Drafts

Of all of the labs available for me to apply to, I believe this lab best aligns with my personal interests and knowledge. The inner machinations of cellular function, including motility, is an extremely fascinating facet of biology. Uncovering new cellular behaviors and mechanisms is something that cannot be taught in a lecture, as well as something that I truly strive to be a part of.

I have completed a wide number of relevant courses and gained valuable knowledge as a result. I will continue to learn more about biological systems as I complete my dual degree in biology and neuroscience in May of next year. In addition, I’m planning on taking at least one gap year between my application to medical school and the completion of undergrad.  I would be thrilled to continue research past my graduation date.

There are many interactions involved with the metaphase to anaphase transition in the process of mitosis. Unattached kinetochores on duplicated chromosomes send out signals in the cell that keep the molecule, MAD, bound to CDC20. MAD is bound to CDC20 until all kinetochores are attached, at which point MAD and CDC20 separate and APC and CDC20 bind instead. Another molecule, Securin, is ubiquinated by the APC/CDC20 complex. Once this occurs, Securin is destroyed and another molecule, Separase, is released. Cohesin between the replicated chromosomes is then destroyed by Separase and the chromatids separate as the cell progresses to anaphase.

This pathway can become faulty if one aspect is not functional at any given time. For example, if Securin is absent in the cell, Separase would continually destroy cohesin, leading the cell to transition to anaphase. If CDC20 releases MAD too early, a non-disjunction event may occur and the proper number of chromosomes will not be adequately distributed to each daughter cell. These defects in the pathway can lead certain cells to become cancerous.

Vertebrata are a subphylum of Chordates. These, of course, have all the characteristics of any chordate, but have a number of other characteristics unique to their group. These additional traits include the presence of a braincase and a tripartite brain, with cranial nerves. During development the ectoderm pinches off to form the neural crest and cells migrate throughout the body to form a variety of structures. These have the ability to form teeth, pigment cells, bone, muscles and more. Rather than simple filter feeding, muscles now control the action of taking in water for both breathing and feeding. Likewise, muscles now control the digestive tract and move the nutrients along through peristalsis. The pituitary gland has been split into both adenohypophyis and neurohypophysis hormonal control. Furthermore, the optic tectum is present in vertebrates, providing better visual information processing.

A specific class of Vertebrata is called the Cyclostomata, which may be further divided into Myxinoidea, the hagfish, and Petromyzontida, lampreys. Hagfish have no bones and their skeleton is mostly made of cartilage. However, they do have vestiges of a hemal spine, ventral to their notochord. While they do not have true eyes, they do have eyespots used to detect light. Hagfish have a single nostril on the top of their head and a single semicircular ear canal. Their skin is covered in a number of mucus pores, which produce large amounts of mucus and slime when the fish is agitated. These fish are mainly considered scavengers, though may be known to eat smaller marine worms. Their mouths contain keratinized teeth which they use to pierce prey with and burrow inside or by sucking the nutrients out.

"What is Water" is about respecting others' autonomy and learning to instill into self that self is not the center of the universe and thus our discomforts or our desires are not any more significant than others', which is ultimately supposed to lead us to a conscious and good life. However, in personal life, Wallace has been shown to disrespect others' (various women around him) autonomies over and over, and value his happiness/comfort over all else. How clearly it shows the major problem with our persons and the overall society when it comes to problem solving! That though we may understand and agree with a concept in theory, it is often elusive in execution.

His obsession with self-gratification seems to only emphasize the difficulty with which one can achieve what he is trying to teach in What is water. While What is Water is about respecting others' autonomy and learning to instill into self that self is not the center of the universe and thus their discomfort or their desires are not any more or less significant than others', in his real life, he had done plenty of actions to the contrary. 

First he accuses Meletus, the person who brought such charges, of not caring about the youth of Athens and simply wanting to condemn Socrates. Next, Socrates challenges Meletus to explain who might be improving the youth of Athens if he is corrupting them. Socrates lists groups of people (namely the jurymen, the councilmen, the audience), to all of whom Meletus replies in the affirmative. Thus, Socrates brings in the example of horses—that majority cannot improve horses (rather if they have horses and use them, they may corrupt the horses), and it is a singular group of people/ horse breeders who must take it upon themselves to care for the horses. Socrates also argues that if he has indeed corrupted the young, he has done so unwillingly, since no wise man would want to be harmed by the company that they have deliberately made wicked. In this case, he should be faced with instructions not punishment. 

Socrates's goal was not to receive an acquittal, it was to present his principles and die doing what is right. Thus, he may have accomplished his purpose in his mind.  As humans, we like what is familiar to us. With new ideas and values, it is thus important to start out with presenting them as renovations of the old and in gradual steps. We like when we can be thought of as merciful. But, socrates, not once begs for mercy. As a legal studies major, this reminds me how important it is to speak in legal languages while in a court of law. Socrates decided to forego the traditional practice of speaking and presenting his case to the jurymen, and this might have been his true downfall, neither the contents of his speech nor his beliefs. 

An additional reason as to why the nation may not acknowledge the Native American population is due to the fact that their history and culture do not fit into the “master narrative”. The “Master Narrative” is the idea that all Americans have had one single experience. This experience was a success story of our nation’s growth based on unity, liberty and equality (Calloway 2-3). Native American history did not follow the typical American experience of accomplishment and therefore was ignored by many historians and Americans to this day. Native American history included hardship, resistance, and tragedy. In addition, most of Native American history recorded is not accurate because it is documented by non-Native Americans. This has caused biased opinions to skew the truth behind the Native Americans beliefs, intentions, and actions. This has caused a misconception across the nation and has shaped many of the stereotypes seen to this day.

Being only the second week of school, I often find myself still reminiscing over this summer’s activities. The major thing I did was land an internship at MilliporeSigma. For those of you who may not have heard of this company, it is a biopharmaceutical research and development lab. While I cant get too in depth about the work I did (got to love an NDA), I would like to briefly talk about the over-arching theme of handling myself as a true scientist.  During my ten week period with this company I learned a lot about project management, attention to detail, and the pure fun that science really is. Every day I would wake up ready to go tend to my cell cultures, bioreactors, and daily routines that I regularly found myself falling into. The knowledge I gained working hands on in the lab was second to none and an over all great experience.

As mentioned previously, this job helped me deal with time and project management. At any given time I had three maybe even four projects to take care of over the course of an eight hour work day. At first it was a daunting task to juggle what seemed like an overwhelming work load until I realized that this is what I loved doing, I loved being in the lab and bouncing between projects, working with different coworkers and building bonds with some extraordinary people who helped me out along the way. Going in to the internship, if you had asked me to set up a planar cell culture in triplicate for transfer into a 50L bioreactor, I would have looked at you like you had five heads. Now, looking back, I know I can get that done in 45 minutes to an hour and move onto the next project. Needless to say, I loved my job at MilliporeSigma and the skills that I came away with are almost invaluable and ones that I will use everyday.