I once tried to grow magnetotactic bacteria. For the growth media, you had to prepare a witch's brew of unusual chemicals which sent me on a goose hunt around a

I once tried to grow magnetotactic bacteria. For the growth media, you had to prepare a witch's brew of unusual chemicals which sent me on a goose hunt around a few friendly chem labs. The protocol called for making a couple of litres; smaller quantities would just exacerbate measurement errors. After cooking it up, you were supposed to add 2mL to the growth media and incubate the whole mess for four weeks. Needless to say, I could never get them to grow. Edit: I found the protocol! NTA 1.5g MgSO4 3.0g MnSO4 0.5g NaCl 1.5g FeSO4 0.1g CaCl2 0.1g CoSO4 0.1g ZnSO4 0.1g CuSO4 0.025g AlK(SO4)2 0.01g H3BO3 0.01g Na2MoO4 0.4g NiCl2 0.01g Phew. Did I mention: it was an anaerobe? Flushing an exotic growth media with nitrogen is a dull way to spend a Friday afternoon.