Yes it's very easy and I got 100% for the test. Then I downloaded the result and post it to PutraBlast.

     Last activity we were just go through a few slides of prokaryotes, discussed together about it and will be continue on next Monday 14th of March. I think that's all for this week's entry. Thanks for reading.