MOUSING AROUND
i can't write about the "typical" day in the lab because our days are far from typical. We don't follow a set schedule from day to day we just kind of DO stuff. There are lags in activity when we just chill and times when we are extremely busy, kept on a strict time schedule. So...i'll describe some of the things that go on in the lab.
PPI: it's basically our project (i've talked about it in every single blog post...). This is what we spend the majority of our lab time doing. Since we can't inject the mice, our mentor or Caroline does and we put the mice into the little tubes. It's an art...some are really squirmish and refuse to go in while other will pop in and then scramble back out. They all look like Remy from Ratatouille. Then, we allow the machine to run the test and after 20ish minutes, take the mice out and clean up after them. There's this amazing sterilizing spray we use... that just makes the poop go away and life so much easier.
Hole board: the most exciting part of this week was performing this NEW test. well...new for me. basically there's a board with 16 holes and a computer and video camera track how many times the mice poke their nose into the holes. Mice are curious creatures! Some mice even fall into the holes and explore what's under the board. it's always neat to see them figure out how to climb up from underneath.
MAKING DRUGS: PCP and Amphetamine are on lockdown. It takes a lot of calculations and makes me wish i took AP chemistry so i could understand them better. The other day, Caroline (the gradish student) was having issues dissolving one of the antipsychotics into solution. Vortexing at a speed 10 is crazy intense. everyone should try it.
Life as a lab tech: Last week, our lab tech, Santu, was out and we got to fill in for her. She checks up on and takes very good care of the mice. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM...there's like 2 entire rooms full of racks of mice cages as well as cages scattered around in individual testing rooms. We had to open each cage and check the water/food level as well as the cleanliness of the bedding. The one rack of mice i checked must have been the maternity ward because there were tons of cute little babies. newborn mice are pink and furless...
we have to get dressed up pretty in order to see the mice.
The AUTOCLAVE: is huge. and there's someone on the other side of it that sings. it also rumbles a lot and so oftern that i've become habituated to it. when it's finished it BEEPS a lot. just as the sound of the autoclave is a constant in our lab, so is the sight of these boxes:
mice are everywhere
Gloves: we use a lot.
Kind of like pipette tips of a wet lab
Chill time: This is what happens when we're either waiting for a test to run or are waiting for a drug to be made or a test to be prepared or a program to download.... I read papers: papers about schizophrenia, which are easiest to understand, and about dopamine and glutamate receptors, which are a lot more techinical. Wikipedia is a big help. I also take breaks and read for a while, imagine my surprise when he book i'm reading right now: Identical by Ellen Hopkins mentioned schizophrenia! Chill time is also ipod time and ponder about my future time. It's nice that i'm in the same lab as Lavender, which means we can chit chat with Caroline and argue about whether or not this-->
is Korean or Japanese sushi and the effect of testosterone on one's body. =)
it's been four weeks...i can't believe that the howard hughes experience is almost over. it's been great. i've gotten so used to my lab that i don't even notice the smell anymore. when leighanne came to visit, she said the entire lab smelled like an incubator. you can read her blog to find out what she thinks about that smell. next week we get our official badges and start a new type of experiment. HOORAY. have a nice weekend everyone.
