TRAIN Scholar Justine Horton's Blog

Hi Everyone, Unfortunately, I had another week of uneventful lab work. Veterans Day threw my schedule off. I was disappointed in myself for not having much lab time. Next week, I really have to get stuff done. I'm hoping to have good results before Thanksgiving. On top of that, I'll be gone for most of Thanksgiving week, so I'm also trying to complete work for my other classes. I feel ickiest about organic chemistry class. The concepts are super complicated, and I wish I had better base knowledge. Because I didn't have much time in the lab, I could not get a picture of anything, so I enjoy a picture of the organic chemistry work I'm trying to decipher.

Hi Everyone, Unfortunatley, I've been sick the entire week, so I've choosen to stay out of the lab. I've used this time to work on keeping up with my Organic chemistry class and Critical thinking class. I've also used this time to further go over my project. I excited to jump back into the lab.Because I wasn't able to do any experimentation last week, I know I'm going to have to work double time to make up for lost time.

Staphylococcus aureus is considered one of the most prevalent pathogens in hospital-related infections. This strain of Staphylococcus are apart of the human microbiota, and they can contaminate medical instruments and implants and cause infections. (Chessa et al., 2016) Certain strains of Staphylococcus Aureus have gained the ability to resist the antibiotic methicillin. This strain is known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA). (Kot et al., 2020) Due to the increased emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, finding new ways to combat these pathogens has become essential. Their ability to form biofilms makes each of these bacteria difficult. Biofilm formation is one of the leading contributors to antibiotic resistance and hospital-related infections. The biofilm allows bacteria to stick and multiply on medical instruments. Biofilms comprise extracellular polymeric substance (EPS), S. Epidermis, and S. Aureus biofilms, which are polysaccharides, amyloids, and pro

Hi, everyone; this week has been quite busy in the lab. For the past few weeks, I've been repeating subculture due to not having enough time to do an experiment. This week, I finally had the time. I'll be completing a biofilm formation assay. It's extremely similar to what I did last year but with some tweaking. Outside of the lab, I've put my creative ideas to use for decorating for Halloween. I've also been putting some ideas to use for the robotics club and the Halloween ball. I'm super excited to see how everything will come out.

Hi Everyone, This week was my first whole week in the lab. I focused mainly on calculations and locating everything I needed for the next few weeks. I also made fresh media this week. We made a few adjustments to last year's protocol in hopes that we get better jobs. We made adjustments by ordering flat bottom well plates to help bacterial biofilms stick better. We got an adhesive film to cover the plates to avoid too much evaporation and cross-contamination. By next week, I plan to plate some bacteria and measure the biofilms. (I had to autoclave my media and bottles to store it in)

With the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), we must find alternatives to manufactured antibiotics. This is where my study on Manuka Honey comes in. General honey is well known for its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial characteristics. Manuka honey claims to be more antimicrobial due to its higher MGO concentration. I’ll compare general honey and manuka honey and its ability to inhibit biofilm growth in Staphylococcus Aureus. Biofilms are polysaccharide films that encompass a colony of bacteria. This issue is because it acts as a barrier between the bacteria and the environment. There are also issues with treating biofilm-forming bacteria with antibiotics. I hypothesize that Manuka Honey inhibits biofilm growth in Staphylococcus Aureus better than General Honey.