Fifth Week in the Lab (6/23/17 – 7/2/17)

     Once I was back in the lab it was time to run more gels. The gels that I made before had shown that the mushrooms had proteolytic activity, now it was just the matter of getting prettier gels that would look nice on a poster and a published paper. I also tried some green pepper samples (they were on sale, and I figured, “why not?”), as well as jarred mushrooms and jarred liquid. Dr. England sent a paper my way for a casein assay procedure that would provide a numerical value to the enzymatic activity of the mushroom varieties I was testing. It was a tedious procedure, as preparing the casein solution required a heating block I had to walk to another lab to use, and I also had to use the other lab’s incubator. However, I enjoyed trying a new procedure. It was a welcome change from the gels. Unfortunately the assay did not work as expected which could be due to a variety of factors. For one thing, one of the chemicals I used in the procedure had not been properly stored in the freezer and may have gone bad. Dr. England ordered new chemicals for me to use, which should arrive next week. In other news, once Surinder's visa was approved, he was making preparations to fly out ASAP. It was bittersweet to say goodbye to a man with so much knowledge and good cheer, but we are happy for him.