sharrath's blog

Multiple sclerosis is an often disabling disease that affects the nervous system and disrupts the flow of information and communication between the brain and the body. Most people are diagnosed with MS a little later in their life-time and the cause of the disease is still unknown. It seems that different environmental factors that one experiences can alter the likelihood and chances of an individual from developing multiple sclerosis. One of these factors includes the migration from one geographic area to another. Gender is also another factor, as more women are more likely to be diagnosed with the disease than men. Diseases like multiple sclerosis is devastating to me, as with all the research being done today, we still haven't found the specific reason for the onset. There is no cure for MS, but there are treatments that aid patients with slowing the progression of the disease.

Walking into a building that I've been coming in for years, but it was different this time. Instead of shopping, grabbing a bite or even hanging out with friends I was coming to work. One of the tallest buildings in Boston that is & I was working for the president and CEO of Partners Healthcare. This man was responsible for about nine hospitals within the Massachusetts area. Not only was it him, but there were vice presidents and presidents of multiple areas of administration in healthcare. I was both new and nervous, but was willing to put in work and learn as much as I could being here. Everything was modern, clean and very professional looking. As I entered the lobby, I was asked for my ID and granted access to one of the 20 lifts that are located at the Prudential. I took the lift up and was ready to start my day.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in both the brain and spinal cord. These neurons are interconnected from the brain to the spinal cord and the spinal cord to our muscles. As these motor neurons progressively die, the ability of our brain to control muscle movement is diminished. With voluntary muscle movement being affected, many patients lose the ability to control simple everyday actions. Scientists around the world have been completing studies towards discovering various treatments for this disease. ALS affects both patients neurologically and physically and that is where my interest in the disease stems from. As I have been completing research regarding muscle function and muscle fatigue, I would love nothing more than to develop a better understanding of ALS and gain first-hand experience in the clinical research and care of the disease in relation to muscle function. 

Outside of my studies, I enjoy working out as I believe an individual’s health is crucial. During the winter here in New England, I love to take road trips to different mountains and ski. In the spring and summer, you will usually find me hiking, biking or kayaking. I do try and spend as much time outside during these few months, as we only have a limited time to enjoy the outdoors with our terribly cold weather, of course. If I do have the chance to join a research lab this summer, being able to hike the Alps and cruise along Lake Constance is definitely on my list! Alongside these activities, I have a passion for photography. Coming from a family of travelers, I’ve learned to embrace culture and language. I am more than grateful to be fluent in Arabic and beginner in German, however ideally, I would like to improve my German in which I think surrounding myself with locals will help. I am available beginning 20 May and am willing to stay until 10 August, and would love the opportunity to work alongside prestigious research faculty at the University of Konstanz. 

For the straight edge, there was definitely sight of diffraction because there was light in the area in which there was supposed to be a sort of shadow region of the observed object. The intensity was less than in the other areas, but there was still light visible. For the edge/opaque disks the general existence of there being a dot in the center translated, but there was still light everywhere. For the circle, where a dark center is observed, that translated into the projection of a laser. So there was a dot in the center that was darker, but not completely light-less. Diffraction is occuring in these cases because it occurs when light bends around a sharp edge. 

The goal of this experiment is to learn how to accurately linearize nonlinear data. The nonlinear data will be extracted by looking at wavelengths of atomic spectra from hydrogren. Atomic spectra are spectral lines projected by light. The skill of being able to calculate the wavelength of an emitted photon using both initial and final quantized energy levels will also be acquired. Recognizing graphs in terms of equations and shapes, linearizing data and completing data anaylsis will all be benefiical when thinking about ones future in science. 

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in both the brain and spinal cord. These neurons are interconnected from the brain to the spinal cord and the spinal cord to our muscles. As these motor neurons progressively die, the ability of our brain to control muscle movement is diminished. With voluntary muscle movement being affected, many patients lose the ability to control simple everyday actions. Scientists around the world have been completing studies towards discovering various treatments for this disease. ALS affects both patients neurologically and physically and that is where my interest in the disease stems from. As I have been completing research regarding muscle function and muscle fatigue, I would love nothing more than to develop a better understanding of ALS and gain first-hand experience in the clinical research and care of the disease in relation to muscle function. 

The primary goal of the Methods project is to compare and contrast observational differences between the original and recreated figures as followed by someone to develop critical skills used in science. Being able to reproduce the same results that were obtained by the researcher, distinguish between observation and inference and identify control factors within an experiment are all essential skills needed for scientific research. Interspecific interactions vary between being identified as mutualistic, antagonistic or competitive. These interactions can be long term, transitory and are extremely dependent on the species external factors.

    Replicability is an essential component to this project and not only will my peers be reproducing my figure, but I will be reproducing one of theirs. When brainstorming for this project, different factors had to be taken into consideration including both the location and accessibility of the species. The two species that I documented for my interspecific interaction include both a Crab Cutleaf tree and moss. When creating my figures and writing my methods, various factors including the weather, the background, other subjects in my photo, the angle, distance and type of camera that were used all had to be kept in mind. In order for my partner to accurately reproduce my image, I understood that all the detail needed to be organized in clear-cut and definitive steps.

As part of my Writing in Biology class at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, we were tasked with developing a multipanel figure, writing a methods for said figure and having someone follow our methods to replicate the figure. Not only did someone follow my methods, but I was also assigned someone elses to follow. The purpose of this project is to illustrate the importance of detail when writing a methods section and the significance of this detail in scientific replicability. After receiving my partners replicated panel, it was apparent that there were significant differences in comparison to my original figure. These differences were due to unclear explanations in the methods along with some factors that were uncontrollable.

The goal of this unit was to develop the ability to infer the genotype of various breeds of dogs at different genes. This was done by sequencing either the entire genome or, more practically, specific sequences containing desired single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). There are many methods by which sequencing can be accomplished, but the most common method is Sanger sequencing. Sanger sequencing is run by amplifying desired DNA sequences in a solution containing regular deoxynucleotides (dNTPs) and a minimal amount of dideoxynucleotides (ddNTPs). These ddNTPs are structurally similar to typical nucleotides, but lack an OH group on the 3’ carbon that prevents the growth of the chain. As a result, sequences terminate at different lengths depending on the how early the ddNTP is added. The differently sized products of the amplification are then run through an agarose gel where they separate into bands. The distribution of the bands can then be used to read the sequence of the DNA.