Passion Project

Week 6 was about taking all the DNA work from the previous weeks and finally turning it into something functional. The main focus was continuing to work with the pMIG-II plasmid and understanding why it is the plasmid being used. pMIG is useful because it has two very important features. One is GFP, which makes […]

Week 5 is no different. The gel electrophoresis machine is broken. We had to borrow equipment from the other lab. Hopefully this one is better.   We started by analyzing a gel from earlier in the week. The results were not great. The gel showed smears instead of clean, sharp bands, and the second band we

The biggest, new concept I learned in week 4 was how to design restriction enzymes and perform a digestion reaction. Up until now, most of the procedures in the lab had just been protocols that I could follow step by step. There was no protocol to designing restriction enzymes. It required looking at plasmids maps

Week 3 started off with a mouse dissection. It was both fascinating and a little gross. I saw exactly how to collect different types of cells from organs. For example, bone marrow cells are washed out with a needle from the mouse’s femur, and spleen and liver cells are pressed out from their respective organs.

Part 2. I want to try to explain the first two experiments I ran without randomly throwing scientific jargon. It was finally time to learn by doing. The first experiment I did was PCR plasmid confirmation. If that sounds like a mouthful, here’s the simple version: PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) is basically a way to

And so it began. Week 2 of SC-ACE. First week in my new lab. We started off with an absolutely brain-frying lab meeting from 9 am to 2 pm. I got my introduction to Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and the different research projects going on in this lab. It was my first experience of a

Micropipettes are surprisingly difficult to master.  A micropipette is a lab tool used to measure and move very small amounts of a liquid. These volumes are measured in microliters (1,000 microliters in 1 milliliter). A disposable tip is attached to the micropipette. After each use, it is ejected and thrown away. The process of ejecting

Day 3 of the SC-ACE bootcamp felt like a turning point. The training wheels were mostly off. The protocols were longer, and the steps were more specific. The main activity was making a Zentriacine solution. Zentriacine is not a real chemical, but that did not matter. The protocol was treated exactly like it would be

Day 2 of bootcamp was much more hands-on. The focus shifted toward learning how research is actually done step by step, especially when it comes to following protocols and understanding the systems scientists use to study drugs and disease. Image: https://www.chemistrylearner.com/buffer-solution.html The protocol we practiced follwoing was to make a pH buffer. However, instead of

The first day of bootcamp was mainly about getting everybody oriented and on the same page. I had the opportunity to meet lots of high school students from all over California and even a few grad students and professors. Quite a bit of information was thrown at us, and it was clear that this program