The Best TRIP of My Life by Kambayashi Mirai

Welcome to my last post on this TRIP in science. 3 months ago, when I initially started my journey at TRIP, I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to research. The possibilities were endless, but the amazing instructors in the program helped me decide what I truly wanted. I studied the intergenerational effects of blue light and an anxiety-relief herbal medicine, called Ashwagandha, (a mouthful I know) on flies. I was able to find some very intriguing results. But  to find this data, came along the journey I embarked on this program.

First, I decided to test the direct effects of blue light on the parental generation of flies, so that (1) I can verify that blue light exposure involves some sort of stress related change(2) so that I can connect the direct effects of blue light and Ashwagandha to any indirect effects it has on the progeny (3) so that I can see if Ashwagandha reverses the direct effect of blue light exposure. To accomplish this, I ran the open field test, which quantifies anxiety levels by looking at where the fly is in a petri dish. Through this, I was able to find that direct blue light exposure to adult flies for 7 hours a day leads to increased anxiety levels and that Ashwagandha administration with blue light exposure can alleviate its effects. (Looks like we should limit our screen time). 

Next, I looked at the health of the progeny that these directly exposed parents produced. These progeny were not exposed to blue light or ashwagandha themselves, only their parents were. I looked at the health levels by measuring the activity levels of the progeny, measuring how far they traveled over a one minute period. With this, I found that blue light exposure in parents leads to more active progeny while the combination of these two leads to less active progeny. (Do we need to sacrifice our own health to make our future kids more energetic?)

To conclude, in this trip program, I gained knowledge of various laboratory techniques, how to share my findings with the community, collaborate with others, and how to think critically

To conclude, in this trip program, I gained knowledge of various laboratory techniques, how to share my findings with the community, collaborate with others, and how to think critically. With this, I was able to not only gain knowledge but also participate in the scientific community with my research. I am greatly thankful for all of those in the program that made my 3 month TRIP exciting, collaborative and fun! Although this is my last post, my TRIP in science has just started. 

---