The research project has been great! I am improving my laboratory skills each day as I continue to go through the steps (which I discussed in my last post) necessary to send the DNA samples for sequencing. By the end of next week, I hope to be ready to send all of the samples out for sequencing and will hopefully find some sort of variation in these geneitic sequences. If there is variation, I can then determine if that variation is associated with coat color, and if there is no variation, I get to find a new set of primers for a different region of the gene and do the process again.
On Tuesday, besides working in the laboratory for about five hours, I spent about three hours in various meetings, learning new concepts and seeing the various research occuring in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department. The lab meeting was very productive, as each week a different member of the lab gives a presentation about his/her current project and research. I had the opportunity to learn more about the coat color project I am working on. The room was filled with vibrant discussion, and the lab meeting even ended in a birthday celebration! Following this meeting, the four individuals, including myself, who are studying coat color in the laboratory had a short meeting to discuss our project and become acquainted, as a college sophmore just joined the lab about two weeks ago. I then heard presentations concerning research projects being conducted by first-year graduate students, and ended my day with more active experimentation. For the rest of the week, I continued experimentation and found and began reviewing articles pertaining to the research.
Each day at the laboratory is a new adventure and I cannot wait until I get actual DNA sequences to analyze!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Cutting Open Some Wasps
Well, since I took a break yesterday, I can make a complete post today. Yesterday was a routine day, but nothing really new occurred. I got to pick more larval whiteflies off of leaves. The eggs make a noticeable sound when they pop. After that and some routine culturing of plants (planting, watering, infesting), the whole lab went out to eat at Pei Wei...a very good experience!!! The high point of the day was listening to the Japanese PhD student give a talk about bacterial symbionts in bugs in of the genus Orius. Although not exactly related to wasps, these bugs carry the same symbiont, Wolbachia, as my wasps, Eretmocerus emiratus. I won't get into the technical jargon, but it was an excuse to learn about something else.
Alright, today was an excellent day that I can summarize in three parts: dissection, harvest, and infestation. So, I learned a new technique today. Well, I use the term "learn" loosely, but today, for the first time, I got to dissect a female wasp. Encarsia pergandiella, I think it was. It wasn't E. emiratus because it was a practice wasp that was supposed to be easier (Encarsia is easier to dissect, apparently). The point of the dissection is to determine whether or not the wasp had mated. Since E. emiratus won't readily mate like every other wasp (just my luck), it will occasionally be necessary to open up the abdomen of some females and remove their spermathecas in order to see if mating occurred (the spermatheca is exposed to a chemical that will cause it to glow if mating had occurred). Of course, the wasp dies in the process, but part of the experiment is determining whether or not certain wasps prefer certain other wasps' company. Secondly, I did a harvest. Harvests are a part of keeping the wasp colony alive. Basically, a cycle is required to keep the colony alive. The first part of the cycle is infestation (I'll get to that later), and the second part is harvesting. Harvesting involves removing cowpea plant leaves from one jar, and placing them in another jar, referred to as the emergence jar. The cowpea's leaves are covered in parasitized whitefly larvae (the now dead larvae contain wasp pupae) that will hatch in the emergence jar within a week and give us more wasps. Those wasps that are in the emergence jar after that week are then placed into another jar with cowpea plants that contain whitefly larvae that will get parasitized, and the cycle continues.
Anyway, this may seem a little convoluted the way I wrote it, so comment if you've got questions.
Alright, today was an excellent day that I can summarize in three parts: dissection, harvest, and infestation. So, I learned a new technique today. Well, I use the term "learn" loosely, but today, for the first time, I got to dissect a female wasp. Encarsia pergandiella, I think it was. It wasn't E. emiratus because it was a practice wasp that was supposed to be easier (Encarsia is easier to dissect, apparently). The point of the dissection is to determine whether or not the wasp had mated. Since E. emiratus won't readily mate like every other wasp (just my luck), it will occasionally be necessary to open up the abdomen of some females and remove their spermathecas in order to see if mating occurred (the spermatheca is exposed to a chemical that will cause it to glow if mating had occurred). Of course, the wasp dies in the process, but part of the experiment is determining whether or not certain wasps prefer certain other wasps' company. Secondly, I did a harvest. Harvests are a part of keeping the wasp colony alive. Basically, a cycle is required to keep the colony alive. The first part of the cycle is infestation (I'll get to that later), and the second part is harvesting. Harvesting involves removing cowpea plant leaves from one jar, and placing them in another jar, referred to as the emergence jar. The cowpea's leaves are covered in parasitized whitefly larvae (the now dead larvae contain wasp pupae) that will hatch in the emergence jar within a week and give us more wasps. Those wasps that are in the emergence jar after that week are then placed into another jar with cowpea plants that contain whitefly larvae that will get parasitized, and the cycle continues.
Anyway, this may seem a little convoluted the way I wrote it, so comment if you've got questions.
Sorting it out
Today was much more relaxed than yesterday. I went into the lab at 10 AM and fumbled around a bit with the gene alignment program, and double-checked some of my other work. I found a sequence on BLAST that Frans thinks is a good lead, so I will be analyzing the results from the search and compiling a list of other genomes that are worth investigating. We're probably going to be doing PCR next week, but I don't know exactly when, or if Frans will have me do something else.
Tomorrow looks like a reading day. Frans says that he has two more papers for me to read, and I hope to cover some decent ground in the genetics textbooks that I have.
Looking for the Face I Had Before the World Was Made
I don't actually start my internship for another week. Instead, I'm spending all my time researching three things: the history and modern status of contemporary art, the history of modern dance and it's links with contemporary art and the current and past exhibitions of MCA Denver.
My main text at the moment is a tiny little book called Contemporary Art: A Very Short Introduction by Julian Stallabrass. Now, do not be fooled by the title. It is one of the most complicated books I have ever read. Sometimes condensing information is not the best approach, though my on-site adviser swears it's the absolute best introduction. Perhaps what I find so confusing about it is that Stallabrass says nothing about what contemporary art actually is, nor does he provide any sort of introduction to the history of the movement. Instead, he talks about contemporary art in relation to consumerism and capitalism and makes an argument for the place of contemporary art in our society. While this is all very interesting, it is also somewhat confusing. I hope that more research and actually working at the museum will enlighten me further on the definition of contemporary art.
In other research, the title of this blog post—taken from a Yeats poem—is the title of MCA Denver's current exhibit. Together, the six works making up the exhibit all try to tell different stories about humanity while avoiding making the stories about a specific person. The point is to capture what makes something human before it is individualized. After researching the works making up the exhibit, I can't wait to see it myself.
The Play is Underway!
Since my last entry, the Borderlands group has started to do full run-throughs of the show every night. Last night they did their run-through in costume and with sound cues. It was a crazy rehearsal for me because I had to run around helping all the actors with their costumes as well as be the DJ, however this did not interfere with my note-taking because Eva said almost nothing the entire time. At the end she gave a few notes, but for the most part they were very minor comments (watch your pronunciation on this word, remember that in the theater there will be a door that closes right over there, etc.). I would say that the show is in wonderful condition considering they still have a full week before the show opens. All the actors have been off-book (not using their scripts) for a few weeks (although they still need to call for "line" every once and a while) and the acting is becoming more and more consistent from one rehearsal to the next.
Now for the week-by-week summary I promised in my last entry:
The first two and a half weeks of rehearsal took place at the Centro Cultural de las americas building (40 W. Broadway in downtown). When I arrived at the very first rehearsal I was greeted with hugs by people I had never met before. This, I think, shows the warm, informal atmosphere which describes this meeting. After all the contracts were signed (a process that took about 10-15 minutes), all the actors gathered around a very small table while everyone else was squeezed into the area between the table and the door (all the board of directors as well as the prop guy, the set guy, the lighting guy, and the costume lady were also at this rehearsal). After the read-through was over, Eva asked for comments before giving her own. After giving some advice to the actors she went over the references some of the lines make. Then she answered many questions on the time period and went of the schedule (she gave everyone a copy of a schedule from January until March that included what days rehearsals were, what Acts were to be rehearsed on those days, and who needed to show up when) and times were decided on. For the rest of the week, the table was cleared away and replaced with a couch, chair, and coffee table (stand in props). During this first week, many of the actors were already off book and calling for lines. During this week, several scenes were blocked every day. First Eva would watch the scene, then she would ask the actors questions about their characters ("How important is Paulina to you?" "Is this the first time you're telling her about this?"), this allowed the actors to really seriously delve into the psychology of their character. Then the scene would be run again, to allow the actors to put their new decisions for the character into play, also Eva would interrupt many times during the second run-through to point out details and ask the actors more questions. By the end of this week, some of the actors already had much of their costumes, many of the props had already been brought/bought and the actors were already rehearsing with music.
Eva's technique was much the same in week two, she let the actors run-through without interruption than gave the actors comments (many of them affirming actions she liked) and had them run it again. During this week, the lighting guy came to two rehearsals and Eva explained to him what her lighting "vision" is.
During the third week (on January 28th) a very important production meeting took place during one of the rehearsals. The actors went into one room to run lines while the lighting, set, props, and costume people met with the director and stage manager in another room. The stage manager told them everything that was still needed for the play and everyone decided whether that item should be considered a costume, a prop, or part of the set. Eva told them specifically what she wanted this item to look like (for example how tall and what color is the coat hanger). Next everyone discussed whether or not the student matinee would have to be censored (whether it was acceptable to have fake cocaine and talk about erections to their 15 year old audience) and whether Zuzi theater will let the actors smoke onstage. January 31st was the first day rehearsals took place at the South Side Presbyterian Church (a much bigger space for the actors). The stage manager marked the exact area of the stage and marked where all the doors are. For the rest of the week, blocking was solidified and the dance scenes were timed so that they did not run on too long.
During the fourth week (or this week) almost every prop that will be used in the show has trickled in, the costumes have been approved and worn during a run-through, the stage hands that will be present during the show have come to rehearsal to learn their duties, and the soundboard manager has tested out sound effects. Overall the show is just about ready to be performed.
Now I know that all of this is a huge dump of observations, so in my next post I will analyze some of Eva's techniques and how these compare to the directors I am reading about in my 'Director/Directing' book. Also my first Wild Things rehearsal is supposed to be on Friday. I am very unhappy to say that I will have to miss it because I will be performing Charlie Brown at the BASIS Middle School at the exact same time. This is also true for the Saturday rehearsal, but after Saturday I will be finished with Charlie Brown and nothing should get in the way of rehearsals anymore, although I may have some problems with overlap between Pancho Villa performances and Wild Things rehearsals, but what can I say? Such is the life of a thespian.
Now for the week-by-week summary I promised in my last entry:
The first two and a half weeks of rehearsal took place at the Centro Cultural de las americas building (40 W. Broadway in downtown). When I arrived at the very first rehearsal I was greeted with hugs by people I had never met before. This, I think, shows the warm, informal atmosphere which describes this meeting. After all the contracts were signed (a process that took about 10-15 minutes), all the actors gathered around a very small table while everyone else was squeezed into the area between the table and the door (all the board of directors as well as the prop guy, the set guy, the lighting guy, and the costume lady were also at this rehearsal). After the read-through was over, Eva asked for comments before giving her own. After giving some advice to the actors she went over the references some of the lines make. Then she answered many questions on the time period and went of the schedule (she gave everyone a copy of a schedule from January until March that included what days rehearsals were, what Acts were to be rehearsed on those days, and who needed to show up when) and times were decided on. For the rest of the week, the table was cleared away and replaced with a couch, chair, and coffee table (stand in props). During this first week, many of the actors were already off book and calling for lines. During this week, several scenes were blocked every day. First Eva would watch the scene, then she would ask the actors questions about their characters ("How important is Paulina to you?" "Is this the first time you're telling her about this?"), this allowed the actors to really seriously delve into the psychology of their character. Then the scene would be run again, to allow the actors to put their new decisions for the character into play, also Eva would interrupt many times during the second run-through to point out details and ask the actors more questions. By the end of this week, some of the actors already had much of their costumes, many of the props had already been brought/bought and the actors were already rehearsing with music.
Eva's technique was much the same in week two, she let the actors run-through without interruption than gave the actors comments (many of them affirming actions she liked) and had them run it again. During this week, the lighting guy came to two rehearsals and Eva explained to him what her lighting "vision" is.
During the third week (on January 28th) a very important production meeting took place during one of the rehearsals. The actors went into one room to run lines while the lighting, set, props, and costume people met with the director and stage manager in another room. The stage manager told them everything that was still needed for the play and everyone decided whether that item should be considered a costume, a prop, or part of the set. Eva told them specifically what she wanted this item to look like (for example how tall and what color is the coat hanger). Next everyone discussed whether or not the student matinee would have to be censored (whether it was acceptable to have fake cocaine and talk about erections to their 15 year old audience) and whether Zuzi theater will let the actors smoke onstage. January 31st was the first day rehearsals took place at the South Side Presbyterian Church (a much bigger space for the actors). The stage manager marked the exact area of the stage and marked where all the doors are. For the rest of the week, blocking was solidified and the dance scenes were timed so that they did not run on too long.
During the fourth week (or this week) almost every prop that will be used in the show has trickled in, the costumes have been approved and worn during a run-through, the stage hands that will be present during the show have come to rehearsal to learn their duties, and the soundboard manager has tested out sound effects. Overall the show is just about ready to be performed.
Now I know that all of this is a huge dump of observations, so in my next post I will analyze some of Eva's techniques and how these compare to the directors I am reading about in my 'Director/Directing' book. Also my first Wild Things rehearsal is supposed to be on Friday. I am very unhappy to say that I will have to miss it because I will be performing Charlie Brown at the BASIS Middle School at the exact same time. This is also true for the Saturday rehearsal, but after Saturday I will be finished with Charlie Brown and nothing should get in the way of rehearsals anymore, although I may have some problems with overlap between Pancho Villa performances and Wild Things rehearsals, but what can I say? Such is the life of a thespian.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Getting my feet wet...
I was kept quite busy in the lab today. In the morning, I did some independent work with BLAST and the genome alignment software that Frans showed me yesterday. That kept me occupied for a while, and at 1:00, Frans started me working with an intern.
We were doing DNA prep on some tissue samples that she had collected from her plant specimens. We got to use lots of fun equipment and chemicals, including chloroform. First of all, we had to crush up the samples. Do you seniors who were in biology remember Mr. Johnston's kiwi fruit lab? Anyways, in the kiwi lab, we just smacked the kiwis around in order to break the cell membranes, but this was much more complicated, and much more fun.
Our tissue samples were embryonic leaves that were something less than one square millimeter, so we had to use a drill press to crush them up. The press is small enough to fit on a lab bench, and it uses special, rounded bits made out of plastic. We put a single leaf from a plant in the bottom of a cuvette, and then ground it up with the press.
Following the addition of a few various solutions, and several sessions of mixing, centrifuging, and draining the samples, the DNA was put into a solution of TE buffer to keep it from degenerating. We should be doing PCR in the next few days so that we will have more copies of the DNA to work with.
The entire process took about three and a half hours. I expect that we will get faster in the future, especially since we will be making fewer mistakes.
After a rather wet (but not unpleasant) walk from the bus stop and some valuable time spent with a genetics textbook, I was ready to call it a day.
The winter of our discontent
Because I've working in the Chandler lab since June of last year, I think it is necessary to highlight the differences between what I did then and what I am doing now. I will focus on my early morning duties, because they are the subject of the greatest polar shift in opinion.
For the duration of the summer, one of my jobs was to take care of the plants in greenhouse #5. It seems silly, but I began to hate these motionless stalks of corn for a number of reasons. One, they were selfish. It was the middle of July and I was forced to abide by their growing conditions: 100 Fahrenheit, and 100% humidity. I stress that this is not hyperbole. My other point of annoyance was that they were thankless. I was not able to use them as shade from the sun, eat their cobs, or attach my name to the published paper of which their genes were the subject.
Although it may seem like I am still slaving over little green jerks, something is very different. I ride in the darkness knowing that in minutes I will find myself in a room that can only be described as balmy.
Shakespeare may have been a genius, but even he could not have foreseen that many of the items of discontent brought by winter can be dodged by spending time in greenhouse #5.
For the duration of the summer, one of my jobs was to take care of the plants in greenhouse #5. It seems silly, but I began to hate these motionless stalks of corn for a number of reasons. One, they were selfish. It was the middle of July and I was forced to abide by their growing conditions: 100 Fahrenheit, and 100% humidity. I stress that this is not hyperbole. My other point of annoyance was that they were thankless. I was not able to use them as shade from the sun, eat their cobs, or attach my name to the published paper of which their genes were the subject.
Although it may seem like I am still slaving over little green jerks, something is very different. I ride in the darkness knowing that in minutes I will find myself in a room that can only be described as balmy.
Shakespeare may have been a genius, but even he could not have foreseen that many of the items of discontent brought by winter can be dodged by spending time in greenhouse #5.
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