I’m really sad. I feel depressed.
So many people are gone. I’m so glad Rigo and Jonathan are here to cheer me up.
I am flying to Madison, Wisconsin, tomorrow at 3 PM because I’m staying at my friend’s house until September. I am packing my stuff, but I just can’t do it. I can’t stop my tears. I tell myself I can always come back, but I know it won’t be the same. I’m going to miss everything . . . though I’m really thankful that I had the chance to have such wonderful days to remember.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Week 5, 6, and 7–just cruising along
I can’t believe I've been here for so long. I don’t want this to end at all . . . why is time passing so quickly?
I’ve been cruising along with a similar schedule each day.
Monday: MIT, class, sometimes MIT or homework for class or Tesa, then orchestra.
Tuesday: MIT (Journal Club in the morning), start writing the weekly report for class.
Wednesday: class, MIT
Thursday and Friday: MIT
Of course every day when I’m not working, I’m reading and writing for class or work, reading the new Harry Potter (!!!), exploring Harvard Square, MGH, or Boston, or just relaxing in other people’s rooms (talking, watching movies (Rent!), teaching other people how to solve the Rubik’s cube, or playing poker).
Everyone started having finals, and mine’s on Monday, August 13. Tesa’s program ends on 8/10 and she’ll be flying back to California soon. My concert is on 8/11 (yay).
Most of my friends are leaving as soon as they take their finals. Luckily Rigo and Jonathan are leaving on the 17th like me.
I’ve been cruising along with a similar schedule each day.
Monday: MIT, class, sometimes MIT or homework for class or Tesa, then orchestra.
Tuesday: MIT (Journal Club in the morning), start writing the weekly report for class.
Wednesday: class, MIT
Thursday and Friday: MIT
Of course every day when I’m not working, I’m reading and writing for class or work, reading the new Harry Potter (!!!), exploring Harvard Square, MGH, or Boston, or just relaxing in other people’s rooms (talking, watching movies (Rent!), teaching other people how to solve the Rubik’s cube, or playing poker).
Everyone started having finals, and mine’s on Monday, August 13. Tesa’s program ends on 8/10 and she’ll be flying back to California soon. My concert is on 8/11 (yay).
Most of my friends are leaving as soon as they take their finals. Luckily Rigo and Jonathan are leaving on the 17th like me.
Friday–July 13, 2007
Today is a FACS day.
FACS (from my journal)
After 72 hours in the incubator, the cells are looked under the microscope for qualitative result by reflecting the certain wavelength to see how many cells glow. Then cells are prepared for FACS analysis by getting washed with DPBS, detached from the plate by trypsinization, and put into tubes.
72 hours after transfection, we put the transfected cells from the cell plates into microtubes to get the quantitative results from the FACS machine. It takes about 3 hours, and Tesa is going to teach me to solve the Rubik’s cube during every 3-5 min. break between changing tubes for the machine.
On Sunday, Ashley’s family is holding the annual cookout. Rigo and I are invited to stay at her house, and I’m so excited that I can’t stop thinking about it when I am working!
FACS (from my journal)
After 72 hours in the incubator, the cells are looked under the microscope for qualitative result by reflecting the certain wavelength to see how many cells glow. Then cells are prepared for FACS analysis by getting washed with DPBS, detached from the plate by trypsinization, and put into tubes.
72 hours after transfection, we put the transfected cells from the cell plates into microtubes to get the quantitative results from the FACS machine. It takes about 3 hours, and Tesa is going to teach me to solve the Rubik’s cube during every 3-5 min. break between changing tubes for the machine.
On Sunday, Ashley’s family is holding the annual cookout. Rigo and I are invited to stay at her house, and I’m so excited that I can’t stop thinking about it when I am working!
Wednesday–July 11, 2007
I finally remembered to bring my camera to the lab (yes!).
9 AM, Tesa’s not here yet, but it’s okay – I know what to do now!
For transfection, I label the microtubes; warm up the media with the water bath; warm up the polymers, DNA, NaAC, Opti-Mem at room temperature; and get different kinds of pipettes, empty tubes, and pipette tips.
Then I label the cell plates and set up the fume hood.
This is so exciting!!
Transfection is quite a complex process.
Transfection (from the scientific journal I wrote)
One day before a Green Fluorescence Protein (GFP) transfection, a certain type of cell is plated with initial seeding density of 75,000 into two 24-well plates, labeled with all the variables. A plate has 12 wells for 6ug or 3ug of GFP. 6 of the 12 wells, with the same concentration, contain each type of polymers, C32-103, -117, and -122, and liposomes and cells only. Two of the six wells, with the same concentration and polymer type, have the ratio of 20, 30, or 40% polymer to 1% DNA. Two controls are liposome, considered to have relatively low toxicity level, and cells, without gene delivered.
Four hours after the transfection is complete and the gene-delivered cells are put in the incubator, the growth media is changed for all 48 wells and the toxicity levels are reviewed under the microscope by comparing cells-only wells to other wells.
Or simply, different kinds and concentrations of polymers are combined with healthy cells.
Cells are grown, or cultured, in flasks, and when they multiply and fill the bottom of the flasks we need to ‘plate’ them, or divide and transfer them into new flasks. Plating is carried out a day before every transfection.
9 AM, Tesa’s not here yet, but it’s okay – I know what to do now!
For transfection, I label the microtubes; warm up the media with the water bath; warm up the polymers, DNA, NaAC, Opti-Mem at room temperature; and get different kinds of pipettes, empty tubes, and pipette tips.
Then I label the cell plates and set up the fume hood.
This is so exciting!!
Transfection is quite a complex process.
Transfection (from the scientific journal I wrote)
One day before a Green Fluorescence Protein (GFP) transfection, a certain type of cell is plated with initial seeding density of 75,000 into two 24-well plates, labeled with all the variables. A plate has 12 wells for 6ug or 3ug of GFP. 6 of the 12 wells, with the same concentration, contain each type of polymers, C32-103, -117, and -122, and liposomes and cells only. Two of the six wells, with the same concentration and polymer type, have the ratio of 20, 30, or 40% polymer to 1% DNA. Two controls are liposome, considered to have relatively low toxicity level, and cells, without gene delivered.
Four hours after the transfection is complete and the gene-delivered cells are put in the incubator, the growth media is changed for all 48 wells and the toxicity levels are reviewed under the microscope by comparing cells-only wells to other wells.
Or simply, different kinds and concentrations of polymers are combined with healthy cells.
Cells are grown, or cultured, in flasks, and when they multiply and fill the bottom of the flasks we need to ‘plate’ them, or divide and transfer them into new flasks. Plating is carried out a day before every transfection.
Wednesday–July 4, 2007: Happy Independence Day!
The BEST summer day I ever had in my life.
Watching the movie Transformer, eating pizza, getting wet with rain drops, admiring the beautiful fireworks, walking back to Cambridge in a crowd of 15 people, and laughing with all those friends . . . I will never forget.
Watching the movie Transformer, eating pizza, getting wet with rain drops, admiring the beautiful fireworks, walking back to Cambridge in a crowd of 15 people, and laughing with all those friends . . . I will never forget.
Tuesday–July 3, 2007
Notes:
Transfection: delivering a gene to cells -> need a carrier to be efficient ->we use synthetic, positively charged polymers b/c DNA has a negative charge.
*look up viral vector and synthetic vector when I go back.
*go to the NIH website, read about stem cells – we’re using human embryonic, adipose, and mesenchymal stem cells.
*we do GFP (Green Florescence Protein) transfection.
new vocabs, feel a bit overwhelmed haha.
1:45, Tesa is giving me a tour of the school! We ate somewhere behind our lab, where there were food trucks and many interns. Mmm, I had a good burrito.
MIT buildings are oriented in a complicated way and I have no idea where I am or our lab is. I want to explore more next time.
3:20, Tesa and I went back to the lab to change the medium, which is the liquid full of nutrients for the growing cells. We must always change the medium 4 hours after we finish transfection. Ah, I’m still scared to do things by myself! Please cells, don’t die when I make a little mistake.
*be confident!
*use a lot of ethanol spray. Spray inside the hood before and after and wipe it with Kim-wipe.
*don’t let the pipette tip touch anything else!
*try to reduce movements that disturb the atmosphere.
*be fast: cells like to be in the incubator.
*lids and caps must be placed upside down to reduce contamination.
*when done, clean up, close the hood, and turn on the UV light.
Transfection: delivering a gene to cells -> need a carrier to be efficient ->we use synthetic, positively charged polymers b/c DNA has a negative charge.
*look up viral vector and synthetic vector when I go back.
*go to the NIH website, read about stem cells – we’re using human embryonic, adipose, and mesenchymal stem cells.
*we do GFP (Green Florescence Protein) transfection.
new vocabs, feel a bit overwhelmed haha.
1:45, Tesa is giving me a tour of the school! We ate somewhere behind our lab, where there were food trucks and many interns. Mmm, I had a good burrito.
MIT buildings are oriented in a complicated way and I have no idea where I am or our lab is. I want to explore more next time.
3:20, Tesa and I went back to the lab to change the medium, which is the liquid full of nutrients for the growing cells. We must always change the medium 4 hours after we finish transfection. Ah, I’m still scared to do things by myself! Please cells, don’t die when I make a little mistake.
*be confident!
*use a lot of ethanol spray. Spray inside the hood before and after and wipe it with Kim-wipe.
*don’t let the pipette tip touch anything else!
*try to reduce movements that disturb the atmosphere.
*be fast: cells like to be in the incubator.
*lids and caps must be placed upside down to reduce contamination.
*when done, clean up, close the hood, and turn on the UV light.
Monday-July 2, 2007
Fan is the post-doc under Dr. Anderson under Dr. Langer and she told me I could work with Tesa, who is an undergraduate senior at UC Berkeley, doing UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program) for the summer.
Right now it’s 10:10 AM, and I’ve been watching Tesa and learning the pipetting techniques since 9 AM. There are three main things she does: cell culture/plating, transfection, and FACS . . . not sure what those are right now, but I’ll be reading the scientific journals she assigns.
I’m really tired because I slept late at night, studying for the quiz (Principles of Genetics at 1 PM: DON’T FORGET!). A bit dizzy too – I’m not really used to the smell of ethanol, of the sterile lab. Anyway, I hope the quiz isn’t too hard, and I should sleep earlier now on since I need to be here at 8 in the morning every day. Maybe I should take a nap like Ashley, too.
Hee-hee, I thank God for letting me be here.
*don’t forget to go to the rehearsal at 6:30!!
Right now it’s 10:10 AM, and I’ve been watching Tesa and learning the pipetting techniques since 9 AM. There are three main things she does: cell culture/plating, transfection, and FACS . . . not sure what those are right now, but I’ll be reading the scientific journals she assigns.
I’m really tired because I slept late at night, studying for the quiz (Principles of Genetics at 1 PM: DON’T FORGET!). A bit dizzy too – I’m not really used to the smell of ethanol, of the sterile lab. Anyway, I hope the quiz isn’t too hard, and I should sleep earlier now on since I need to be here at 8 in the morning every day. Maybe I should take a nap like Ashley, too.
Hee-hee, I thank God for letting me be here.
*don’t forget to go to the rehearsal at 6:30!!
Sunday-June 23, 2007
For the first time, here I am in Cambridge.
Old buildings, THE Harvard Square, tourists, students, tourists, students . . . and Hurlbut Hall, the dorm I will be staying for eight weeks. I got a single, but the right side of the building is all-single and I don’t think I will be lonely not having a roommate. Plus, Ashley’s room is right across from my room, Jonathan is upstairs, Steve and Rigo are in the adjacent dorm, and my proctor seems really nice and friendly.
It was a scorching hot day and I am so glad my mom was here to unpack and Ashley to help me register and walk, WALK from this building to that building to the other building, etc.
I’m not sure what course I’ll take. I signed up for Principles and Techniques of Molecular Biology, but there’s a time conflict with Harvard Summer Orchestra rehearsals. My mom wants me to improve on writing by taking the Essay course, but I think I want to take Mobile Robot and Embedded Programming. I should go talk to the SSP office soon.
There’s one more lab training I need to do for the internship. After that hopefully I’ll be working at the college of my dream, MIT. I’m a bit scared with all these new things, but I feel deep inside my mind the growing excitement for this summer.
Old buildings, THE Harvard Square, tourists, students, tourists, students . . . and Hurlbut Hall, the dorm I will be staying for eight weeks. I got a single, but the right side of the building is all-single and I don’t think I will be lonely not having a roommate. Plus, Ashley’s room is right across from my room, Jonathan is upstairs, Steve and Rigo are in the adjacent dorm, and my proctor seems really nice and friendly.
It was a scorching hot day and I am so glad my mom was here to unpack and Ashley to help me register and walk, WALK from this building to that building to the other building, etc.
I’m not sure what course I’ll take. I signed up for Principles and Techniques of Molecular Biology, but there’s a time conflict with Harvard Summer Orchestra rehearsals. My mom wants me to improve on writing by taking the Essay course, but I think I want to take Mobile Robot and Embedded Programming. I should go talk to the SSP office soon.
There’s one more lab training I need to do for the internship. After that hopefully I’ll be working at the college of my dream, MIT. I’m a bit scared with all these new things, but I feel deep inside my mind the growing excitement for this summer.
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