Project Hypothesis:

One or more of the following yeast species (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces bayanus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae D47) can survive in seawater, hair, or asphalt (petroleum) more effectively, improving hair mat technology for oil spill remediation.

Oil spills are a major environmental problem, because they can cause severe harm to marine ecosystems, wildlife and humans in the way of toxicity and contaminating the food chain through small to large animals including humans. Oil spills can destroy coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs, and wetlands, leaving a long-term contamination that can seep into sediments and remain for years making very slow and difficult the recovery process.( )

An idea that has been accredited to Phil McCroy, a hairdresser from Alabama, in the late 1980’s, noticed that otters’ fur was heavily coated in oil after the Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred. He started to experiment with the left overs of the hair cuts that he performed in his salon, realizing that hair was a very effective absorbent of oil while repelling water.(  but it was not used for it due to polyester working better according to scientists and it not being planned out.   )

Late non-profit company (Matter Of Trust) discovered how to make hair and fur mats that soak up oil. There are yeasts(saccharomyces bayanus, cerevisiae) that soak up oil such as S.exiguus which could use the harmful chemicals in kerosene for its growth. We know this(sort of), because there are some fruit wines that have the yeast used to make the wine, and eat the fruit oil that gives the wine a fruity flavour.

Experiment;;

Table 3: Experiments Procedures

1-Experiment 1: Yeast cells were observed succesfully alive in the first 2 hours of inoculation, during the next ten days yeast cells continued to be alive.

2-Experiment 2: Yeast cells were observed to be successfully alive in a sea-like water concentration of 3,5% of salt. 

3- Experiment 3: Yeast cells were observed through the microscope, impregnated and alive, on the hair clusters.

4-Experiment 4: Yeast cells were observed through the microscope, feeding the liquid phase of asphalt. Pending observations need to be done to characterize the morphology, and the health of the cell.

5-Experiment 5: Yeast was observed 

Experiment 1 and 2 where conducted together.

Experiemnts 3,4, and 5 where conducted in one same petri dish.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x0DH2dlMG1qFUL8t4YKKsCMZ58ONEDGx/edit?gid=1982618501#gid=1982618501

Analysis

Saccharomyces cerevisiae/ Saccharomyces bayanus/ Saccharomyces cerevisiae D47,

Sac Ceriv: In the 1st, The cell samples looked rounded and the budding pattern was in clusters and very crowded and it described a multilateral budding. In the 2nd observation In the beginning there was a lot of blue but then I began to see more white cells. In the 3rd observation I saw that the cells began to change shape into oval shapes and began to elongate in the thin slice, this elongated shape may indicate environmental stress meaning that they are running out of food and that other conditions are affecting the shape. 3rd observation, Asphalt, my oil substitute, is not very visual. When we used the s100 augmentation, I could see that it was visible if some cells were deformed or had unusual shapes. Confirming environmental stress.

In the slide it was possible to observe some leftover asphalt pieces, looking to be a deformed shape among all the cells and a sort of- evil dark booger color. This indicates that the asphalt is being consumed by the yeasts. 

In the petri dish the hair was observed covered by the yeasts, it has partially some stains from the asphalt but was completely covered by the yeast cells.This proves the capacity of the hair of attracting yeast cells and the oil sub, aka asphalt, making it useful for modifying the tech of oil spill remediation.

It feels to me as if 1 is the cleaner one without that much asphalt leftover, not only in the slide but also in the dish. This feels like it is the best one.

Sac Bayanus: In the 1st observation, I saw that the budding was multilateral/unilateral. It looked like there were groups of yeast that were in multilateral shapes, but they had borders of alive and white cells that were unilateral. It's a neat direction of reproducing. Some of the yeast cells looked long and crowded and had unusual shapes and looked deformed, but they are still white and alive. It could be an indicator of environmental stress. 

In the slides, there were a lot of leftovers of asphalt, in a dark coloration, a kind of reddish color.

In the petri dish, In the hair and yeast asphalt portion, in this case, the hair also shows impregnation of yeast cells on top of the hair as well as big chunks of asphalt attached to the hair. There seems to be an unusual appearance in the portions of where the asphalts and the cells meet. It was a green color. 

Sac Ceriv D47: in the 1st observation, I observed that the yeast cells were very active at the beginning and rounded. The portions of asphalt show that some yeast cells have a yellowish colour. There is the possibility that the yeast are feeding on the asphalt. There has been no change of shape, only colour. The inoculation took longer for this yeast. After 14 hours, the thing slideshowed green spots which could be leftovers of the asphalt. This may be indicators that yeast are feeding on the asphalt.

In the slides there were some portions of the methylene blue crystallized with needle-like shapes.

In the petri dish there were also a lot of asphalt portions.

In the 3rd observation the cells looked deformed and the asphalt portions looked deformed and the asphalt was changing color and there was a lot of asphalt left, the yeast cells looked oval like and elongated, there were several sizes, evidence of budding, and the color % of the alive cells were really high.aka there were a lot of white cells in the last portions of the observations. There is a difference in shape between the alive cells and the dead cells. The dead ones rounded, but the alive ones were deformed and elongated, they were all next to each other.

In all 3, the hair was very good at sticking to the oil substitute(asphalt) and yeast. Letting the yeast consume the asphalt.

After conducting several tests on the three different types of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae/ Saccharomyces bayanus/ Saccharomyces cerevisiae D47,) in different conditions of high salinity, temperature changes from twenty-one to thirty-five degrees celsius, and with the presence of the hair close to cells. It’s safe to conclude that within the three different types of yeast, it was observed that yeast 1-Saccharomyces cerevisiae- was the most time-efficient in nutrient consumption within the first 15 hours after inoculation. All the yeasts were able to reproduce and survive and consume the asphalt in the conditions we established to mimic those they would face while cleaning up ocean oil spills. that Saccharomyces cerevisiae was the fastest at using nutrients in the first 15 hours. All the yeasts could grow, survive, and eat the asphalt in conditions similar to cleaning up oil in seawater. However, Saccharomyces cerevisiae’s cells were the healthiest during the experiment time.

This modification of the hair mat technology, by incorporating this type of yeast cells into the hair, can improve its efficiency and avoid the production of new garbage that can not be disposed of after its use because its degradation takes too long and costs a lot of money. This yeast would involve low-cost production and less risk to the environment.

The next extensions to this research in the future may include testing the incorporation of yeasts in large-scale sizes and modifying the way the oil spill would be collected so that this technology can be applied properly in the field. Next, an application that mimics a reactive barrier with this yeasty hair mat is what comes next.

Sources of possible error:

How the petri dishes were cleaned

How the hair was cleaned

How the yeast grew

The type of yeast

The temperature of the environment around

How salty the water is

The hair type.

the sanitization of the areas we did the tests in.

The dye might have blocked the view and or actions of some things.

Cros-contamination in the samples.

1. https://www.cysf.org/ethics-and-due-care/. for helping with the ethics and approving the project
2. https://www.cysf.org/wp-content/uploads/Use-of-Animal-or-Humans-Guidelines.pdf for helping with the ethics and approving the project
3. NOAA – Oil Spill Response: This resource offers comprehensive information on how oil spills impact marine life, coastal habitats, and local economies. It explains the environmental processes affected by oil contamination and the challenges of cleanup. NOAA Oil Spill Response. URL: https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/
4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): The EPA provides an overview of oil spills, including their causes, ecological and economic impacts, and methods used in prevention and cleanup. EPA Oil Spill Information. URL: https://www.epa.gov/oil-spills-prevention-and-preparedness-regulations/oil-spills
5. National Geographic: Articles and documentaries by National Geographic have explored high-profile oil spills like Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon, discussing both the immediate and long-term effects on marine ecosystems and communities. National Geographic Oil Spills URL: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/oil-spills
6.  Beopoulos A., Cescut J., Haddouche R., Uribelarrea JL., Molina-Jouve C., Nicaud JM. 2009. Yarrowia lipolytica as a model for bio-oil production. Progress in Lipid Research 48 .pp. 375-387.
7.  

Acknowledgement: 

thanks to CYSF for approving the project ethics, Thanks to my entire family tree, for emotional support.

thanks to NOAA – Oil Spill Response for being the resource that offers comprehensive information on how oil spills impact marine life, coastal habitats, and local economies. 

thanks to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): The EPA provides an overview of oil spills, including their causes, ecological and economic impacts, and methods used in prevention and cleanup. EPA Oil Spill Information.

thanks to National Geographic: Articles and documentaries by National Geographic have explored high-profile oil spills like Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon, discussing both the immediate and long-term effects on marine ecosystems and communities. 

Thanks to the authors: Beopoulos A., Cescut J., Haddouche R., Uribelarrea JL., Molina-Jouve C., Nicaud JM. 2009. Yarrowia lipolytica as a model for bio-oil production of Progress in Lipid Research 48 .pp. 375-387.