A New Phase In TRIP! by Henry Bai

Hello everyone! I can’t believe it’s now been more than a month since I first walked into the TRIP lab. I’ve already learned so much about different scientific equipment and the process of experimental design during this time! In these past couple weeks, I’ve wrapped up our introductory experiment and began the process of conducting my independent project! 

In my introductory experiment, I tested the impact of melatonin and disrupted circadian rhythm on the mood of flies. After conducting analysis, I concluded that melatonin led to declines in fly social interactions. On the other hand, the stressor (constant darkness) caused the flies to have increased social interactions. I found this unexpected, considering the flies would have difficulty interacting on a day-to-day basis while shrouded by the aluminum foil cover that was over them. 

Moving forward, I’ll be working on my independent project. Coming into the program, I knew that I wanted to study the impact of some kind of air pollution on fly development. In the past two weeks, I’ve honed in on a research question: “What is the impact of short term, acute exposure to a wildfire smoke, methane, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) mixture on organismal memory?”

“What is the impact of short term, acute exposure to a wildfire smoke, methane, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) mixture on organismal memory?”

I thought that this question is impactful because in cities in the western United States, such as Los Angeles, people are affected by wildfire smoke and pollution from industry, commonly in the form of VOCs. Through this experiment, I hope to better understand some factors that may play a role in the impact of air pollution on humans and animals. This weekend, I will be exposing the flies to the mixtures and practicing my adult memory. 

TRIP has been very exciting with Dr. Purdy, Dr. Leystra, our TAs, Keith and Austin, and of course my other TRIP peers! I’ve learned so much so far!