Research Intern: The Good, The Bad & The Awesome!

So about two weeks ago, I started my internship with the biology department! I don't even know where to begin. I'm having the best time yet! The first day, Kristina and I watched a series of mandatory safety videos which where quite magnificent, if I might add. No, but seriously, some portions of the series were quite interesting and others were repetitive but that's okay!

Took a mini break from the videos to take this pic :)

One of the first tasks I had as an intern was to make media!! We made TSA and TSB media. TSA is made with enzymatic digestion of soybean meal and casein. After preparing the TSA, I transported them into agar plates which were then used in my doorknob experiment (which I will be blogging about soon!). TSB  (Trypticase Soy Broth) is another type of media used in microbiology experiments as well!

This is a picture of how much I weighted out to make the media. It's supposed to be double that to make two and a half trays but I did it twice because I didn't see that we had a larger flask to use. Next time I have to make it, I shall use the huge flask! :)

Precision is key :)

Incubation is complete!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the Phoenix College garage, I snapped this picture of the gorgeous sunset!

"Sleeping Beauty Syndrome" Article

I read Time Magazine, from time to time, as I enjoy reading the health and science sections. An article that specifically stuck out to me was the "New Treatment for 'Sleeping Beauty' Syndrome" article. Being a college student, I sometimes have to force myself to stay up long nights doing physics homework or reading organic chemistry material for the next day and so whenever I'm able to squeeze in a nap during the weekdays, I'm extremely joyous.

This article on  summarized a study that was done on primary hypersomnia (excessive daytime sleepiness) patients. In contrast to the other kind of hypersomnia, recurrent hypersomnia, primary refers to this happening a long period of time whereas recurrent is from time to time occurrence. This study, published in Science Translational Medicine journal, studied a total of 32 patients with primary hypersomnia looked for a possible cause and treatment for this disorder.

What the researchers found was an uncharacterized chemical in the spinal fluid of the patients which stimulates the GABA-A receptor. This same receptor is responsible for sleep-inducing medications to take effect thus resulting in excessive drowsiness. A possible treatment or primary hypersomnia is a drug named flumanezil which is used for sleep-medication overdose which can possibly reverse the biochemical reaction with the unknown chemical in the spinal fluid.

What the case study found was that flumanezil injections did, indeed help patients wake up more alert and ready to take on their day. The only downfall of the results were that the patients still slept for prolonged periods of time at night but other than that, the overall results are astonishing! This case study opens up many doors for researchers and I look forward to learning more about this as more case studied get published.

click here to read the article!

Citation:
Szalavitz, Maia, and Maia Szalavitz. "New Treatment for ‘Sleeping Beauty’ Syndrome? | TIME.com." Time. Time, 23 Nov. 2012. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://healthland.time.com/2012/11/23/new-treatment-for-sleeping-beauty-syndrome/>.

My meeting with Amanda & My Adviser

Two weeks ago, I went to speak with Amanda for the very first time. I was kind of excited to have someone to look up to, someone to go to for help and she did just that! We spoke about what my life is like, how busy it can get at time. We also discussed advisement for next semester and we reviewed what the MAPP program was all about. If you aren't familiar with what the MAPP program is, it's basically a transfer alliance program that many of the Maricopa Community Colleges have with Arizona State University. Students who already know what they want to study and where they want to go for their Bachelors degree should look into this program as many benefits are included. I recommend students talk to their advisers to learn more about this program or click this link to learn more!

Amanda and I also discussed my internship (which started this week, I'll be blogging all about it this weekend!) Interning at a biology laboratory has always been a dream of mine and I'm so thrilled to work with the lab crew to learn as much as I can. I have so many ideas as to what kinds of experiments we can do on and off campus.

I also visited my adviser, Mrs. Elaine, at the honors department and we further discussed the MAPP Program and I was so glad that she answered all my questions about it and we signed up for it together! We also discussed the final classes I need to take this coming semester in order for me to graduate with honors on time. It's finally hitting me that my academic career at the community college level is coming to end but I'm also extremely exited to see what awaits me at Arizona State University.

I feel so blessed as so many programs and departments at Phoenix College have helped me learn so much about my abilities as a student and through hard work and dedication, we can accomplish anything! I look forward to blogging about everything internship/science and anything else I find interesting! Thank you for reading.

Greetings, Khadidja Meghoufi

Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is Khadidja Meghoufi and I'm a Phoenix College STEM Scholar this year. I  am studying biochemistry and plan to go to pharmacy school after my Bachelors degree is complete. I was raised in Brooklyn, New York and I enjoy listening to Reggae music. I like butterflies and picnics.