Thursday and Friday were pretty busy, but not as busy as the first three days of the work-week. Thursday, I actually came into the College of Pharmacy rather late due to the fact I had to go to the dermatologist (yes, the doctor who checks my skin). Afterwards, I went immediately to work, with a stop at Subway for something to eat.
Anyway, on Thursday, Mark and I went to the Schroeder lab at the bottom floor of the Cancer Center and look at the immunohistochemistries that was performed on Wednesday. We then took pictures of the MEKK4 and Filamin-A activities in E11.5 samples. Most of the slides turned out all right, but there was one that was compromised during the procedure. We are unsure of how that happened. It could have been the original appearance before the treatments, or the procedure could have definitely done something to it. We’re still trying to figure that out.
Today, we discussed some more when the next trial run of the samples should be. I decided that it should be performed on Monday, because we don’t have enough resources at the moment to perform the procedure at the moment. So, I suggested that I should make some more chemicals and follow Mark around in the lab so I could learn some more. Well, I definitely learned a lot more.
Derrick, Patty, and Mark taught me some more concerning sterile technique. Well, the 1X PBS solutions I made weren’t exactly the cleanest solutions, because they were unfiltered and teeming with bacteria and minerals and other “disgusting” substances. So I learned the art of filtering out solutions. They use a cup like device and a vacuum, and then the vacuum removes the unhealthy from the healthy, and the health goes into the bottle, and the grimy goes into the path of the vacuum. Really, it was rather interesting. The procedure was very quick for all three bottles. I thought it would take hours. However, it requires a little watching because the filters need to constantly working with a solution, or the filter will dry out and become futile.
Then Derrick and Patty came back with some autoclaved graduated cylinders, beakers, test tubes, etc. I had the “privilege” of actually covering them with foil and placing a small piece of tape on top of it. I don’t really understand the point of the tape though. It looks more like an organization tool or such an accessory. I don’t really know, I’ll admit.
Tiredness is a rather interesting quality. It’s there when I don’t need it, and it’s not there when I need it. I feel like I need to get some sleep or something. Coffee sounds great right now…what am I saying?
As of now, I’m reading some more research papers, including the ones written by Dr. Camenisch so I would try to procure some support from previous research. It’s not easy being an intern, let alone a researcher.
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