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I'm lazy, but is it available in Australia or found in Australia? ATCC is a pain to buy from, you need an account with the Australian distributors. A quarantine permit is usually compulsory, the distributors arrange it. It's a few weeks of hassle- longer if Biosecurity can't get their heads around it ( even if it has been previously imported ) Try local vendors like Nutra-Life ( or whatever their name is these days ) and similar outlets. Email them and ask if it isn't in their catalogue.

Ta Mimz, I hadn't thought about tearing instead of cutting. The mushroom itself is quite fine and not sure it's possible with this species but I will keep it in mind for future isolations. I do frequently sterilise the scalpel with a bead steriliser, but not always between slices, and I know it's an issue This species hates H2O2. I've pretty much established that lol, a negative result is also a result. I've seen a pure culture of a closely related species re-establish after a 5 week lag on H2O2 spawn, but in the face of actual isolation from a small section, with competitors, I think it's not likely to work. Might try it with a small number of mycelia subcultures once I have a few- will be interesting to see how far Trich vegetative cells can run without spawning too. And if there are no Trich spore I can re-run serial dilutions Contam is from inoculation point, it's of specimen origin. Bacto contam was present but outrun with antibiotics. Dunked the latest acquisitions in a 70% ETOH soak 30 seconds before isolation, waited 5 min to see if it had killed them, they were still solid One thing with cardboard slopes I'll do next time is to use cardboard from three different sources. Trouble with cardboard, even the rough looking stuff, is you rarely know if it's been impregnated with anything, or recycled from that. I use a flame test - burn a bit with a lighter- to check for coloured flame or fire retardants, but one of the batches of cardboard I used for cardboard slopes came out of the autoclave with distinct green stripes- made me think of copper- possibly a fungal retardant. I *finally* got a spore print on alfoil. Tricksy little hobbitsses it is. Can try it on a range of media via serial dilution this way as well

I'm isolating some local woodloving species onto agar and Trichoderma contam is a constant hassle with one of them. Trouble is the little buggers don't show up as discernable until they sporulate. And the mycelia I am working with is slow to start. What are your best options for working against Tricoderma spp on agar? I couldn't find anything specific on it. My best options so far are Serial dilution- a huge pain in the arse, because Trich is sporulating once it's visible, so the spores go into solution, and there are gazillions of them. Plus a good serial dilution run takes heeeeeeeaps of containers. Over a month. Minimum a hundred. Subculturing ahead- taking only the tiniest fragment of the leading edge, culturing it on, repeat Cardboard slopes haven't worked, as I'm uncertain of this species' ability to grow on cardboard. Still waiting at +10 days to see signs of mycelia. And I've seen Trich grow on cardboard heaps of times. The mycelia would have to grow much faster than the Trich to outrun it and I don't think that's going to happen Is there an agar type media selective against Trichoderma I could try?

Ha! Brilliant, why didn't I think of that BM? I'd dismissed it in favour of antibiotics at an earlier stage cos H2O2 has a tendency to reduce growth in that species significantly for a few weeks. But it might just work now I have the species more-or-less isolated away from everything but the Trich. If Trich can't set viable spore it might slow it down and the mycelia have a chance to recover. Is odd, I've never found Trich *inside* a specimen, so I wasn't expecting it. Worth a shot anyhow. I'll run a side-by-side. I have two candidates for the mycelia to be the target species, so will need to fruit and test them both

I do like the pocket fae idea, I hope you didn't have to go thru that to find it out tho I'm thinking selective media trial. Research is showing the putative isolate could survive on a high pH media, and Trichoderma favours lower. ( Edit: more checking proves this could be wrong, I may try it anyhow ) Will keep a few colonies back tho, just in case the publication is wrong. Other option could be a low nitrogen media, maybe even a water media.

Also, the tibicos ( water kefir ) grains are way more resilient than I'd given them credit for. My kitchen is a disaster area, there is always some myco experiment or plant tissue culture goo around somewhere. I gave the grains six weeks til something foreign wheedled it's way in and killed them while they were fermenting. Didn't happen. Brew performance was always standard, the grains behaved as expected, and nothing overcame them in solution

Me, oddly enough. One of the old forum members here bought me round a bunch of fermented food and some water kefir after a workshop they'd run- it was a generous and thoughtful gift and the cupboards were complete bare so I ate the lot over the next month. I felt obliged to drink the water kefir. Waste not etc. I started to notice the mood changes ( calmer ) after the first week with the water kefir. Now, I'm absolutely mired knee deep in a town full of hippies who are prone to believing the slightest expensive shiny stupidity, so I was inclined to be sceptical. Very very skeptical. But I turned over the water kefir ( tibicos ) grains and made a few batches in a row and drank them too. Having half-read a few of T's posts about gut bacteria before the issue started making the science blogs seriously I figured there might be something in it. Then I read a publication on the changes in gut bacteria in Parkinsons' patients. I have Parkinsons on both sides of the family and my lifestyle years back hasn't exactly seen me avoid some of the possible elicitors. So if there is a way to slow down the progression while I'm at the age a few family members were diagnosed at it's gotta be worth a try So I figured what the hell. Have been on it 2 years, just turning the grains over and making new batches weekly. I replaced my 2yo grains with new ones, as the old ones had slowed down, and noticed different effects- more mood smoothness than in previous six month's batches I've been off it for a few weeks here and there while on the road, and I notice a real difference after a fortnight without water kefir, the tension starts to come back slowly, and it goes again after the new water kefir batch Placebo? Maybe. I don't give a fuck. I just sailed thru menopause asymptomatically. Better than pre-menopause in fact. My family has a history of menopausal cyclones which can lead to years of estrangement and unpleasantness for everyone. Not me, smooth as silk. You can hate me for it later I spend about an hour a week making the drink. It is totally worth it.

Nice Fred This. Always this. Latest one here is to really isolate in time mushroom growing lab sessions from plant growing lab sessions. Even in FP bags actively growing mycelia attracts compost flies/ fungus gnat flies. Not many, but enough to get into the flow hood working area and the flow hood when it's on. Once one of them flies over your sterile work it's anyone's guess as to whether it's contaminated or not. So I clump all my myco work at the EOM and then spend the next week or so out of the lab til the ferment flies rack off.

Bizarre like how? Tastes like Christmas trees and aliens? Intrigued Congratulations! So glad it's going well for you

Am road testing one right now and I'm not impressed. Tho admittedly I still have to run some samples. It's not as simple to use as the hype suggests- far from it. First point is the 29 page manual. First hint that things are about to get complex Second- the documentation is pretty good- but a long way from perfect. SCIO isn't just the unit, it's the interface you set up between your SCIO unit, your web browser and the sampling package. You need to define that relationship. Thirdly there's a lot of things which aren't said- or are hidden away from the shiny main pages. Like the fact that the unit doesn't handle liquid testing right now ( tho they are allegedly going to fix that soon ), probably isn't going to be useful for testing medicinal cannabis at all ( spectral range is 700-1100nm ) and it doesn't work reliably to detect compounds <1%. I'm not familiar with NIR spectrometry, but I've a bit of experience running a UV-VIS standard spectro, and still the learning curve is way beyond what was implied in the PR ( FWIW I didn't buy the unit, I'm road testing it for someone ). Fourth point is the need to be constantly connected online. Not good for field analysis. Fifth is that the online forums aren't as well populated as you'd think, given the advertising and excitement around it's release. Which is a tell all of it's own- not as many people seem to be engaging with it beyond product purchase- and there's the rub. It will take a lot of crowd work to finally determine a reliable best-use application for it. I reckon it will be something most purchasers find too complicated and stick in a drawer. Running samples tonight and tomorrow, will update to see how it pans out

The professional units can be found really cheaply on occasion. However as mimzy says there are a few caveats. Replacement filters are exxy and may need to be factored into the cost. Even in the cleanest work areas the filters degrade over time. Moving the units can shift the seals etc possibly compromising sterility. Ideally you would have the unit professionally checked once it is in place, it used to cost about $100 but I'm not sure now. Check with the local TAFE or uni to find out who services the units in your area and ask the company to add you to the visitng list next time they're in your area ( save on travel fees ). In a pinch just leave open petries containing MEA or LBA along the full back length of the filter- for 30 sec and 1 min. Label, seal and incubate for 10 days to get an idea as to how well the final filter works. The professional units are heavy, and large. Factor this in when moving them- you may need to remove a door and have people handy to help, if the units don't come with a stand make sure you have something suitably weight bearing to get them to work height. Also consider the floor strength for their resting place- if you're working in an old house or an old shed with a flimsy floor the weight could place a strain- try to place it over some load bearing floor joists Clean the pre-filters regularly- they are the front line of defence for your final ( and more expensive ) HEPA filter

My understanding of this is it's not the sampling/ sequencing which is the expensive part any more ( providing you have a competent person and suitable facility to provide a quality sample- even these are readily available these days ) The exxy bit is getting the sequence data analysed by someone who knows what they're doing. I know a few such people socially and once they started to explain the process to me my head assploded. Mind you last time I checked was like 2011 Once the day comes when you send in your plant sample and a machine spits the data back at you in a form you can understand ( Echinopsis- yes! ) then we'll be able to get all these tricky taxonomic questions sorted. Til then just let the taxonomists flog it out in the carpark, they're a tetchy bunch, it can be hard to keep two of them in a room together ;)

I know that The Windup Girl won a whole heap of awards & was really popular & all, but I really didn't like it. He had some interesting tech stuff, some of it pretty cool & imaginative, but I felt that he totally ruined it with all the gratuitous sex & violence Interesting POV. I found the sex and violence well within context and not gratuitous at all. The first uses for most new technology are often sex, drugs or warfare, and the descriptions of the GM sex worker's treatment well establish the reason for her feelings of conflict and humilitiation without going into overdrive IMO. The oppressiveness of the environment the story is set in are in is well within the possibilities offered by the political and social climate described . For a bit of contrast, there's Margaret Atwood's Oryx & Crake, which explores a similar post-biotech/climate-change apocalypse world, but does it in a more Slaughterhouse Five kind of style... I dunno, maybe it's just me, but I actually find all the atrocities to be more vivid when they're not spelled out quite so graphically. Ooh I must read Oryx & Crake again, her book The Handmaid's Tale is something I periodically re-read and is brilliant- no idea what the movie was like Used to love Vonnegut as a kid, read 'em to death. I'll wait a few more years and re-read I don't like all of Neal Stephenson's stuff, but for his take on the nanotech-future, his book The Diamond Age explores what a society might be like if you could just build anything you liked in your local matter-compiler (or whatever the hell they're called). It was a bit more imaginative than his standard super-geek-saves-the-day schtick. Stephenson's female characters are getting better, Cryptonomicon was a good book but the main sheila was a bit 2D. REAMDE was much smoother with it's character development. I'll give The Diamond Age a re-read, ta for headsup

Yes to all these. Love 'em. Except Anathem, which made me want to eat my own teeth from sheer frustration at the pretentiousness of it all Also: anything by Kazuo Ishaguro. Can be a little frustrating too because he gets inside his character's heads so bloody well, and none of them are perfect. But lyrical prose always gets me and his is gorgeous DBC Pierre- yes. Vernon God Little was my introduction to him, I think the only one of his I haven't read is the Borgia one Peter Carey- earlier works are more elegantly spare. Later aren't bad, but his early stuff is lovely And if you are even thinking about only buying one fiction book this year, get "The Windup Girl" by Paolo Bacigalupi

Nice write up alternate, thank you!

Do not send nudie pics Check yr PMs instead

Great pictures- thanks pan! And ta for the link and to dood too for the RTFM/ translation tip ( I hadn't, I did, it was worth it ) Would you differentiate those from P.viridis and P. carth plants of the same age? I have seen pics of P. colorata where the leaves are a much darker green, but that could be variations in growing conditions/ computer screen colour matching etc. Would love to see some pics when it flowers Nice writeup on an interesting species- thank you

May I ask if this was from a plant you grew, or did you purchase the leaf from a supplier? Pls ignore if this question is legally problematic to answer.

Nice. What was the route of administration for these? Oral dose? Chewed or brewed? Smoked? etc

A mate has stock of Enzogenol ( Pinus radiata bark extract ) he was considering dispensing to a relative who has mid/ late stage dementia in an attempt to ameliorate some of her symptoms http://www.enzogenol.com His relative is currently on dementia medication. I'm wondering whether there would be contraindications for supplementing this with Enzeogenol Most of the publications I've found specifically referencing Enzogenol seem to have small sample sizes and aren't found in ranking journals. A few have taken place at Swinburne tho, which gives me a little more confidence than studies at some other institutions Incompatible medications for supplementation with Pycnogenol ( another Pine bark extract, in this case Pinus pinaster ) include anyone taking immune suppressants, anyone with a bleeding disorder. Side effects can include increase the risk of hemorrhaging etc. http://www.livestrong.com/article/412062-what-are-the-dangers-of-pycnogenol/ Could I be right in assuming that there are similar toxicological profiles in both products on the basis of them being extracts of closely related species? Doses of 480mg/ day over 6 months are reportedly safe for Enzogenol http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691512006345 Anyone have experience using or dispensing either product? I'm only working off web searches here. My first instinct is to recommend against supplementation at this point on the grounds that a) the relative isn't likely to receive much benefit from the supplement at this stage of dementia as it's a long term option, and not sure if there is a risk of increased bleeding if the relative suffers a fall while unsupervised. But I'm very conservative when recommending new things to anyone already on medication unless they can be closely monitored for the first few days at least, which in fact may be possible in this instance

Disclaimer- Actions in this post should only be undertaken in places where the cultivation of Lophophora is legal Clonal propagation of Lophophora spp is slow and not a viable way to produce mescaline. And for those unfamiliar with aseptic technique, it's not highly productive. If it's mescaline bearing cactus you're specifically after, in a place where cactus is legal for the purposes of consumption, grow them from cuttings- the tek below will not help you or make it faster However Loph cultivation in TC is an ideal way to learn about tissue culture. Seed is easy to obtain, easy to sterilise, the physical cactus, once sterile, is easy to work with and will greatly enhance your understanding of both aseptic culture techniques and the responses of cactus to hormones in-vitro This media can be useful in conservation work where individual populations and plants are identified, kept separate and used for breeding purposes to re-establish diversity I've used and keep Lophophora williamsii in culture for teaching purposes and it's response and ease of handling make it remarkably successful for these purposes Proliferation media derived from the paper ( it's in Spanish, I can't remember where I got it from ) Propagacion in vitro de Peyote ( Lophophora williamsii ( Lemaire)Coulter ) JG Ortiz-Montiel y Alcantara Garcia R ___________________________________________________________________ Lophophora proliferation by aseptic axillary culture: Aseptically sterilise fresh Lophophora seed- 30 seconds in 1.5% bleach ( with no added perfumes etc )- rinse twice with sterile water and allow to dry on sterile filter paper- separate seeds so they can dry, and not cross contaminate. Seed will germinate on MS media with vitamins under coolwhite at 16/8 light cycle at 24C. Better light is a single grolux tube at about 30cm distance- it seems to reduce red phenolic leaching. You can do this in a closed petri dish and dibble out cactus seedlings into individual tubes as they arise Subculture to more freshly made sterile media about once every month or two. Larger plants have a better response than smaller ones to the following media: To make 1L proliferation media 4.33g MS ( no vitamins ) 100mg inositol 1mg Thiamine.HCl 1mg Kinetin 0.1mg NAA 30g sugar 8-10 g agar or 7g gelcarin ( pref, but does footle the pH around a lot more ) pH 5.8 Sterilise. Subculture as single or double axillary bud explants, using larger size cuttings ( ie don't excise too close to the ax bud, leave a bit around it ) ____________________________________________ The above does not guarantee success, different populations and even individuals within the same population can have *very* different responses to the same media- a given for all plants in TC However if you post your results or want to discuss problems or questions, the above process is an excellent place to start. There are a fair number of things I've left our, assuming some familiarity with the technology. Happiest to answer questions here from ppl who have given it a go, or are seriously looking at undertaking learning the process, and who are prepared to share in this thread Edited for spelling. The re-edited because it wasn't wrong in the first place

I spent about 5 years when I first moved to the subtropics trying to grow various strains of berry I picked up retail That was a long time ago, but my advice is don't bother. They were a PITA to keep alive, and that's despite getting a few frosts here every winter. Stick with berries which will grow in the subtropics. Atherton raspberry is one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubus_probus They aren't as sweet as the European species but there are occasionally commercial cvs available which are def sweeter- check your local native plant specialist After a few years foraging the local ones here I gave in and just transplanted some young plants I found on my walks to my garden They're great foraging, low on thorny, and robust

I have unbelievable amounts of fungal gnat larvae in my garden soil. Have had for years. But it's now getting in the way of me establishing outdoor Stropharia beds in my yard and I'm over it. Anyone have experience with predatory mites for knocking fungus gnat larvae on the head- specifically in garden soil ( not potted plant/ greenhouse ) environments? http://www.bioworksonline.com.au/index.php Other possibilities for dealing with the ongoing infestation have been rejected, but have included letting the neighbours chooks in the yard for two or three gnat breeding cycles, dernching the whole place in neem on a regular basis, and totally razing the surrounding vegetation so that the soil is more exposed and doesn't provide habitat Even more relevant would be tips and hacks from NNSW and surrounds

Ah, and if you're using automatically opening planthouse side and roof vents, don't digitise them. Grab some of the temp sensitive pneumatic ones instead. One less thing to program, and they last years

One I have and still use that fits the bill is a Provalue TS-EA1 I bought from an IRL storefront. Not sure if they're still around, it was years ago but the unit is solid and has 8 on/off settings Bedofspines is right, digital ones do fail more often. Maybe ask on a dedicated myco forum? They'd need more frequent timing for misting. Mmm yeah, all that sexy shiny. You still need to check it daily tho. Have analogue backups ready and at hand, shit fails all the time, you need to re-set some things for daylight saving and others will automatically re-adjust. And remember you may also have to set some things differently for seasonality. Misting at 0930 in winter in shade is one thing, in summer you risk frying stuff. Personally I'd set up for analogue/ manual first and add automated digital piece by piece *after* you have read and understood all the manuals and added each update one at a time. I ran a few semi-automated quarantine greenhouses years back with quite a few add-ons and timers stuck in powerpoints and they went well with daily checks. You can't ever set and forget and expect to have plants for long. Ensure your power points are weatherproof too if you're ever going to use misting systems The analogue ones with the timer face and the pointy things sometimes have a web address where you can purchase extra pointy bits if you want more cycles