The Conversion Factor on the Bigger Picture

This week in the lab we focused on turning the isolated RNA into cDNA. From here we add the labelled probes to the cDNA before we are finally ready to place them on the microarray chips. Turning the RNA into cDNA is kind of an important step. If the isolation was bad, we would not see a good yield in cDNA. This is particularly important because the conversion from RNA to cDNA itself reduces the amount of product. Thankfully, my cDNA yield was pretty good which also means my isolation technique is pretty good also.

This year, I was able to sit in on the National Science Foundation's site visit to the campus. This was important because I was able to view how other mentors, senior scientists and other important figureheads handle pressure from their funders. The site visit helped me understand how indvidual projects come together to address bigger and more important issues. For example, my project involving the use of microrrays to get the genetic profile of methanotrophs in the Columbia River Estuary. These methanotrophs are bacteria that can metabolize methane for energy. They relate back to the bigger picture, so to speak, because of their relevance or connection to global warming, since methane is one of the infamous contributors to greenhouse gases that help warm the Earth. From this logic, I believe my project is important because if we can gain an understanding for the amount/types of methanotrophs in the Columbia River Estuary, we can then gain an understanding of how much methane is being reduced, and how much is contributing to the greenhouse effect. From this point, we could get a better  understanding of how to approach the problem.

...UNTIL NEXT TIME