Hello again! In the last few weeks since you heard from me, a lot has happened at TRIP. First things first, we presented the data from our initial experiments. My data was quite confusing, and I’m still not 100% sure what it all means, but I made it through my first experiment! Hooray! Now we have begun the process of conducting our own independent projects. For my project, I am concussing flies, feeding them peppermint tea, then testing their memory. I know, that’s a lot–and after day one, I already know I’ve got my work more than cut out for me. I promise, though, that there is some rationale behind this craziness! What I want to know is whether or not peppermint tea can counteract the effects of head trauma. I know people who have had concussions–myself included. Concussions are painful, and can even be detrimental to memory and development. So why peppermint? Well, drinking peppermint tea is reported to help improve memory, alleviate headaches, and reduce stress. If peppermint really can do all of the things it’s supposed to, who says it can’t counteract the effects of a concussion? Yesterday was the first day that the teachers cut us loose in the lab–it was exciting and terrifying. Turns out, sorting 8 vials of flies (I’m doing a gradient of drug concentrations, each level with and without head trauma) takes a very, very, very long time. So does making food. I can only imagine how long the assay is going to take. The flies are also very sneaky–while concussing them and transferring them to their new homes, a few managed to escape (darn). The upside is that I can only get better! My new and improved plan is to set up new vials every other week, so that I have enough time to sort, make food, and test my flies. In the meantime, I’m going to get really good at time-management! Plus, if I ever get stressed, I’ll just take a sip of my peppermint tea–problem solved!
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Hi guys, it’s Emily M again! For my individual project, I’m going to be studying the effects of antibiotics (like penicillin) on glucose metabolism. I’ll be giving half of my flies a Penicillin mixture of antibiotics in their food, and then a week later I’ll give them all varying concentrations of sugar. My hypothesis is that the fewer bacteria that exist in the gut, the less that sugar will break down. I’m really excited for the upcoming weeks, but it’s a lot of work to do. For both sets of vials, I’ll end up sorting 600 flies! I’ve already sorted 300 of them, so it shouldn’t be too bad, right? Dr. Purdy and the other teachers have been really helpful throughout the program, and I’m thankful they’re helping guide me. 600 flies is a lot of flies to keep track of! Hello again! Michael here. After several days of the TRIP, I think I’ve finally gotten the hang of things. I can successfully count and sort flies, I can now prepare fly food without it exploding in the microwave, and I have become quite adept at calculating dilutions. Of course, I’m still just as clumsy as before, but for now I’m not going to worry about that. Anyway, I have really gotten to enjoy the lab! Sometimes I feel like three and a half hours are just not enough to do everything. After performing the taste preference assay and learning about other assays from presentations, I’m excited to move onto my own independent project! My plan is to study the effect of selenium on the flies’ energy level/activity. Selenium, which some of you may recognize as an element of the periodic table, can be found in a large variety of foods (especially meat), and is important in the body because it is an antioxidant and helps boost the immune system. However, I am interested in selenium for another one of its uses: improving the function of the thyroid. I have a small history of hypothyroidism in my family, and a proper intake of selenium can help prevent this condition. While flies do not have thyroids, I would like see what other effects selenium may have on the body. I have chosen to study the flies’ activity because I am an athlete and an active person. To assess the flies’ activity, I will be performing the negative geotaxis and larval locomotion assays. Also, I will be using three different experimental groups, each exposed to a different concentration of selenium. To summarize my project, I could say that I would like to know what effects (if any) selenium may have on energy level. Hopefully I will get some promising results!
Greetings to all! My name is Tyler Yannuzzi and I wanted to give everyone an update on TRIP and my personal experience with the program. As we move into our independent projects, I was drawn towards the effects of prebiotics on our development, health, and microbiome. Many prebiotics claim to have a very positive impact on our overall health. The one I’m studying in particular claims to increase the diversity of the microbiome and the good bacteria that everyone has in their gut. Thus, it felt necessary to look into the microbiome of both adults and larvae. I am very excited to see where this question and in turn experiment will lead. I'm hoping for the best. TRIP overall has been an enriching experience so far. It has met and even surpassed my expectations. Slowly but surely, we are all getting more comfortable with each other as a group and it is great to collaborate with others and discuss ideas. Within the first couple of weeks, I feel as if I have learned a great deal about research and the communication of science. It’s been great to be exposed to such a range of different ideas and perspectives. I am so glad that I have had opportunities to reach beyond the classroom and explore the fruits of science through TRIP. So far, this experience has been both interesting and tasking. I learned that although research is difficult, that is exactly what I like. I like exposure to such a vigorous research environment. This internship has shown me that independent research is not something for the light of heart and requires lots of effort. For example, just last class I had to stay an hour after the end time. I guess what they say is true, time really does fly when you are having fun! The most interesting part about all of this, for me, though is the plethora of techniques and procedures available. In the beginning of the program my taste preference assay did not go as planned, which allowed me to understand the true unpredictability of science and the roadblocks that appear along the way of research. The inconclusiveness of my original assay, I have been able to expose myself to new techniques and assays that interest me and allow me to establish the individuality of my independent research project.
My independent research project explores the effect of a high sugar diet on the overall health of Drosophila through the analysis of eye phenotypes and larval locomotion. I gained an interest in this idea after research about diabetes and cancer. Due to the simplicity of Drosophila, they are not able to truly develop what is commonly known as cancer. However, signs of genetic mutations become evident through the analysis of the Drosophila eye phenotype. These genetic mutations symbolize cancer in more complex organisms, thus allowing scientists to draw parallels between Drosophila mutations and cancer research. For my experiment, I took six samples of approximately 80 embryos then irradiated three samples at 5 mJ of energy. After the irradiation I put the samples of embryos in their corresponding vials. The vials with sugar inside of them will vary by concentration. The concentrations will either be two times the daily dose or three times the daily dose, in order to simulate a high sugar diet. After a week, larva should be present inside of these vials and then a larval locomotion assay will be run. This assay analyzes the movements of larva, allowing for the overall health of the larva to be determined based off their patterns of movement and distances traveled. After this week of larval locomotion assays then adult flies will be present and I will analyze the eye phenotypes under the microscope. Also, each week I am responsible for setting up new vials in order to have lots of data to analyze. Although this results in a snowball effect of data analysis as time progresses I can handle it. I hope you followed along and were able to understand how my first six weeks have gone so far in the world of TRIP. The time has finally come to start our independent projects! I have been looking forward to this day since the beginning of the program! For my project, I will be testing the effects of Asafoetida on female fertility and the glucose metabolism in males. Now you may be wondering, what is Asafoetida? Asafoetida comes from the dried sap extracted from the stem and roots of a plant called ferula. Now you may be wondering, why Asafoetida? Well, something that many people don’t know is that this plant is used in cooking in many Indian households! It is said to have massive benefits for gastrointestinal problems and is also said to be beneficial to people who have diabetes. However, this plant is not good in big amounts during pregnancy. These factors combined intrigued me to learn about the effect of Asafoetida on the overall fertility of flies and to also find out if this plant truly is effective in lowering blood sugar. I wanted to learn more about the ingredient that is used so often in my household! These past few weeks have been a whirlwind! We just finished up our initial projects, in which I tested strattera, a drug used to treat ADD/ADHD. Through this process, I learned a lot about what interested me and what I wanted to do for my independent project. We also had our initial presentations which gave me an opportunity to present research that I did, something that was a big learning process! These past few weeks have been some of the best and I have learned so much in a short period of time! I am looking forward to learning more and finding out what the true effects of Asafoetida are! Here’s to the next few weeks, plenty of data, and of course, flies!
Hi! It’s Anya again! I have now spent six weeks in the TRIP Initiative and I love it! It’s like Disney World for science-lovers like me. I made some great new friends and love hanging out in the lab. I’ve learned so many new things and I’ve gotten up close and personal with the flies...maybe a little too much for my liking. Regardless, along with all the science I am learning, TRIP is definitely helping me get over my fear of creepy-crawlies! For my initial project in the program, I tested Vitamin B6 on flies given head trauma since B6 is supposed to support the nervous system. I used the negative geotaxis assay to quantify how far the flies crawled up the tube in 3 seconds to determine overall activity level. To my dismay, I found that Vitamin B6 does not reverse effects of head trauma, so my hopes of becoming a professional football player are crushed (just kidding...I would get run over by the players in seconds). During this process, I learned how to make fly food, prepare stock solution, and sort flies. I also numbered more pupal cases than you can count! When I conducted my geotaxis assay I learned somewhat of an unconventional technique… To take proper pictures, the phone must be kept at the same angle every time, so I ended up putting my phone in a beaker to keep it upright! Who knew beakers could be used as makeshift tripods! One of my favorite things so far was the rough sketches we did with Dr. Gardner about Victoria’s project. There were cows and cannibalistic flies everywhere! Finally, I presented my findings for the first time which was a lot of fun because I love presentations and public speaking. It was amazing to see everyone else’s finished projects as well! Now that the initial project is over, it is time to start my independent project. One thing you should know about me is that I LOVE psychology and neuroscience. Therefore, it was only fair that my project relates to the brain. Many brain diseases include memory loss and a decline in speed of processing (ex. Alzheimer’s). This led me to think to test whether some substance can increase memory and speed in the brain, and what better to test than nicotine right? Now you may be thinking “Anya, isn’t nicotine the stuff in cigarettes? Aren’t those horrible for you?”. Well, yes you are correct there. But studies have shown that the inhalation of nicotine and chemicals as smoke is what is harmful, and that nicotine itself is a stimulant, just like caffeine in coffee! So as you can see, I promise I am not promoting smoking! Anyway, back to the experiment. Since I am testing the effects of nicotine on memory, I am conducting a larval memory assay to quantify the level of retention in the flies. Dr. Purdy, Abbie, and I are pioneering this new assay so I am pretty excited about it! I am going to train the larvae to be attracted to a certain smell, heat shock them, and then test their retention of the previous training. Hopefully nicotine in a non-smoked form can increase memory! Stay tuned for more updates to later!
Have you ever fallen asleep and accidentally left your light on? My independent project involves exposing fruit flies to “constant synthetic light.” It will be interesting to see what happens to sleep cycles when there is no darkness telling us it's time to rest. With constant light as my stressor, the drug Vitamin D3 will be incorporated. This has been known to help achieve long lasting nights of rest and acts as a sleep aid. What do you get when you mix constant light with vitamins to help you sleep? I'm unsure but that’s why I am absolutely ecstatic to do this project to uncover new understandings. I will keep the flies in constant light by using a desk lamp with a timer which will remain lit throughout the night. I will quantify the results by using the females for a fertility assay and check the activity of the males in the negative geotaxis assay.
I have always been interested in the different sleep schedules teenagers maintain. Through curiosity and interest I am designing this project to replicate the effects of light, its stimulation of our mind that could potentially keep us awake at night and asleep during school. The first few weeks on my independent adventure have been awesome! There is never a second to spare in lab and I am grateful for all the hands-on experience I have received. I have learned the importance of stock concentrations and even how to do the math! I look forward to continuing my experiments and uncovering the results. Hi! I’m Erin Greer and my independent project deals with how different concentrations of Vitamin D3 can affect a fly’s mood and anxiety, thus relating it back to depression in humans. So, how exactly does this all correlate? It is apparent that today’s generation of young adults do not go outside as often as the previous generation. In fact, we spend about 90% of our lives indoors according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Report on the Environment (ROE) in 2017. Let’s compare that to the increasing 6.9% of the world’s population that has severe depression (to think that large a percentage has severe depression, how many have mild depression or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)?...the numbers are endless) according to the World Health Organization (WHO). These numbers are growing, which led me to think they may relate. As I began to brainstorm on how I can perform an experiment on drosophila flies that mimic the effect of the sun and how it influences mood, I found Vitamin D3, which is the type of Vitamin the sun emits. I set up four vials each containing thirty males and thirty females: one for my control flies and the others with food with increasing concentrations of D3. Each week I will perform the social space and centrophobism assays on my flies. These assays will help me measure the flies’ mood and anxiety. After I perform the assays each week, I will split half of my D3 exposed flies into new vials without the vitamin and see how the withdrawal affects them (through repeating the assays the following weeks and comparing the data). So far, my vials have been set up and my planning is in full throttle! It is safe to say I am excited for the next few weeks to compile my data and come to some conclusions. So, my question: Does the amount of time we spend outside affect the development of depression? I agree with many scientists who hypothesize that our time spent outside influences our mood. Based on the research I have done, and hopefully the data my flies provide me with, I believe this possible correlation could help us in the future. Depression affects so many people (to say the least) and if there is a way we can prevent it and the damage it bestows, I wish to help. It has touched upon me and many others I know and if the answer to reduce the probability of being afflicted is increasing Vitamin D3 intake, then with the help of some flies let’s lower the statistics!
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