"Having some trouble - three sclerotia batches failed viability testing. Those waiting for culture bear with me whilst I recover my stocks"
An international network of/for intelligent organisms
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ian
- Birmingham
- United Kingdom
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ian's Discussions
What the???? Interloper?
Started this discussion. Last reply by ian Apr 21. 1 Reply 0 Likes
I was watching The…Continue
Slimy porridge squares - a tidier way to give out physarum
Started this discussion. Last reply by ian Mar 24. 3 Replies 2 Likes
This might be handy for those of us that tour with slime. I've never liked agar for giving out cultures - it's hard to get a decent density of physarum to make forty odd portions so I grow on paper…Continue
Well this is embarrassing....
Started this discussion. Last reply by Heather Barnett Mar 5. 2 Replies 0 Likes
I've recently got hold of the two other strains of physarum - one originating in Japan and the other in Australia. With Mazie - my home bred slime and the Carolina biologicals strain that gives me…Continue
ian's Page
Latest Activity
ian replied to Craig Dekker's discussion What is this, and how did it happen?"You left it in the light for too long, it's made spores - end of life cycle :("
ian replied to Craig Dekker's discussion Can Cultures Fuse?"I use flash every 5 mins for TL - it doesn't seem to bother them. Plasmodia of the same strain will always fuse when they meet."
ian replied to ian's discussion What the???? Interloper?"It was bacteria filling up old slime tubes,"
ian replied to Gus Xia's discussion What is this food for slime mold"Hi
Here's a link to the most comprehensive paper on the subject. If you don't have access to an autoclave or pressure cooker, bear in mind that this stuff will go off very quickly. The higher percentage oats have a real tendency to…"
ian replied to Gus Xia's discussion What is this food for slime mold"That's probably oat meal agar - 10% oats in 1% agar if I remember rightly. More accessible might be to use cooked oats rolled out and sliced into squares. "
ian replied to François-Joseph Deminiere's discussion Blob conservation"Only just seen this. They don't freeze - or at least they'll freeze but won't wake up afterwards unless you've made microplasmodia and dunked then in liquid nitrogen. If you want to store them, feed them up to a decent size then…"
ian posted a blog postRaising from Spores - Zero Tech Method
I've been looking for a way to rear physarum from spores without resorting to bacterial lawns and needing autoclaves etc.I've only done a couple of trials but this method seems to work ok, it does require a bit of patience.I used petri dishes and filter paper but any container and a bit of tissue should work.The idea is to let the food go off producing bacteria for the amoebal phase to feed off then slowly dry them out so they get persuaded to form plasmodia.Your spores need to be a few weeks…See More
ian replied to ian's discussion Slimy porridge squares - a tidier way to give out physarum"Special K might break down bit too much to be convenient, they will eat breakfast cereal though - I've fed mine on cornflakes before. The main reason for oats is they're a convenient size to make small bits of bait and cost about 40p per…"
François-Joseph Deminiere replied to ian's discussion Slimy porridge squares - a tidier way to give out physarum"Hi Ian do you know about "all bran" or "specialK" cereals ?
they seem very close to your compound I think...
I'll try them as soon I can find some for my whife (who eat that kind of food too... :)
nobody tried this kind of…"
ian posted a discussionWhat the???? Interloper?
I was watching The Creeping Garden yesterday and going through my old cultures ( perfectly normal middle aged, middle class thing to do on a Thursday night ) and I found a map I set up two months ago. Oats digested long ago, physarum apparently starved to death ( or possibly just left the petri dish and is somewhere loose in…See More
ian replied to ian's discussion Slimy porridge squares - a tidier way to give out physarum"Did a session on Wednesday and these worked great. I found long strips spaced about 1cm apart actually work a little better as they need less of starter to inoculate, a plastic knife and fork do great for taking slices off to distribute. I gave out…"
ian replied to jnnstl's discussion Sclerotium and fixative"If it's dried then you don't really need anything - it'll be fine for years. As Francois-Joseph suggest you could try varnish, when one escaped and got on to the cover of a notebook I varnished it in place with clear nail varnish but…"
Profile Information
- Name
- hardboiledparrot
- Interest in slime moulds
- I'm a professional microscopist and amateur time lapse filmer. I'm looking forward to combining both disciplines with these fascinating organisms
- Academic Institution (if applicable)
- warwick
ian's Photos
ian's Videos
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When Worlds Collide
Added by ian 0 Comments 0 Likes
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The Slime is Coming
Added by ian 0 Comments 0 Likes
Comment Wall (4 comments)
- At 16:05 on October 27, 2015,
Marijn Roelvink said… - We received the Physarum today, thanks a lot!
- At 12:19 on October 14, 2015, Marijn Roelvink said…
- Hi Ian, thank you for wanting to send the Physarum, I was just wondering if you could tell me when they will arrive, it'll help a lot with our planning :)
- At 10:37 on February 10, 2015, enrico viola said…
- I received my samples today: thanks a lot!
- At 8:10 on February 3, 2015, enrico viola said…
Sent you a pm with my address; thanks again!
Ian's Blog
Raising from Spores - Zero Tech Method
Posted on April 11, 2017 at 13:30 0 Comments 1 Like
I've been looking for a way to rear physarum from spores without resorting to bacterial lawns and needing autoclaves etc.
I've only done a couple of trials but this method seems to work ok, it does require a bit of patience.
I used petri dishes and filter paper but any container and a bit of tissue should work.
The idea is to let the food go off producing bacteria for the amoebal phase to feed off then slowly dry them out so they get persuaded to form…
Continue Big bang, big disappointment :)
Posted on March 16, 2016 at 17:04 0 Comments 1 Like
Four weeks of crazy work, turning the spare room into a culture lab and time lapse studio I made enough culture for two thousand people and I should be there with my friends and colleagues on the stand inspiring the next generation of scientists, slime fans and eccentrics.
Unfortunately I'm stuck on a hospital ward with fifty stitches in my neck waiting until I'm allowed home. So it goes I suppose but damn I was looking forward to the Big Bang Fair, I couldn't even bring a slime…
Continue Plotting and planning....
Posted on June 2, 2015 at 11:31 0 Comments 1 Like
Getting involved with several schools in my area running STEM club activities - I'm trying to design a six week course on our dear sticky friend that'll be adaptable to ages 12-17. Looks like it'll be fun ( and a lot of work ). My own cultures have been dormant for a while aside from raising the odd batch but I should start playing again soon.
Raising slime again..
Posted on May 18, 2015 at 14:17 0 Comments 1 Like
Blimey it's been a while, we've got the finals lab projects for the students at work on at the moment so I'm not getting time to play. I've got a session with 95 school kids booked in in June so I'm raising as much slime as I can cope with in preparation for that.
I'm planning on getting them to make Plasticine mazes in petri dishes for their cultures so they've something to take home.
I've also got these intriguing mycena cholorophos spores ( a glowing mushroom ),…
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