I had so much fun seeing everyone’s labs last week! Everyone’s doing so many different things and working in so many different types of labs. Shout out to Mellie for keeping her selfie game and picture game strong, she was kind enough to send me some pictures from my tour!
On a more scientific note, my mentor was making a virus today! I got to observe the protocol as well as the extra safety precautions that are required in the virus room. Depending on how far along her research is she will make a virus. The virus she used is the lenti virus, that she modified. The lenti virus is part of the HIV family and is used to facilitate integration of transfer plasmid sequences into host cells. They use this method more so, because it takes less time and is equally effective as other methods. ( I don’t think I’ll get to this level in my research, but I was very thrilled to see the process!)
Hope everyone has a great week and a Happy 4th of July! We’re half way done guys! Times going by soooo quickly! Happy Learning!
That’s so cool!! Do you think he virus would cause any harm if it stays in the cell? Also, what would other benefits are there aside from being more efficient?
Virus making sounds awesome! It is amazing what the researcher can do. Hopefully it stays in the hood through.
Cheers, Robert
I’ve never worked with viruses. How fascinating! Many years ago I had an internship in a lab that worked with a strain related to smallpox. It was in an inner BSL 3 lab with strictly controlled access.
I love getting to learn about everyone’s projects. One of my favorite things has been asking other researchers in the lab to tell me about their projects. So much interesting stuff the average person has no idea about and how this current research is or will affect their lives.