Kiana Sedighi: Difference between revisions

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Kiana sedighi

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 I now see this project as an unfinished first attempt rather than a successful final experiment. Still, I learned how to prepare agar plates, maintain slime mold cultures, exchange biological material, use colored food as a visual marker, build a time-lapse setup, and turn thousands of photos into a video using Python.
-For the next version, I want to repeat the experiment with a stronger setup and a more precise question: '''what happens when Badhamia and Physarum polycephalum grow toward the same food source and compete for space?'''
+= Second Experimental Attempt: A Follow-Up Slime Mold Study =
-= '''The Agar Arena: A Slime Mold Competition Experiment''' =
+== Introduction ==
+After completing the first experiment and discussing the results with our lab supervisor, it became clear that the experiment needed to be repeated. The original setup did not produce the expected interaction between the two slime mold species, and the resulting video did not clearly show their growth or encounter.
-= Introduction =
+For the second attempt, I focused on improving both the biological setup and the recording process. Rather than trying to support a specific artistic interpretation, the goal was simply to document the growth of the two slime molds under improved conditions and observe what would happen when they were placed on the same agar plate.
-For the second stage of this project, I wanted to explore the interaction between two slime mold species under shared environmental conditions. Instead of focusing on coexistence, this experiment investigates how two organisms respond when they compete for the same resources.
-The two species used are '''Badhamia''' and '''Physarum polycephalum'''. Both are plasmodial slime molds that forage by expanding dynamic networks toward food sources. Because they rely on similar nutrients, placing them in the same Petri dish creates a situation in which their growth patterns and interactions can be directly observed.
+== Recovering the Cultures ==
+After the first experiment, both slime mold cultures developed mold contamination and could no longer be used. Our lab supervisor, Mr. Alessandro Volpato, isolated the cultures to help them recover before the experiment could be repeated.
-As in the first experiment, one food source was colored with red pigment to make the two organisms easier to distinguish during time-lapse recording.
+After several days, the cultures were ready to be used again.
-The experiment was documented using automated photography. The resulting image sequence will be processed into a time-lapse film, allowing the interaction between the two slime molds to be observed over time.
+== Preparing the Agar Plates ==
+As in the first experiment, I prepared a fresh agar medium by mixing agar-agar with water, heating the mixture until the agar dissolved, and pouring it into clean Petri dishes. After the agar solidified, it was ready for the new cultures.
-Rather than asking whether the organisms can peacefully share a habitat, this experiment asks a different question:
+== Preparing the Colored Food ==
+To make the growth easier to observe, I again prepared colored oat flakes.
-'''What happens when Badhamia and Physarum polycephalum grow toward the same food source and compete for space?'''
+I mixed the red pigment with water, added oat flakes, and allowed them to absorb the color before using them as food for '''Physarum polycephalum'''.
+== Growing the New Culture ==
+A small piece of '''Physarum polycephalum''' was transferred onto a fresh Petri dish together with the colored oat flakes. The culture was left to grow for approximately one day so that it became stronger before the final recording.
+== Preparing the Final Recording Setup ==
+After the culture had recovered, I prepared another fresh agar plate for the final recording.
+Badhamia and '''Physarum polycephalum''' were placed on opposite sides of the Petri dish, with oat flakes positioned between them to encourage both organisms to grow toward the same area.
+Unlike the first experiment, I removed the light source underneath the Petri dish after realizing that it caused noticeable flickering in the time-lapse. This resulted in much more stable lighting throughout the recording.
+== Overnight Time-Lapse Recording ==
+The camera was mounted above the Petri dish and connected to an external power source so it could record continuously throughout the night.
+For this experiment, the camera captured one photograph every '''30 seconds'''. I started the recording in the evening, checked the setup several times during the night to ensure everything was working correctly, and collected the experiment the following morning.
+== Creating the Video ==
+After transferring the photographs to my computer, I processed the images using the same Python workflow developed during the first experiment.
+The images were combined into a time-lapse video, which was then edited by adding titles and music.
+== Observations ==
+The second experiment produced a different result than expected.
+Although both slime molds were placed on the same Petri dish, only '''Physarum polycephalum''' showed significant growth throughout the recording. It expanded across the agar surface and eventually occupied much of the available space, while '''Badhamia''' remained largely inactive.
+An interesting observation was that '''Physarum polycephalum''' gradually lost its red coloration as it continued feeding. Because new, uncolored oat flakes were available, the organism slowly returned to its natural yellow appearance during the recording.
+As a result, the experiment did not capture the interaction between two actively growing slime molds. Instead, it documented the successful growth of '''Physarum polycephalum''' under the improved experimental conditions.