My minion days are over

It's not that I don't like my job, because I do. There is lots to like about deadly, icky, weirdly strange microbes but there is NOT lots to love about doing malaria smears at 2 am on Monday morning. I have been told that there are at least 5 more years of working like a donkey in my future, but hey, at least I can dump some things on the next generation of minions!

Picture of the bacteriology lab staff at Mayo Clinic

This is a picture of one of my favorite bugs.  It is a species of Chaetomium, a fungus that looks remarkably like a pineapple. Judging by its spiky appearance you might think that it's a dangerous organism, but it's actually harmless. 

This bacterium is Pseudomonas aeruginosa.  It smells like grapes (or Fritos, depending on the person),  looks like pure silver when grown on blood agar and is super deadly. 

This is a special kind of media that helps differentiate bacteria.  It turns bugs different colors depending on the nutrients they can metabolize. Here the bright yellow colonies are normal enteric bugs, or coliforms.  The black ones are the problem - if these show up in your culture, you likely have Salmonella, a bug that can cause anything from a mild tummy upset to raging fevers. 

A brochure to convince more people to go into microbiology!