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Team:Wellesley Desyne/Notebook/DanielNotebook
From 2013.igem.org
May 30
Yesterday, we went to MIT to gain experience with the laboratory environment in which the users of our programs would be working. Particularly, my current project targets scientists working in chemistry at the atomic level. The project is intended to allow for 3-dimensional rendering of molecular systems. The molecular structure of a compound is intensely linked to the behavior of that compound and the properties of that compound, and so by studying these latter two fields as would a scientist, I believe I was able to gain insight into how our product might be used by a scientist in a wet-laboratory environment.
For example, one of our experiments involved a reaction catalyzed by an enzyme found within a particular cell. We were given four lines of the cell, each with a different modification to the gene coding for the production of this enzyme. Given as the particular portion of an enzyme which catalyzes a reaction is usually small, it would potentially be possible to model such an active site with our modeling software. So, it was useful for us to see what it would be like to be a scientist working in this environment.
I have had some previous laboratory experience through research in a few other laboratories, so this was a bit of a review day for me. However, I've always enjoyed my work in research, and so feel I was able to take hold of the situation and finish our labs quickly and accurately. The only work with which I had trouble was the circuit modeling, because I had never worked with circuit boards like the one present in this lab, and the instructions were not so clear. My partner had taken a class on this, however, and so was able to use her knowledge to help us finish the lab. My inability to work on this project initially, however, did get me wondering about the possibility for an interface to create a model of the system beforehand, so as to avoid confusion if parts of the circuit were not working (initially, our photoreceptor did not work).
All in all, the day was very productive, and I am glad we got to take this change from our usual routine of computer programming to have this new experience.
