I got to get up close and personal using the slr digital camera that attaches to a microscope and can take close ups of some of the smaller worms. I got a great view of the variety of features from the different nemertean species. I learned that adjusting flash and exposure on a moving object is a lot harder then it looks! This step, although critical to properly documenting each worm and its features, is definitely a bottleneck in the time it takes to process each worm. Yet, I do believe the end products prove that a picture is worth a thousand words! By the end of last week we had photographed and catalogued about 46 different worms. Which were then ready and waiting to have their DNA processed. So on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we were busy in the lab, pipette in hand, starting with the DNA extraction, then running the PCR, testing our samples to make sure the primers worked and lastly getting them ready in well plates to ship out this Thursday for sequencing. The protocols for each procedure creates a lot of “busy” work of just focusing and following one step after another. It has a nice, steady, and organized rhythm compared to the activity of field work and the patience of photography. The three tasks definitely hold an appealing balance between them all. Tomorrow we are going over how to interpret the sequences and use the software so that we will be better prepared for when we receive the sequences for our samples. I’m really looking forward to finding out how all that works! We have also met with various mentors at lunch who have all been truly amazing. Our professional development days have also been really useful and lately we have been working on making and giving presentations and how to begin making our scientific posters. The tips and advice have been extremely helpful. I will admit I was a bit nervous when I first realized we had to create a scientific poster on our project but I soon realized we are actually guided through the layout of how to put it all together. Now that my material is beginning to come in I am actually looking forward to putting it all together.
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Rebecca OrrHi, my name is Rebecca I’m from Northern California. My major is in biological sciences. I am so excited to be working in Dr. Svetlana Maslakova’s lab and learning the protocol and procedures for completing a modern biodiversity survey. Archives
August 2021
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