Torturing Flies by Kekeli Logoh

Hey, It's me again!

Last blog post I hinted that I was looking forward to torturing some flies and I found a way to do that! Now it’s time to have a moment of silence for all flies that will be coming to me for my experiment. For my experiment, I decided to test the effect of diet with the most essential macromolecules (proteins, lipids, and sugars) that I will be comparing to a control food. After 7 days on the food, my files will be put through a series of assays (including, but not limited to negative geotaxis, female fertility, etc.) Afterwards, I will be taking my flies home in tubes filled with water and cotton (a way to starve the flies) to see which diet causes the longest life span during prolonged times of starvation. I will be comparing each generation to each other (the parents and their progeny to see if being on the diet short term vs. growing up on a specific diet changes anything). Yes, this is an ultimate last one standing battle. Again, take a few moments to mourn those poor flies coming my way. I must give a shoutout to Dr. Purdy and Miss P for helping develop my experiment nicely.

Where did my inspiration come from?
To be specific, I was watching a documentary on PBS called Nine Months. In one episode they mentioned how research has been done to see if the diet of the mother during the first trimester effectively builds up the immune system of her offspring. They gave an example of how women who conceived during the green period (a time full of green leafy vegetables) have children who outlive others that weren’t conceived in that time through life records. I gained lots of interests and wanted to test if this was true. Unfortunately I couldn’t test immunology so I focused on another problem in Africa, which is starvation.  I wanted to see if a specific diet could help those living in prolonged periods of starvation effectively live longer and hence the birth of my independent project.

Enough about that, here’s how TRIP has been going...
Besides that, I would like to tell you how my first few weeks at TRIP have been going; it’s been a good few weeks with many lessons. I must admit at times, my brain was picked to the point where I had headaches. Also, the Fly Nap just gave such a strong smell that I felt like I was going to fall into a nap myself, but it’s been fun. And bruh, I killed so many flies; it’s crazy. Sometimes I don’t even know how it happens, I just see dead flies. I just wasn’t gifted with them. Good thing my experiment allows me to kill my flies or others I would have no results. *sighs of relief*

Through this program, I have come to learn what true dedication and sacrifice is. It’s truly not easy to give up every Saturday (from beginning to end of the program) for your session. I tell you, things WILL come up and you know you have to chose TRIP over it because you committed yourself. However, these two are one of the best lessons you can learn that will prepare you for the future. I’m so happy that I am part of this community and family. Also, you will definitely  feel extremely special with all the picture taking going on. To another amazing more weeks.

Warning: collection of developmental data is pure torture and you have to do it every week.