Kickoff Experiment: Just Departed. Next Stop: The Independent Project! by Mariacristina Calcagno

Hello again! I’m shocked at how quickly my time in TRIP is flying by and amazed by how much knowledge I’ve been able to absorb, thanks to the wonderful structure of the program and the supportive community. 

Over the weeks since I last posted, I’ve been working on my kick-off experiment, building my confidence in working with the flies. In short, my experimental question asked about the effects of soap and holy basil on anxiety; the latter is often used for its antioxidant content and stress-relief effects. My assay was the open field test; it centers around the idea that compared to unstressed flies, the more anxious flies will spend increased time on the outer edges of a plate or more time in motion. I tested three flies per experimental condition. I recorded that the flies in the vial with soap but no holy basil spent, on average, more time in motion than the other vials; additionally, the only fly that crossed the center of the dish was from the soap-only vial. 

I’m now in the program phase of independent project design. I originally had an idea related to calorie-sensing and caloric exposure, but after discussing with instructors and my peer cohort, I will now be examining the effects of sleep deprivation and vitamin B6 on larval metabolism. I hope my assays yield interesting results!