Petri dishes are shallow round glass or plastic dishes with lids used in science labs to grow and study cells, bacteria, and viruses. They were invented by Julius Richard Petri in 1877. They are filled with an agar-based growth medium for cell culture and have various uses, including teaching seed germination and dissection. Petri dishes are constantly being explored for new uses and are a vital tool in scientific discoveries.
A petri dish is a type of shallow round glass or plastic dish with a tight-fitting lid that is a vital tool in science laboratories. The uses of this piece of equipment are varied, but it is best known for containing a culture medium in which cells, bacteria, and viruses can be grown and studied. Most major scientific discoveries have been greatly aided by the use of petri dishes, whether they involve the structure of a virus or the ability to clone flesh.
The invention is named after Julius Richard Petri, who conceived the idea in 1877, frustrated with existing tools for cultures. Most scientists used shallow bowls or bottles, which were difficult to work with and prone to contamination. Petri thought that a shallow circular dish would be easier to work with and that it would be easy to make a lid for. The lid prevents the petri dish from being contaminated and the basic shape makes them easy to stack and arrange in various configurations.
When a petri dish is used for cell culture, it is usually filled with an agar-based growth medium, a gel made from red algae extracts and a variety of nutrients. The culture medium has a gel-like consistency on which most crops thrive, although sometimes nutrients need to be varied to meet the needs of the cultured organism. To meet the needs of finicky organisms, it can take a scientist several weeks to adjust the environment of a variety of dishes. Once the culture begins to thrive, the organism can be researched.
There are other uses for the petri dish: many schools, for example, use them to teach students about seed germination, as the clear dish allows the observer to see each stage of growth. Additionally, this dish is commonly used for dissection, because it is ideally sized to be placed under the microscope. It can also be used for basic experimental purposes such as transporting liquids in sterile containers or drying fluids for study.
Other uses for the petri dish are constantly being explored by the scientific community, and it is a laboratory tool that is unlikely to be abandoned in the foreseeable future. Major advances in science such as growing cells integrated with electronic circuits, cloning organs, and understanding viruses have all been accomplished with the help of the humble petri dish. While other methods of studying organisms in the laboratory are being developed, the need for the basic capability to rapidly grow organisms in a sterile environment will never fade.
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