Flying Through TRIP by Martie Corcoran

Hello! I can’t believe that we have already finished out kick-off experiments and are beginning our independent projects! These past few weeks have flown by and I have already learned so much through this program. We prepared for our independent projects by learning how to sort flies by gender, prepare fly food, stress flies, how to collect data, and so much more! ​

For my kick-off experiment, I investigated how Holy Basil and head trauma affect fly sociability. To do so, I had to sort flies on ice, place them into chambers, and use ImageJ to determine the average distance between the flies. I learned that the larger the average distance, the less social the flies are. Through this experiment, I learned a lot of useful tips that I can apply to my independent project. Additionally, I also learned how to avoid certain mistakes that I made during conducting this assay, such as forgetting to label my images. This experiment was very exciting and it was interesting to watch everyone performing their different assays!

While completing my kick-off experiment, I began observing different things in my life that I could test for my independent project. One thing I noticed was that my brother and I both have very poor sleep schedules, but I seem to have higher levels of anxiety compared to him. I also observed that we have very different diets and eating habits. I began to research more about this topic and learned that changes in circadian rhythms may lead to increased anxiety levels, and that the food my brother eats often contains Vitamin B6, a vitamin that may help fix sleep routines. This led me to my research question about whether Vitamin B6 can reverse the increased anxiety levels that may be caused by circadian rhythm disruption. For this research question, I will have to test the effects of Vitamin B6, disrupted circadian rhythms, and the combination of both compared to a control group. I will conduct the open field assay to determine the anxiety levels, and collect developmental data for additional information. During the open field assay, I also will look at the differences between males and females to see if gender may contribute to differing anxiety levels.

These past weeks have been very informative and it was amazing to make so many new friends! I am very excited for what is to come and I cannot wait to see what everyone discovers through their independent projects!