Blogs

This and that, fun and focus, work and play. This was a very busy week that filled with lab work and field trips

On Monday we tried the katablepharis PCR with Kj3F and ITS4 again with some older samples, and though we got amplification it is possible that the master mix was contaminated because the negative sample amplified. I also began cloning some samples from the last Katablepharis and Ciliate PCR’s of last week.

My seventh week has now come to a close; it is amazing how fast time flies when you’re having fun with science.  With the final stretch of my summer internship right around the corner, this week has been very busy with field trips and lab work.  The week began with a group meeting where we figured out the necessary next steps to take.  It was quite convenient that we had a CMOP trip to Bonneville Dam scheduled for Tuesday because I was able to collect a couple needed water samples.  I then ran these samples though the FlowCAM and established a control set of data.

This week I have finished extracting the samples that we have found. I also turned 6 samples into cDNA while updating the sample sheet data. Now we are deciding which samples should be hybridized. Once that is decided, those samples will be labeled with probes and put on a chip for microarray analysis. From there, we get to analyze the data.

UNTIL NEXT TIME...

This past week, I was busy compiling recent research into a progress report for my senior and frontline mentors. The progess report was presented on Friday and I feel it went very well. The report gave clarity to what I need to do in these last few weeks to provide thorough results. I feel there is much to do before I leave here, but tangible. I have come to a point in my research where I now require fisheries expert analysis on the data I have compiled. I have been in contact with a short list of experts and look forward to adding a few more to that list this week.

Alliterations aside, the plan to start off my week was to look at the problem of propene disappearing when it wasn't supposed to...of course it did not go to plan (when does it ever in science?). The GC that I was planning to use for headspace analysis was not providing any peaks at all. After switching the air tank, as it was low, optimizing the flow rates of the gases, and countless hours of frustration, I finally got it back up and running...with 10 minutes to spare before quitting time. A good start to the week, don't you think?

At long last, with water samples successfully acquired last week, I was able to start the biodegradation experiments. I set up two flasks with live water samples and PAHs from two different oil varieties, and a third with a mixture of PAHs and sterilized seawater, as a control. Over time, I will be measuring the fluorescence of the samples to determine how the bacteria degrade the PAHs. This week we collected the first four days of data, and though there hasn't been much change yet, there has been some activity.