When I went to the train station today, there was a carpet of turquoise blue rock salt…snow is coming! It was quite beautiful, the whole corridor along the train coated in crystals. And, of course, with my Chem 205 background I couldn’t help but think that they were probably CaCl2, which has a higher Van’t hoff factor of 3 and therefore keeps water liquid at lower temperatures. But anyways.
Oh, and speaking of freezing point dynamics, we made ice cream in our last Chem 205 lab of the semester! Despite the downside of knowing that I was eating a ½ cup of sugar and ¼ cup of whipping cream, it was actually very delicious and relatively solid. Well, I may have added a little too much vanilla. Instead of double chocolate, I made double vanilla.
Not a bad lab result here
More food in class highlights: we got fancy sandwiches on baguettes in molecular genetics today. We had a couple of guest lecturers come and talk to us about the CRISPR patent debate, and it was really interesting to hear the legal thinking behind the outcome.
Plus our qRT-PCR (science experiment quantifying the amount of amplified mRNA) kind of worked! Our primers were a little too efficient, actually, but they were within range. We have a bit of a contamination problem with genomic DNA throwing off the read of the machine, but still, as this is my first time doing this protocol I’m happy the results turned out okay.
Another serious lab result. This is written in mutant CRISPR edited moss! Merry Crispmoss everyone
Speaking of experiments, I have finally resolved an issue that has been plaguing my Western blots (my thesis project) for the past month! Hurrah. It was a relatively stupid mistake, but a learning experience. I fixed it and got clear crisp bands for the first time in ages. I’m just waiting in the lab as I write this so I can develop the results in a little less than an hour.
Finally, I’m going to see the Nutcracker tonight with one of my best friends! This will be my fourth year in a row seeing the Boston Ballet Nutcracker, and I’d like to thank Wellesley’s Office of Student Involvement for those $25 tickets each year to a performance that inspires me to make it through finals. I am such a giant nerd where Tchaikovsky is concerned and I love the ballet, so I am very excited for tonight.
Next week I’ll be writing from mid-reading period, so wish me luck with studying!
Ever lovely yours,
Eleanor