{"id":15,"date":"2017-07-20T11:34:32","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T15:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/old.kenanfellows.org\/2018-aglasgow\/?p=15"},"modified":"2017-07-20T11:34:32","modified_gmt":"2017-07-20T15:34:32","slug":"internship-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/old.kenanfellows.org\/2018-aglasgow\/2017\/07\/20\/internship-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Internship Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 I had a great internship experience thanks to Dr. Amy Maddox and Katie Rehain Bell of UNC! \u00a0I spent 3 weeks in the Maddox lab in Chapel Hill which studies cell division in <\/span>Caenorhabditis elegans<\/span><\/i>. \u00a0<\/span>C. elegans<\/span><\/i> is a tiny transparent nematode that serves as a model organism in the scientific community. \u00a0(Click image 1 below for more visuals)<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image 1: Caenorhabditis elegans<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 On the very first day I learned so many fascinating details about this tiny worm. \u00a0For example, <\/span>C. elegans<\/span><\/i> has exactly 959 cells, is normally hermaphroditic, and can take on a Dauer developmental path if conditions are unfavorable. \u00a0Also, the very first cell division of its embryo is asymmetric (one cell leads to the head and the other to the tail).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Dr. Maddox and Katie are looking specifically at the control mechanisms of the contractile ring during cytokinesis. \u00a0The contractile ring constricts to pinch a dividing cell in half forming 2 new cells. \u00a0In the germline of many organisms, the contractile rings halt such that there are cytoplasmic bridges connecting the inner contents of many cells. \u00a0<\/span>C. elegans <\/span><\/i>is a great model for studying closing rings and stable rings since the whole organism is transparent and the cells are relatively large.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Questions we pondered:<\/b><\/p>\n

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  • How does the cell control the contractile ring? \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Which proteins are involved? \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Can we control these proteins? \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Could manipulating the last step of mitosis be applied to help humans? \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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    \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Katie showed me how to identify worms in various life stages, pick worms under the microscope, dissect worms to extract embryos, \u201cknock down\u201d targeted proteins to learn function, tag proteins with fluorescent markers, prepare slides for microscopy, and quantitatively analyze resulting images. <\/span><\/p>\n

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    Check out some of these pictures from my experience:<\/b><\/p>\n

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    Photo 1: The A. Maddox Lab<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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    Photo 2: Microscope for picking from plates of C. elegans<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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    Photo 3: Microscopy in the dark room with a widefield microscope<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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    Photo 4: Now with the lights on<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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