Fly-ing through TRIP by Victoria Li

Hi everyone, I’m so glad you’ve joined me for my second blog post! I can’t believe the TRIP session is almost halfway over. I’ve enjoyed the past weeks getting closer to my TRIP family, and I’ve come out of my pupa. Time really does fly!

With my kickoff experiment complete, I have finally decided on my independent research project. I will be investigating the effects of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like Advil on female fertility. I see NSAIDs used around me all the time, whether it's utilized for migraines or menstruation cramps. However, according to past research, it has been known to affect the ovulation cycle, hence skewing female fertility. As female fruit flies do ovulate as well (although much more frequently), I was interested to see how the NSAID would affect them. For this experiment, I will be using Advil as my NSAID, which I will be diluting for a dose fit for a fruit fly. The setup entails 4 vials, each with 40 female and 20 male fruit flies, and increasing dosages of Advil. To quantify the results, I will be using a new assay, the female fertility assay, which measures the embryo laid per female within a two-hour time frame. 

Next week, I will be starting this independent project! As I myself have used NSAIDs and am constantly seeing people use this over-the-counter drug, I’m excited to see the results of this experiment and how they can be applied to the women around me. Thanks for following this TRIP so far, and I hope you’ll join me for my next blog post where I’ll be back with a conclusion to my study.