ABI 198 Field Notes

Sending Samples and Preparing for the Experiments Hello class! Today our dissecting group started dissecting Soapberry bugs and Boxelder bugs to send into the genome center later today. The rest of the class was split into groups to prepare for ways to measure and gather the data we needed (our experimental procedure). The main topics that were discussed in class today were 1) rearing soapberry bugs 2) experimentation on soapberry bugs and 3) Materials needed for the future.   Schedule for this class: Time Activity 9:00 Meet at Briggs Hall classroom 9:10 Break into small groups to find potential ideas for experimentation 9: 30 Regroup and share ideas 9:45 Vote and discuss ideas for further research 10:00 Dissectors start to dissect 10:05 The rest of the class breaks into groups to prepare for experimentation 12:25 Clean 12:35 Set class agenda for 5/1 Dissecting Group  The dissecting group got the gut samples from the soapberry bugs and boxelder bugs collected during the l...

 Collecting and Dissecting  Today is the day we collected and dissected the test subjects!! In the beginning of class, we discussed what we were going to do because it is finally time to start! Marshall gave us a background about soapberry bugs. Then we split into four groups: collecting, literature, dissect, brainstorming quantitative observations.  Schedule for this class: Time activity 9:00 Meet at Briggs Hall classroom 9:10 Some stay to learn to dissect, and some go to field sites collecting 9: 30 Arrive field site and start collecting/working with dissecting 10: 30 Report updates on Slack 10:40 Continue working 11:40 Break + all meet in classroom 12:10 Discussion +  set agenda for next meeting 12:50 end of class Collecting: One group went to the ecosystem, and the other group went to Segundo, Wellman, and the Barn to collect as many bugs as possible. At the ecosystem, there were only Box Elder bugs and at the other locations had Soapberry Bugs.  Dissecting ...

Today we wrapped up our journey through the "War of 18 Questions," led by our amazing MCs Katie and Mamta! Each group had taken their question of interest and transformed it into a feasible proposal. After the presentation, we proceeded to a round of voting involving level of interest and feedback discussion. Then, the final ballot poll ran and we chose the final project to conduct for 18 people. We discussed the method logic of the final project including tools, missions, field site, and agenda for next week. Here is the schedule of our meeting: Time Activity 9:00 AM Regroup and prepare for presentation 9:30 AM Presentation for question with your groups 10:30 AM First round of voting 11:00 AM Group Discussion + Rebuttals 11:30 AM Second Round of Voting and Discussion → narrow down to 1 and address concerns further action items needed to prepare for this study 12:30 PM Set agenda for next meeting Preparing for presentation In the first half of an hour of class, each group wor...

Congrats for finishing up the semifinals of our 65 ->18 -> 5 question pipeline! Hope we are excited to be heading towards the final of our quest for a research question. Our MC Stella did a great job keeping our class on track today and was receptive to the needs of the class! We were very progressive today and cannot wait to see the discussion on these amazing topics this coming Friday. Our meeting minutes: Time Activity 9:00 Compiling questions in the google form 9:20 Read and rank the 18 questions 9:45 Break out into five small groups to choose and refine an idea  10:40 Sharing of the ideas come up with class 10:50 Reviewing logistics about presentation with class 11:00 Literature search + work on slides 12:45 Review Agenda for Next Meeting Narrowing down the Ideas In the beginning of class, we reviewed the 18 questions that everyone had brought and Marshall sent us a google form to rank the questions based on feasibility, timelines, possible materials needed, etc. We then...