All About That Place

Good news: I was officially approved by a BYU committee, so I can work in the lab now. More good news: I've taken a bus back to the house a few times, and I haven't gotten lost (yet). If you had told me last week that I'd be taking the bus back from BYU, I would've scoffed. I've never taken a bus by myself before, let alone wander a city that I've barely been in for a week. However, this week was full of new experiences, and I'd like to think that I've learned how to use public transportation (ie. bus drivers are not mind readers - you actually have to pull the yellow wire to request a stop. Who knew?)... at least a little bit. I'd like to thank the bus drivers for helping me throughout this process. Additionally, I managed to walk through buildings on a college campus without feeling like I stuck out. All in all, I'd say it's been a successful week.

On a different note, I finally started learning my way around the lab. The names of the equipment are apt; the vortexer mixes solutions in vials by creating a mini vortex, and the sonicator mixes solutions in submerged vials by sending sound waves through water (and, as the person training me said, it literally sounds like a dying bat). But don't let this simplicity fool you. Even though the name may be easy, using the equipment is not. Especially when the equipment you're using has, for all intents and purposes, a pressurized cannon connected to it. For those skeptics out there, I give you this proof:

No, it's not a death ray, although it looks like one. It's called a rotavapor.

That tank is filled with compressed nitrogen. It's chained to the wall because, if it fell over, it'd literally blow through a wall or two. Or maybe three. I'm actually going to be using this piece of equipment (yay, lucky me). The rotavapor rotates the vial while pumping in nitrogen gas, allowing the solvent to evaporate off and leaving the lipid evenly distributed. I think I'll post about my experiment process later, since it's rather lengthy. However, I will say that working in a lab requires patience. Preparing the liposomes took hours, and the actual test at the end took minutes. Most of those minutes, furthermore, were all controls, so those results didn't mean much, since they were expected.

I've enjoyed working in the lab so far. I'm a bit nervous for next week, however. My uncle says I'm going to replicate this mostly by myself, although I will receive help if I ask for it. My uncle is also the one that pushed me to take the bus. I think his plan is to make me more independent (and it might actually be working). Maybe I'll use this independence to walk over to the UVU library. Unfortunately, I don't think the library will allow me to check out any books unless I have a card - which I don't have. But my cousin has one....

Until next time!

- Lauren