I know it is just the beginning of the week, but I wanted to give an update because I did something different today. I got to play with dry ice! Just kidding, you can't play with it and you need to be careful with the dry ice because it is very cold and can burn you.
I was helping out someone in the lab who needed to access certain mouse brain slides from the freezer. Basically when they sliced up the mice brains they mounted all the slices on slides and now they found out what regions of the brain they specifically need to look at so they are accessing slides with those particular regions.
The slides need to be kept frozen, so we had to stand in the cold room (basically a small room that feels like you are standing in an industrial sized freezer) and leave the slides in their box sitting on dry ice so they stay cold. Then, the person I was working with would look at the tiny brain slices on the slide to figure out which ones had the regions they were looking for.
It was a cool experience, but I had dressed for a typical Arizona summer, so I was freezing! Anyway I'll make more updates throughout the week.
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Hello again!
I wasn't able to do mouse brain imaging today because someone else is using the microscope, so instead I was taught how to make gels for DNA testing the mice. Basically with electrophoresis DNA samples are placed in wells on the gel, and then the gel is put in a tank with a current running through it. Smaller pierces of DNA are pulled through the gel more quickly than larger pieces, so at the end there are distinct bands of different DNA pieces in the gel. Looking at the banding pattern tells the lab whether the mouse is normal, a knockout mouse, or a heterozygous mouse, and it also confirms the sex of the mouse.
I attached a picture of the banding on the gel after it had been run, and the electrophoresis tank that the gel was put in. The bands aren't that differentiated because we didn't leave it in very long since it was just practice.
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Hope everyone is having a great Friday!
I didn't get to work on imaging the mouse brain slides much this week because other people were using the microscope, but I did get to learn a lot of new things. Besides the gel electrophoresis experiment I mentioned above, I got to learn how to run the dishwasher for lab equipment, and I shadowed a lab employee who was getting training on how to test the lab for radiation.
Have a nice weekend!
Hey Serena! Your project sounds so cool (haha literally because of the freezer in the last post I know comedy gold). I was wondering if you could explain the difference between the different types of mice that you described. How are they different in the context of modeling schizophrenia?
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah! I considered adding in that joke but thought it would be too corny. Anyway, the EGR3 knockout mice are the ones used to model schizophrenia, and the normal mice are used as a control. The heterozygous mice are not useful for the experiments so they are used to breed more mice.
DeleteI-cee what you guys did there! I would've loved to have been freezer buddies together. It sounds like you've had another fun week! I remember vaguely when we did that gel electrophoresis lab in biology...I forgot, how long should you leave the gel in to get the best results? Thanks for another great share!
ReplyDeleteThe time varies based on the type of gel used and the size of the gel plate. For mine we kept it in the electrophoresis tank for about 30 minutes, but it should have been kept in for a little longer, more like 45 minutes.
DeleteAh, dry ice is always the best to pla- I mean, carefully handle with the greatest caution possible, of course. *cough.* It is so fascinating to be able to locate the specific parts of the brain that are important to the experiment jut by looking at the slides. I think the best part of working in a lab is probably all the fancy machinery. How can you tell which mouse is the knockout mouse, the heterozygous mouse, or the normal mouse from the bands? Your project is really interesting, and I hope you're enjoying yourself in a lab! What is your favorite part of working in a lab so far? Thank you for the update!
ReplyDeleteThe different types of mice have different bands, spaced differently. This is based on the sizes of the DNA pieces, which is different for different genotypes. I don't remember which banding pattern is associated with which genotype; I will ask someone.
DeleteHi Serena!
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice to hear you had a fun and interesting time in the lab today! However, how does all of this relate to schizophrenia and possible treatments for it? Also, how do the different types, heterozygous or knockout mice, differ while being examined?
I hope you have a great week! Looking forward to your next post!
Julie Loison
The mice have been genetically altered so they have schizophrenia like symptoms. Please read my previous blog posts for more information. Thanks for reading!
DeleteHi Serena! It is so cool that you were able to work with dry ice. I am curious to know the importance of freezing the mice brains. IS it simple to keep the fresh or are their other reasons? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteIt is to keep the mice brains fresh.
DeleteHi Serena! It's so interesting to hear about the different jobs you're able to perform in the lab! Sounds like each week is even better than the last! Is all the work you perform on the brains inside the cold room, or are you able to take the slides out for prolonged periods of time? Can't wait to hear what is in store for next week! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteSophia Vaidya
I am able to take the brains I am imaging out of the fridge for a while, but the slides I was working with in the cold room needed to stay cold, so they could not be out for a prolonged period of time.
DeleteHey Serena! I was just curious as to why you chose Dr. Amelia Galliano's lab for your research? It looks like you are making great progress and enjoying yourself at the same time! Also, does the dishwasher for the lab equipment work the same way as a normal dishwasher in houses? Can't wait to see your progress!
ReplyDeleteI am interested in neuroscience and genetics, two fields the lab is primarily working in. I was put in contact with the lab through my faculty advisor Ms. Reznik, whose son Derek Reznik is my onsite mentor.
DeleteAlso the dishwasher looks very different from the ones in our houses but it works similarly.
Hi Serena!
ReplyDeleteas per usual, I really enjoyed hearing your updates! It's so cool that you did the gel with the DNA, because we actually did a virtual lab for it in honors bio recently (it probably wasn't as cool as doing it in the flesh). I was wondering, what are you comparing in the DNA of the mice? Are you determining which has the knockout genes, or are you considering other factors?
Thanks!
We are looking for the sex of the mouse, and whether it is Egr3 - or not. For more information please read through my post again, I described what we are looking for.
Deletehi Serena,
ReplyDeletei am sorry that you were unable to work with the microscopes, and imaging the mouse brains, but at least you were able to gain more lab experience, by performing different tasks. i was wondering how long does the gel DNA testing usually take, because it sounds like it would take a while? thank you for the update your research absolutely fascinates me, i hope you are able to image mouse brains this week!
The time varies depending on the type of gel being used. For mine it should have taken between 45 min and an hour, but we took it out early at about 30 min because it was only practice.
DeleteHey Serena, I was excited to hear that you got to try out something new in lab. I was also curious about keeping the brains in the freezer. Why were the brains needed to be kept in the freezer? What would happen if they were not.
ReplyDeleteThe mice brains needed to be kept frozen so they would not rot, grow mold, or be damaged as they melted.
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