pro lab
140 kPa Pressure: The Precision Science of Fluorescent Micro-Injections
A practical guide to fluorescent tracer injection in Physarum veins, including 140 kPa pressure, 150 ms pulses, common clogging failures, and post-injection imaging strategy.
The Laboratory Medium: Agar Formulas and Recipes
Master the chemical substrate of the blob. From Standard NNA to the high-nutrient Oat Flan 'Cream', here are the professional recipes.
The Sclerotium Bank: Long-Term Storage
How to preserve your blob for months or even decades. The filter paper banking method used by professional myxomycete researchers.
Biocontrol: Managing Mold and Contamination
How to identify and defeat the enemies of your blob. A guide to Aspergillus, Penicillium, and bacterial sludge.
Home Lab Hub Setup: Build a Reliable Blob Workstation
A practical layout for your slime mold home lab so transfers, feeding, cleaning, and tracking all happen in one repeatable workflow.
Irradiated vs Old-Fashioned: The High-Stakes Choice of Slime Mold Oatmeal
Why oat type changes Physarum growth quality, how processed or irradiated oats can reduce performance, and how to standardize feeding for reproducible results.
Macrophotography Protocols: Monitoring Your Slime Without Blinding It
How to run long-term Physarum monitoring with minimal behavioral distortion, including 15-minute scan cadence, dark-chamber setup, and light-stress troubleshooting.
Contaminant Logic: Why Non-Nutrient Agar is a Scientist's Best Friend
How water agar reduces microbial competition in Physarum cultures and why substrate-food separation improves control.
The Perfect Lab: Engineering a 22C/90% Humidity Slime Habitat
A practical protocol for keeping Physarum cultures stable at 22C and 90% humidity, with daily checks that prevent dormancy, sporulation, and contamination drift.
Seal Mitigation: Modifying Tupperware for Maximum Slime Respiration
How to prevent suffocation, drying, and contamination when culturing Physarum in household airtight containers.
The Quarterly Sclerotia: Managing Senescence in Laboratory Strains
How to recognize aging in long-running Physarum cultures and use quarterly sclerotia resets to maintain strong growth and reliable experiments.
Sterilization and Safety: Standard Lab Protocols
How to maintain an axenic (clean) environment for your slime mold. Autoclave settings, microwave hacks, and safety warnings.
Syringe Feeding: Accelerating Absorption through Pre-Hydrated Oats
How to pre-hydrate oat flakes with a dropper or syringe to improve uptake while avoiding the contamination traps of over-wet feeding.
Tyvek and RTV: The Professional Guide to Micro-Filtration Hardware
When to use syringe filters, Tyvek patches, and RTV silicone in custom Physarum containers, with practical tradeoffs.