A TRIP that is “Flying” By! by Anika Gupta

Hi everyone! I can’t believe that it has been almost a month since I have started TRIP. I have already learned so much over these past few weeks, and I can’t wait to dive even deeper!

For my kickoff experiment, I explored the question “How does fenugreek and a high sugar diet affect female fertility?” To investigate this, I learned how to sort fruit flies, perform a fertility assay, and analyze data. The fertility assay itself was a nerve-wracking experience—I had to transfer flies while they were awake and active (no sleeping flies to make things easier!) from their food vials to collection cages with grape plates on top. After incubating for about two hours, the females laid their fertilized eggs  on the plates. I ultimately discovered that fenugreek and a high sugar diet both negatively affected female fertility, which was contrary to my original hypothesis that fenugreek would improve fertility. Despite my initial fear, I can now say that I definitely feel more confident handling fruit flies!

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After presenting my kickoff experiment to my peers, I began brainstorming my independent project. I drew on my experience taking albuterol to alleviate asthma flare ups as inspiration for my independent project. After reflecting on my experience with the medication, I noticed that dizziness and anxiety are commonly associated with the drug. Therefore, I knew I wanted my experiment to relate the two. However, when discussing my project with the TRIP mentors, I realized that since fruit flies don’t have lungs and instead breathe through tiny openings in their exoskeleton, testing albuterol directly wasn’t an option (plus, I wasn’t exactly psyched about sharing my inhaler with them). Therefore, I landed on a similar drug used to treat sinus congestion, Sudafed. Now for my independent project, I will be studying how different concentrations of Sudafed affect fruit fly anxiety and sociability. 

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​I can’t wait to see where this experiment takes me and to share my findings with all of you soon! See you next time!