A Fast Five Hours by Rachel McCabe

​Hi everyone! At this point; I have finished the first three weeks of TRIP, meaning there are only four sessions left. This is a little terrifying, as there is a lot I still need to get done. This past week, we designed and began working on our Independent Projects. 

I have always thought it was interesting that foods with Omega-3 Fatty Acids are said to help your brain. What I didn’t know is that there are 3 types of Omega-3s. The first two (EPA and DHA) are found in fish, but the other one (ALA) is found in plant-based sources, such as oil. When I found this information, I wanted to know which type was better, so for my project I will be comparing the two sources of Omega-3s, and their effect on cognitive function. I will give some flies fish oil, some canola oil, and others a combination of the two, to determine which is most effective. I also want to test how these diets affect progeny, so I will be testing the cognitive function of the larvae as well. 

This past Tuesday, I talked to the instructors about my idea, and we made a plan to execute it. Because we do not have much time left, we needed to figure out how to fit everything into five sessions. We met in groups of four students, so I also got to hear the plans that my peers were making. After finalizing my ideas, I made a detailed outline of how I was going to allocate my time. 

On Thursday, I began my project by making stock solution with the different types of oils. This turned out to be rather complicated, as the solutions had to be very diluted to account for the flies’ small sizes. After making the solutions and mixing them with the fly food, I sorted my flies and made agar plates. I plan on using the agar plates on Tuesday when performing the Larval Memory Assay.

If there is one thing I learned from Thursday, it is how fast time flies when you have a lot to do. I found myself scrambling to finish in time, and had to ask a couple instructors to help (thank you!!). In future sessions, I’m going to try to be faster at the beginning of the session, even if it feels like I have time to spare. Hopefully this way I will be able to complete everything on time.