About Paolz

Movie and music lover and comic book enthusiast. Science major. Future med school student

No Fish Were Harmed in the Making of This…Oh. Wait.

The summer has gone by so fast! I guess that time does fly when you’re having fun.

Well. Mostly fun. Some things can get frustrating.

My project this summer (to be continued…fall semester) has involved the study of gill rakers. Specifically, the study of gill rakers across trophic niches.

Gill rakers = bony or cartilaginous spine-like things that are attached to the branchial arches of the fish (branchial arches are the structures that hold the gills!)

http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/ac736e/AC736E117.gif

Very simplistically, they function like a colander > food particles get trapped and water just flows through.

(Red = food, Blue = water)

The gill rakers also have other cool qualities, like taste buds and mucous cells. But not much is known about their general location on the raker, or what exactly the raker is composed of.

So, since these are feeding structures, my definition of trophic niche = the delicious habit of EATING!

Fish are freaks. This has become the motto of our lab.

It truly is amazing how weird and unique fish are. Seriously. Pretty freaky. I can’t wait to get my own fish for fall semester.

Anyway, to collect data I’ve been doing microdissections and histological (tissue) staining. My results are pretty preliminary right now, but I’ve got the procedure down.

(Some) Things I Have Learned:

–       Microdissections are a good way to raise your blood pressure – good music is a MUST (thank you iTunes Radio – Top 50 Country)

–       Histological staining is like Easter egg staining ramped up 589840%

–       Pandora is a life saver

–       Creative uses for lab equipment

–       Wednesday lunches with all the biology research groups rock

–       While nerve-wracking, the symposium was a very positive and necessary experience

–       ALL THE SCIENCE

–       The Smithsonian is super, duper awesome

–       A sense of humor is crucial (thank you to my teammates and Dr. Staab)

–       Speaking of Dr. Staab…

Favorite Dr. Staabisms (Or, Things that Dr. Staab Said that I Found Hilarious)

–       These cups are from the civil war

–       You have to look for the sticky-outy parts

–       Just add a goodly amount

–       They’re saying random things, does that mean garden burger?

–       Anything about fonts

–       Jazziest

–       SQUIRREL!

–       Is that gonapodium or are you happy to see me? Wait, I haven’t taken the harassment training yet, does that count?

–       I’m the boss, so listen to me (not meanly, but as a compliment. Somehow)

In Conclusion:

Overall, I am so, so incredibly thankful for this summer. Not only did I learn A LOT of new things about science and the research process, but I got a chance to interact with the professors of my major on levels that transcend the classroom experience in all the good ways. I made new friends and had many laughs.

Beyond that, my passion for my chosen path (thus far) has been rekindled. Within the last year, I was questioning my decision to be a biology major, to pursue a career in the sciences.

This summer made me see past that.

Bringing in some poetry (hang in there), I think these lines perfectly describe what I feel, here at the end of my seven weeks:

“An Horatian Notion” – Thomas Lux

You make the thing because you love the thing
and you love the thing because someone else loved it
enough to make you love it.
And with that your heart on a beam burns
through the ionosphere.
And with that you go to work.