A saguaro.
I've never seen such blue skies as in Arizona.
We stopped on the way back and ate some prickly pear fruit.
Hiking along the bottom of the canyon at the beginning. 
Thursday, August 20, 2009
More pictures from the hike to Seven Falls
Where water would be flowing if there were enough monsoon rains.
Hike to Seven Falls with my lab on the last day
A blooming fishhook barrell cactus.
I had the best lab. Seriously. They were friendly, down-to-earth, patient, and inviting. Instead of making me work on my last day in Arizona, we hiked Seven Falls. It was beautiful, and a really neat hike. It was undoubtably also the hottest hike I've ever done in my life. We hiked through a canyon, crossing a dry riverbed several times until we arrived at our destination--Seven Falls. A 7-tiered waterfall that flows if there have been enough summer monsoon rains. Unfortunately, the waterfall was not flowing, but there was a pool of water at the bottom which we decided to go swimming in because it was so hot. The water was deliciously cold and refreshing before we headed back to La Indita for a delicious lunch of chiles rellenos. Craig and Nathaniel, you rock!
Yeah, that's that's how hot it felt.
I had the best lab. Seriously. They were friendly, down-to-earth, patient, and inviting. Instead of making me work on my last day in Arizona, we hiked Seven Falls. It was beautiful, and a really neat hike. It was undoubtably also the hottest hike I've ever done in my life. We hiked through a canyon, crossing a dry riverbed several times until we arrived at our destination--Seven Falls. A 7-tiered waterfall that flows if there have been enough summer monsoon rains. Unfortunately, the waterfall was not flowing, but there was a pool of water at the bottom which we decided to go swimming in because it was so hot. The water was deliciously cold and refreshing before we headed back to La Indita for a delicious lunch of chiles rellenos. Craig and Nathaniel, you rock!
Poster Presentation
With my poster...that my outfit matched...
Making a scientific poster was so much more work than I had ever realized. I worked on it for at least two weeks, and made numerous revisions. The end result looked nothing like the beginning draft, let alone the version that I had a few days before the presentation. Craig helped me so much, and I definitely wouldn't have been able to do it without him. The introduction was basically my abstract. Below that, I had a diagram of the model we were basing our hypothesis on. Next came the results section (all the charts), conclusions, and finally, acknowledgements (who funded the work). It was a challenge to fit everything nicely, and put something together that would make sense to someone who hadn't spent their entire summer doing research on ligands and BTC3 cells. I was also amazed at the cost of printing one of these posters: $50-$100!
The day of the presentation went well. I felt like I was able to explain my work well, and felt like I had accomplished something this summer.
Making a scientific poster was so much more work than I had ever realized. I worked on it for at least two weeks, and made numerous revisions. The end result looked nothing like the beginning draft, let alone the version that I had a few days before the presentation. Craig helped me so much, and I definitely wouldn't have been able to do it without him. The introduction was basically my abstract. Below that, I had a diagram of the model we were basing our hypothesis on. Next came the results section (all the charts), conclusions, and finally, acknowledgements (who funded the work). It was a challenge to fit everything nicely, and put something together that would make sense to someone who hadn't spent their entire summer doing research on ligands and BTC3 cells. I was also amazed at the cost of printing one of these posters: $50-$100!The day of the presentation went well. I felt like I was able to explain my work well, and felt like I had accomplished something this summer.
Bisbee/Tombstone
Bisbee is an art community...this was outside someone's house.
Inside the copper mine. It was freezing inside!
An open pit mine.
Tombstone...it was the biggest tourist trap I've ever seen in my life.
During our last weekend in Tucson, we visited Bisbee, a mining community turned artist community. We saw an open pit mine, then went on an underground tour of a copper mine. It was really interesting. On the way back, we stopped in Tombstone...which was rather underwhelming and disappointing in its tourist trapness. :-(
During our last weekend in Tucson, we visited Bisbee, a mining community turned artist community. We saw an open pit mine, then went on an underground tour of a copper mine. It was really interesting. On the way back, we stopped in Tombstone...which was rather underwhelming and disappointing in its tourist trapness. :-(
The biggest spider I have ever seen...hanging out in the microscopy suite of my lab.
This spider hung out in the room I worked in every day. And then we took it outside, and another one was back the next day...so I gave up, and we peacefully coexisted.
Binding Assays
A binding assay I was working on. I was pretty proud of this image that I took. :-)
During my last couple of weeks, I did a lot of binding assays on the BTC3 cells. We wanted to find out how well the heterobivalent ligand that we had created would bind to the cells at different concentrations, from 2.5 nM all the way up to 100 nM. We also measured how well it would bind if it was in competition with one of the monovalent ligands.
First, the heterobivalent ligand was labeled with Cy-5 (a fluorescent dye). We measured its binding (which had a high affinity and bound tightly) at different concentrations, then using new cells, would incubate them with a monovalent ligand for five minutes to take up all the receptors for that ligand, then add the multivalent ligand. We found that while binding was diminished, it was still high and tight, showing that our ligand bound with great specificity and tightness. My data was in the form of imges such as these, which I used to analyze pixel intensity, which correlated to binding of receptors. The flourescent outlines of the cells shows that this ligand bound to the cell's receptors.
During my last couple of weeks, I did a lot of binding assays on the BTC3 cells. We wanted to find out how well the heterobivalent ligand that we had created would bind to the cells at different concentrations, from 2.5 nM all the way up to 100 nM. We also measured how well it would bind if it was in competition with one of the monovalent ligands.First, the heterobivalent ligand was labeled with Cy-5 (a fluorescent dye). We measured its binding (which had a high affinity and bound tightly) at different concentrations, then using new cells, would incubate them with a monovalent ligand for five minutes to take up all the receptors for that ligand, then add the multivalent ligand. We found that while binding was diminished, it was still high and tight, showing that our ligand bound with great specificity and tightness. My data was in the form of imges such as these, which I used to analyze pixel intensity, which correlated to binding of receptors. The flourescent outlines of the cells shows that this ligand bound to the cell's receptors.
Bike Prayers
Sunsets are also good times to pray and think.
I biked about two miles to work every morning. After deciding that riding a bike on speedway while listening to an ipod wasn't such a great idea, I decided to use my bike rides to pray and think. At first, I felt awkward with what seemed like a long time to talk to God, but after a while, I started to really look forward to the time, using it to thank Him for the many ways I am blessed, pray for friends and family, and give Him my worries. The coolest thing began to happen: I would feel very strongly led to pray for a friend that I might not have even thought about for days or weeks, then talk to them later that evening and find out that something had been going on in their life that they needed prayers for at the time I was praying for them. God is awesome. The more you seek Him, the more you will find and the more you will want to seek.
Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
--Psalm 37:4
I biked about two miles to work every morning. After deciding that riding a bike on speedway while listening to an ipod wasn't such a great idea, I decided to use my bike rides to pray and think. At first, I felt awkward with what seemed like a long time to talk to God, but after a while, I started to really look forward to the time, using it to thank Him for the many ways I am blessed, pray for friends and family, and give Him my worries. The coolest thing began to happen: I would feel very strongly led to pray for a friend that I might not have even thought about for days or weeks, then talk to them later that evening and find out that something had been going on in their life that they needed prayers for at the time I was praying for them. God is awesome. The more you seek Him, the more you will find and the more you will want to seek.Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
--Psalm 37:4
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Border issues...not so black and white
The water tanks left out in the desert by Humane Borders.
The wall on the border of the US and Mexico, built by the US.
Flag above a water station.
In the beginning of July, we took a trip to the border to learn about the issues surrounding illegal immigrants crossing into the U.S. By the end of the trip, I realized just how much more complicated the issue was than I had ever imagined.
In the beginning of July, we took a trip to the border to learn about the issues surrounding illegal immigrants crossing into the U.S. By the end of the trip, I realized just how much more complicated the issue was than I had ever imagined. Many of these people decide to make the trip to the US in desperation from extreme poverty. They want to be able to help family members survive. I have a friend from New York who told me that in Mexico, he would work for $5 a day. In the US, even working at minimum wage, he was able to send money to support his family in Mexico. These people are not making the trip to try to steal rights from Americans or be crafty and get around the system. Just like us, they care about their families, and will do anything they can to improve the lives of their loved ones.
The trip across the Sonoran desert is long, harsh, and unbearably hot. Most have no idea how much water they will need to just simply stay alive in the desert, let alone while walking the many miles to the US. And far too many die from lack of water. To add to this problem, the US is building a wall along the border. This does not have the desired effect of keeping people from crossing the border, it just forces them into even harsher and more unforgiving terrain where they are more likely to die and their bodies even less likely to be discovered.
Humane Borders is the organization that we traveled to the border with. This organization, run by a church in Tucson, puts out water stations in the corridors that are most traveled by the immigrants to try to prevent unnecessary deaths. The sad fact is that some vigilantes dislike the idea of illegals so much that they tamper with the water in the tanks.
I've learned that it's not about politics, it's about people's lives.
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