Although the experimental part of Mod2 was shorter than the
one for the first module, I really enjoyed learning about cutting edge
technologies such as CRISPR and the different variants it has. The idea of
being able to specifically target and inhibit or activate particular genes in
order to manipulate metabolism, and use a cell’s innate abilities to produce
something we want is incredible.
I enjoyed hearing about current research being done in the
field during the Journal Club presentations. It was great to see the extent of
the impact this research has, and the innovative ways of using new technologies
scientists and engineers come up with. Presenting wasn’t all that fun, since I
am definitely not a fan of public speaking, but hearing the papers my lab mates
presented was very enlightening, and presenting was a valuable learning experience.
I am also glad for all of the Mod2 homeworks we were
assigned throughout the course of the module, since they made the Research
Article a little easier to write. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I sort
of wish we had more of them, so approaching the final report didn’t seem as
daunting or time consuming.
Despite not getting insertion of our frd gene, managing to
mess up our standard curve, and getting very small ethanol values that could not
be corrected for noise, my overall experience throughout Mod2 was very
positive. I feel like I learned useful, current, exciting things about the
field and the research being done, as well as the impact it can have in
bioengineering and medicine.
-Yvette
PS. If the CRISPR module is taught again in the future, can
the teaching staff target the frd gene? I’m still curious as to what the effect
of inhibiting the TCA cycle has on ethanol production.
PPS. In case you were wondering.. number of times the following words appeared in my Research
Article:
Ethanol-68
Product-67
gRNA-61
CRISPR- 60
Cell-54
Increase-44
Cas9-37
Successful-1
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