Tsuda Harutoshi

M17 medium is a widely used culture medium for lactic streptococci. When it was first reported by Terzaghi & Sandine (1975), one of the reference media used for comparison was T5 medium (Thomas et al., 1974). T5 medium contains phosphate salts and shows buffering capacity equivalent to that of M17 medium, making it an excellent choice for lactic streptococci that produce large amounts of lactic acid. However, T5 medium was found to form a precipitate, and the authors concluded that the clear M17 medium was superior. Fifty years later, M17 medium has become the standard. When I read the description that T5 medium produces a precipitate, I thought, “Hmm, is …

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While walking through the laboratory, I came across the universe beetles on a desiccator.

Yesterday, we held a welcome party for the new third-year undergraduate students (a cherry blossom viewing at Hirosaki Park). The cherry blossoms were in full bloom at just the right time. In this same spirit, we were delighted to welcome two new members to our laboratory. We look forward to working together over the next two years. We are grateful to the fourth-year undergraduate and graduate students who handled all the preparations.

This year, three undergraduate students have graduated. Congratulations! You all worked so hard. As your new lives begin in April, keep doing what you’ve been doing — I know everyone will be fine.

We held our senior thesis presentations yesterday and today. All students completed their presentations successfully, and we could see the relief on their faces. The presentations were of excellent quality. Well done to all!