Yeast
Growth Curves
A "yeast growth curve" -- a graph
depicting
stages of population growth and
decline in a closed
environment:
(first)
exponential 'doubling' and
then 'doubling again' growth until carrying capacity of environment is
approached;
(second) gradual increase and then
'leveling off' at the peak; and
(third) very
rapid population decline to zero as the population is poisoned by
its accumulated waste in a closed environment.
'Classic' example
is
yeast in a champagne bottle: yeast-beasties continue to reproduce until
concentration of alcohol [yeast 'piss'] and carbon dioxide [the
'sparkle' in traditionally-made champagne, but lethal 'morning breath'
to another yeast] poisons them.
Writing to a friend about the inevitable consequences of population growth, was
looking for an example online. Skimmed through text descriptions
of about the first 100 search results
for 'yeast growth curve,' glanced at the ones I thought would likely
have a good graphic.
What I found seems really chilling
'newthink' in the face of human
overpopulation:
The 'decline' phase of yeast
growth curves -- that I remember very
clearly from textbooks used in the 1950s -- is gone.
Why are people denying the
reality that we face? It's not
too late, not yet ...
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[a few examples, with the
incomplete part of the graphs sketched in purple ... ]
dynamic representation
