What is a common use for an incubator in a microbial lab?

An incubator plays a crucial role in a microbial lab by maintaining a controlled environment for growth. This includes regulating temperature, humidity, and sometimes oxygen levels, which are essential for the optimal growth of microorganisms. By providing stable conditions, an incubator allows scientists to cultivate bacteria, yeast, and other microbes under specific settings that mimic their natural habitats, thereby ensuring that experiments yield accurate and reproducible results.

Other options suggest functions that are not aligned with the primary purpose of an incubator. For example, freezing cultures is contrary to the function of an incubator, which provides warmth and stability, while cooling samples after heating and storing chemicals do not pertain specifically to the growth process of microorganisms. Hence, maintaining a controlled growth environment is undisputedly the primary use of an incubator in a microbial lab.