I Think I'm Getting the Hang of It! by Nozima Sultonova

It didn't seem long ago that I was preparing for the first day of Trip! Time flies, they say, and it’s true. It’s officially the 5th week of Trip and I’ve made lots of memories with incredible people; they continue to inspire me everyday, each and every one of them. We’ve finished our kickoff experiments and presented as well. Although I realized I had many skills to learn about presenting, I’m glad that I got to share it with the curious  members of Trip and receive helpful feedback. I aim to apply those tips for the last day of Trip; the final symposium!

My initial kickoff experiment was to determine how the drug, licorice, combats the negative effects of intestinal inflammation which causes slow mobility among flies. This isn’t surprising since humans also experience similar effects as a result of this condition. Earlier studies showed that licorice has anti-inflammatory properties which proved to be true since it reversed the effects of intestinal inflammation. However, I could not conclude whether this drug positively impacts the health of the flies even without the stressor. Hence, I might conduct another experiment aligning with that idea in the future. ​

My initial kickoff experiment was to determine how the drug, licorice, combats the negative effects of intestinal inflammation which causes slow mobility among flies. This isn’t surprising since humans also experience similar effects as a result of this condition. Earlier studies showed that licorice has anti-inflammatory properties which proved to be true since it reversed the effects of intestinal inflammation. However, I could not conclude whether this drug positively impacts the health of the flies even without the stressor. Hence, I might conduct another experiment aligning with that idea in the future.

Speaking of this mystery project, let me give you a short preview. I struggle with chronic migraine and I’ve attempted to reduce the pain by shaping certain parts of my lifestyle, especially my diet. This includes drinking lots of water, healthy food at a scheduled time, taking medicine, and consuming ginger products. Almost everyday, I drink ginger lemonade or my mom adds ginger to our food. She also has migraines and it has increased over the past six months that she has been studying computer science which requires intaking lots of information. Therefore, I decided to research the impact of ginger on cognitive function, specifically memory retention. Although I can’t necessarily spot migraines on flies, I can decrease their mental activity with a certain drug and test larval memory in response. My ultimate goal is to learn more about ginger and its benefits to improve our condition.