Flying Into Independent Projects by Arushi Vignesh

 Woah! I can’t believe we are already almost halfway through our TRIP! These past few weeks have not only been about getting to know the lab and basic procedures with fruit flies, but also about getting to know our peers, TAs, and instructors better! We started off by learning how to knock flies out and sort them by gender. We learned how to make good presentations and presented our kickoff experiments to the group. Oh! Looks like I forgot to mention the kickoff experiment. ​

For my kickoff experiment, I tested the effects of Black Cohosh and a disrupted circadian on female fertility. Black Cohosh is a natural herb which is used to treat menopausal symptoms and circadian rhythm is a 24-hour cycle that all bodily functions follow. Since I don’t always eat and sleep at the exact same time every day, I wondered how this might affect female fertility. While doing this experiment, I learned about and used female fertility assay, how to count embryos on a grape plate, and how to collect and analyze scientific data. But most importantly, I found this to be a very humbling experience: I realized that although I might have a small background knowledge in science, there is always so much more to learn about!

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 I decided to test how curcumin, a polyphenol found in turmeric, affects the inflammation caused by a high fat diet.

Last but not the least, we just began to discuss our independent projects. I decided to test how curcumin, a polyphenol found in turmeric, affects the inflammation caused by a high fat diet. I personally grew up under the impression that turmeric was the solution to every problem (my family basically uses turmeric in everything). I have wondered what this actually does to the body and how this might affect, and potentially counteract the effects of inflammation caused by a high fat diet. In the future, I also hope that this research provides a segue into how turmeric can counteract effects of inflammation caused by diseases like Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Colon cancer.

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