Last week of the Senior Research Project! 🎉 🎉 🎉
On Monday we had a joint lab meeting, where I got to hear about the research of another lab in the building. They are studying depression using mice models. After that we had a meeting with just the Gallitano lab, where we discussed the different lab projects going on currently. I was told I should present my Senior Research Project Powerpoint at the next lab meeting, so I need to prepare for that!
The lab manager also called the company that makes the DNA and enzymes for the DNA ladder we were trying to make, and they recommended we try a different concentration of buffer. We will try this on Wednesday (hopefully it won't be our 7th failure?).
There isn't much for me to do in the lab now, but during the first week of May I will help with a series of behavioral tests on the mice, and in the second week of May, I will be taught how to do immunohistochemistry. That is where you use antibodies to tag specific proteins on the cell surface and then use other antibodies that fluoresce to tag the first ones, so when you look at the tissue sample under the fluorescent light it fluoresces where the antibodies are. Here is a pretty picture to explain it better.
Anyway, a lot of the cool stuff I will be doing from now on will be after the Senior Project is over. For now I am mostly helping with the DNA testing.
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Well we tried the DNA ladder.... and it wasn't a complete failure? There were two faint bands of DNA, which means the enzymes are working (yay!) but there should be 8 bands, which means the enzymes didn't finish digesting the DNA. On Friday we will try giving the enzymes more time to break up the DNA, and hopefully that will work.
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Last day of the SRP!
Well not really for me, because I am coming back next week for the lab meeting and then more over the summer.
Today I did a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) which makes more copies of the DNA, and then ran a gel to test the DNA of some mice. Also, we found out the DNA ladder will need to stay overnight for it to be fully digested by the enzymes.
Overall, my experience in the lab has been great. I learned so much about work in the lab, and it was a lot of fun!
Goodbye!
