John Cherwonogrodzky wrote:
>> Dear Colleagues:
> I have been doing a little work with mice infected with fungi. I have
> noticed that their serum samples, stored at minus 70 C have fungal growth at
> the top. I haven't had time to pursue this, but this observation runs counter
> to logic. Things don't grow on frozen media (though I once read that 15% of
> the water is still in liquid phase) I think It more likely that there was
> growth in the serum samples when I worked with these at room temperature, and
> then upon freezing the fungi were somehow compressed to the top by the
> formation of ice crystals. Any comment? Thanks...John
Check the manual of your freezer; some go through a daily defrosting
cycle to remove the ice-buildup. Maybe yours is taken an extra long time
and your samples are constantly thawed and refrozen.
Achim
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Achim Recktenwald, PhD
IBEX Technologies, Inc.
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