What A TRIP It's Been! by Grace Jiang

My third and final blog! How quickly time has flown… almost as quickly as my flies escaping their collection cages. In the last blog, I hadn’t even started my independent project yet and now I’m putting the finishing touches on my presentation for the symposium! 

My research question tested how exposure to noise pollution affects development, measured through pupal data and the female fertility assay. According to the WHO, noise exceeding 70 dB, comparable to sound from a washing machine (or dishwasher, toilet flushing, vacuum cleaner—depending on who you ask), is considered to be a harmful level. I exposed my vials to an environment that was approx. 70 dB for either 4, 8, or 24 hours a day for 5 days a week. 

I initially wanted my experiment to be perfect and expected everything to go smoothly, but I soon learned that not everything goes according to plan—which is normal! The female fertility data didn’t really show any clear patterns but the total number of pupae did show a negative correlation with increasing lengths of exposure to noise pollution. My results might not have been entirely what I expected, but as I’ve learned, the results are not as important as the process.

I will definitely miss TRIP, which has become such an integral part of my Saturdays the past couple of months. I might’ve complained (only a little!) about making 12 new food vials and sorting and counting over 400 flies a day, but it was an enjoyable routine. Working on my independent project was such a fun challenge; I’ve learned more than I even realized. Coming up with a research question that I was both interested in and felt was understudied was exciting and rewarding. I think research is so important in teaching a variety of skills and I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to grow, learn, and explore my interests through TRIP.  ​

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