Hi again!! Last time we spoke I had already completed my introductory experiment. Here, we were assigned a question to study and given the plan to do so, with my question asking if St. John’s wort affects mood following circadian rhythm disruption. I hypothesized that St. John’s wort, which is seen as a natural remedy for mild depression, would help stabilize mood in flies who’s circadian rhythm had been disrupted, while creating negative effects in flies who did not have this disruption. My reasoning being that St. John’s wort is used to help bring back mood to a normal level, so administering it to animals with an already normal mood would create adverse effects. My data showed ‘mood swings’ in the non-stressed flies, with their sociability going up and down over time- very interesting to see! At this point in the program, we have already chosen what we want to study for our independent experiment, designed and planned out several weeks of experimental plans, and completed two weeks of actually carrying out this experiment!! I have decided to study blue light and how it affects learning in developing brains. Ever since March 2020, kids in grades Pre k to 12th have been completing all of their learning at home, on a screen that emits blue light. While everyone has heard of the dangers of blue light on your retinas, or perhaps the effect it can have on your sleep, there's not much information out there on how blue light can affect learning. For this reason I am choosing to study blue light and its effects on learning on developing brains, as our brains are still developing and will continue to do so until we are around 25 years old. To carry out this study, I am using the larval memory assay which uses Pavlovian style conditioning to teach larvae (whose brains are still growing) to associate a scent with reward (sugar!) and later test if they successfully learned and remembered this association. There will be three conditions: a control (to compare results to), one vial in which it is exposed to blue light only while it is learning, and a third that is exposed to constant blue light during its entire waking hours (12 hour cycles of off/ on light). I chose to have a vial with constant blue light since we aren’t solely exposed to blue light while learning, but rather throughout the day via different devices for entertainment. I hypothesize that exposure to blue light will negatively affect learning, with the groups exposed to blue light all throughout the day having a worse result. So far I have seen promising results, although I cannot conclude anything because it’s too early on in the experimental process. See you in the next blog where I’ll be back with a conclusion to my study!! <3
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Hey everybody! I can’t believe we’re already entering Week 8 of the TRIP initiative! Time is quite literally flying by! (sorry for the bad pun!). Over the last 8 weeks, I have met so many new people and made new friendships. I’ve also slowly gotten over my fear of bugs and other flying animals- the fruit flies and I are besties now. Dr. Purdy and Dr. Leystra have been such great mentors, and I’ve learnt so much- not only about research, but about critical thinking, presentation, and having fun amidst a crazy workload! It’s exciting to see my independent project come together, since the topic is one that is very personal and relevant to me. Through TRIP, I have the opportunity to study the effects of Vitamin D and isolation on fruit fly behavior. This topic is important to me because like several others, I spent the beginning of quarantine holed up in my room watching Netflix. The effects of this isolation could be seen in my behavior because I slowly became more snappy, moodier, and less willing to interact with other people. My family advised me to spend some time outdoors since the weather was getting nicer, but I never truly understood the effects of being outside on people living in isolation. Was it the Vitamin D in sunlight? Was it the warmth of the evening sun on my skin? Or was it the mere presence of fresh air and an outdoor surrounding? I wanted to test the effects of Vitamin D, a key nutrient, as well as isolation on a fly’s ability to interact. I believe this topic is integral to the world because many people have spent the last year (wow, one year, look! - time flew again!) in isolation due to lockdowns and quarantine across the world. It would be interesting to understand the effects of this prolonged isolation on future interactions and human behavior as the pandemic nears to an end. I’m super excited to see what my research leads me to, and to continue building friendships and learning more at TRIP!!
As we wrap up the 7th week of TRIP, I still can’t believe how quickly time has gone by as I go through the initial phases of planning out my independent project. Hey everyone! It’s me, Matt Tang, back again to tell you all about my journey here at TRIP and what I’ve been doing. When I initially joined the TRIP community, I was completely lost about what experiment I wanted to conduct later on. I knew that I was interested in the mind and how the brain functioned, but the ultimate trigger of inspiration came from being a student in a virtual environment. Just like the isolated pupae in the image above, quarantine definitely makes me feel more lonely at times. School life is especially more challenging and that made me wonder if missing out on that “in-person” experience and learning through screens all day has obstructed my studying in any way. Though virtual school is still in session, the absorption of new material just isn’t the same as it was before, so I’m curious whether factors of quarantine (and their impact on my mentality) are the reason for my increased struggle. This led me to the question: “How does screen time and/or being raised in isolation impact stress levels and memory in adult flies?” So how does one exactly test all of this? I set up over 40 vials (yes that’s right… OVER 40) and placed pupae inside all of them. The “isolated” vials would contain only one pupa in them while the “non-isolated” vials each held three. From there, I had to bring ALL of these vials home and expose some of them to screens. I even had to troubleshoot by placing some toilet paper at the bottom of my vial racks so that the pupae would be directly exposed to the screen. Back in the TRIP lab, I performed the Centrophobism Assay which will let me see whether my flies were stressed or not. With other peers performing the same assay, I felt reassured as we bounced ideas off of each other and collaborated as a team. Even though we all had different experimental questions, it was encouraging to see how students and the scientific community as a whole need to work together in a laboratory setting. A student in the morning session developed her very own adult memory assay and I look forward to working with her as well in the future to strengthen the development of a new experiment! To wrap things, I can’t exactly say that I recommend labeling over 40 vials, isolating pupae one by one, or making annoying tiny, little cotton balls to plug each vial. However, I can say that the support of both friends and mentors alike at TRIP definitely makes the whole process more enjoyable. I’m learning so much about experimental technique and with these amazing people, my time here every week goes by in an instant. I guess that proves how time really does “fly” by when you’re having fun. I’m excited to see the results of my experiment and can’t wait to share my findings with the scientific community!
After numerous hesitations about some researched topics (and multiple road-blocks over me getting the necessary materials), I finally decided to organize my research on studying the effects of prolonged exposure to the commonly used pesticide (2,4-D) on the development of larvae and female fertility. I settled on this specific pesticide due to just how common it is in its application and how easily accessible it is for the general population. Since I missed the Week 6th class, I fell behind and had to start from the very beginning (sorting the flies and setting up my pesticide concentrations) while other students were already moving onto their experiments. I spent the week prior to my return to the lab in sheer panic and concern over the smallest things that may or may not occur (but that’s my general disposition to reacting to anything new). Yet all of my concerns were dispelled when I actually started my experiments. Thanks to enormous patience and extensive assistance from Dr. Leystra and Dr. Purdy, as well as the accompaniment of my peers, I regained my excitement over the project! I’m looking forward to the upcoming weeks of this experiment!
After learning these things, I decided to research whether vitamin D can improve the health of flies whose microbiomes were altered by antibiotics, which are known to disrupt gut health. To gather data, I am conducting the negative geotaxis assay, which quantifies activity levels, and the microbiome assay, which quantifies the number and type of bacteria in flies’ guts. Higher mobility levels are an indication of better overall health, and specific data about the microbiome will allow me to better understand the effects my drugs are having on gut health. I’m super excited to continue conducting my experiment and to see what surprises my data may yield! As a shy person, talking to people I’ve never met before is out of my comfort zone. I was initially nervous about meeting new people at TRIP. Now, I look forward to each session and working with all the friends I’ve made at TRIP as well as the instructors. TRIP has taught me so much, both about myself and research. In just a few short weeks, I’ve learned skills such as sorting flies and making solutions. I’ve also learned that I enjoy research and biology, would like to improve upon my public speaking skills, and can never pour water out of a beaker accurately (I’ve accidentally overpowered my water so many times, I had to remake my solution twice on the first day). Like learning to fly, in research you make mistakes. Again and again, you fall out of the sky, but each time you take off again, you know a little more, and fly a little further. |
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