This week I made control samples to show that mushrooms have enzymatic activity and it’s not just meat proteins breaking down naturally over time. I mixed meat and water samples as my control and ran those on the gels, and compared those to the mushroom sample gels I had from last week. When the data from the control samples confirmed that mushrooms had proteolytic activity, I could move forward with my project.
Tuesday was a day of many mistakes. I had to remake gels three times because I skipped a step or forgot to add a chemical. After I took a minute to breathe, slow down, and read the procedure in my notebook thoroughly, I ended up with some nice gels. I also made new buffers because the ones used to make the gels had been sitting on the counter for a while and may not have been as effective. The pH meter in the lab had to be stabilized first (the buffers have to be at a specific pH), which took time, but now I know how to clean and stabilize the pH meter for future reference.
The quizbowl practices start a little late because we all have other commitments, but the girls are really nice, and Trey, one of our coaches, is a funny guy. For example, the Merlot cut is derived from the gastrocnemius muscle, so to help us remember, Trey said drinking Merlot makes him gassy. We also got to choose the design for the shirts we were ordering for the competition. We chose a rich red color on a soft material with some small knives in the back to look badass. I can’t wait for our shirts to come in!
Back in the lab, some of the gels I ran had to be tossed because they didn't look right. I was trying to figure out if there was something going on with the buffers or the actual making of the gels themselves. I went over everything I did in my head and couldn't think of anything I had messed up. A little later I saw that one of our gel holders was broken! I’m glad it was just the materials because that is an easy fix. I ran more gels, and they look damn good. With the amount of time I spend making gels, by the end of this summer I will be a master of SDS-PAGE.
Over the weekend I saw the new Wonder Woman movie with my roommate Bhuvi. She’s leaving soon to do summer research in Germany, but I’m grateful for the time to get to know her because we’re living together next year. I love superheros and comic books, but was a little leery about the seeing movie. Marvel has been doing a great job with their movies, but I haven’t liked any of the recent DC offerings (the Batman movies with Christian Bale were amazing, but the newest Superman and Batman movies with Ben Affleck I am not a fan of). This movie blew away my worries and I had a great time. Wonder Woman is such a kick-ass icon who moves forward into the unknown standing by her ideals. The action scenes with the Amazons were my favorite. The Amazons gracefully flipped and spun into battle all the while accurately shooting arrows at the enemy. It was more like a dance.
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