At the Staatliche Studienkolleg of Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences, foreign applicants prepare specifically for studying at a German university. On October 20 and 23, 2025, students of the so-called M course, who aspire to study medicine at a later date, were given the opportunity to gain practical laboratory experience in the Laboratory for Applied Microbiology at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences. They were accompanied by their subject teacher Thomas Kloß.

After an obligatory safety briefing, Anja Wagner introduced the planned experiments. The aim of the practical course was to determine the cell count in commercially available baker’s yeast by direct counting with a Thoma counting chamber. At the beginning, the students first estimated how many yeast cells are contained in one gram of yeast. This was followed by a microscopic examination. After initial support in adjusting the microscopes, the participants were able to determine the cell numbers independently – with sometimes surprising deviations between the estimates and the actual values determined.

In a second experiment, the students stained yeast cells with methylene blue in order to be able to distinguish between living (colorless) and dead (blue-stained) cells. Here, too, a microscopic evaluation of the specimens was carried out.

The internship offered the students an exciting opportunity to deepen theoretical content from biochemistry lessons in practice. For many, the visit to the laboratory was a welcome change from everyday teaching and a motivating insight into scientific work at a university.

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

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