Updates from the Lab: Summer 2019
Updates from the Lab: Spring 2019
By Noah Cline
During winter quarter, I had the opportunity to help Dr. Brothers with her research on Antarctic sea stars. Last year, she was able to go to DeLaca Island in Antarctica to collect tissue samples from four different species of sea stars. Water samples were also collected from around the sea stars. The goal of this project was to look at the microbiome of each species digestive organs and see if there was a difference or a similarity in the types of microbes found based on what their feeding habits are. Some sea stars prefer sponges, some prefer molluscs, and others prefer detritus. My task was to take the samples and isolate their DNA and get it ready for sequencing using an isolation kit. The amount of isolated DNA was measured using a NanodropTM spectrophotometer. By the end of the quarter, I worked through 38 samples of stomach tissue, pyloric ceca tissue, and water samples. I would highly recommend that other undergraduates get involved with research. It provides problem solving skills and hands on experience that you don’t get in a regular classroom or lab. Research allows you to work one on one with a professor on a project that will get published. Most importantly, you can prove that you are responsible with resources and that you have the ability to learn in a professional environment.
- By Braeden Jacobson
Updates from the Lab: Spring 2019
By Noah Cline
During winter quarter, I had the opportunity to help Dr. Brothers with her research on Antarctic sea stars. Last year, she was able to go to DeLaca Island in Antarctica to collect tissue samples from four different species of sea stars. Water samples were also collected from around the sea stars. The goal of this project was to look at the microbiome of each species digestive organs and see if there was a difference or a similarity in the types of microbes found based on what their feeding habits are. Some sea stars prefer sponges, some prefer molluscs, and others prefer detritus. My task was to take the samples and isolate their DNA and get it ready for sequencing using an isolation kit. The amount of isolated DNA was measured using a NanodropTM spectrophotometer. By the end of the quarter, I worked through 38 samples of stomach tissue, pyloric ceca tissue, and water samples. I would highly recommend that other undergraduates get involved with research. It provides problem solving skills and hands on experience that you don’t get in a regular classroom or lab. Research allows you to work one on one with a professor on a project that will get published. Most importantly, you can prove that you are responsible with resources and that you have the ability to learn in a professional environment.