MtA_BIOL2201_2026_ Troubleshooting with Yeast
Apr 03, 2026 • 2:40 PM UTC
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Fungi
Teah Cowan
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Since I have gotten my foldscope 2.0 I have seen some pretty interesting things up close, but I really wanted to see a real microorganism under it. So, I thought what microorganism do I have the easiest access to? Yeast! But it was not so easy and came with a lot of troubleshooting to get a good photo.
First, I had to figure out how to activate it, so based off some google searches it was determined the best method was to combine sugar, yeast and warm water, then wait 15 minutes and when the yeast was activated there would be foam, showing that they were metabolizing. But there was no foam… still I was determined to see yeast, so I put in my foldscope, and this is what I got…
First, I had to figure out how to activate it, so based off some google searches it was determined the best method was to combine sugar, yeast and warm water, then wait 15 minutes and when the yeast was activated there would be foam, showing that they were metabolizing. But there was no foam… still I was determined to see yeast, so I put in my foldscope, and this is what I got…
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As you can see its just thick clusters, so I tried again with a thinner sample but still nothing. Then I completely restarted, activated the yeast again with exact proportions and lower temperatures, this time leaving it for over an hour and it had slight foam. I put some in my trading card and I saw cells; I was so happy. I did multiple samples and put it under different light sources, adjusting the focus ramp and it appeared that each time I changed it the sample looked very different. As you can see there were some that made the yeast appear large and some that made it appear small. Though it is very possible that the little dots are pockets of carbon dioxide.
Though I was hoping I would be able to see some yeast cells budding I do not think I can. I think this would be fun to try with a different type of yeast to see if anything is more visible or maybe gain insight into what exactly I am looking at.
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