TRAIN Scholar Justine Horton's Blog

Hi everyone, I hope you're all having a great week. We are in TRAIN on week 12 of 14. It's wild to think we will be presenting our research soon. I'm working on organizing my data and making sense of it. I'm disappointed in my research because I didn't cover everything I wanted to. On a positive note, I can continue this project next semester. This week's picture is a figure from the rough draft.

Hi Everyone, Another week, another post. I can't believe we're almost done with TRAIN, let alone the semester. My research has just started picking up. On Tuesday, I had to hunker down and spend 2+ hours in the lab on one experiment. I'm really excited about my results. For the first time, I was able to definitely prove that the pseudomonas does grow biofilm. However, the biofilm only stuck to the sides because I used plates with u-bottom wells instead of flat-bottom. This is going to make it hard to put the data into numbers. I'm debating whether I want/have time to redo the experiment with flat bottom wells. If not, this might be the end of my research this semester.

Hi Everyone, Next week's goal is better time management. Although I finally know where I'm going with this experiment, I must find time to get it done. I thought I could finish the experiment today but didn't have time. This part of the experiment is very tedious, and I'm constantly adding and subtracting liquid in small amounts. The annoying part is that it all has to be done in one sitting, as I can only have the bacteria incubate for up to 24 hours. So I'll try again next week. On the other hand, has anyone seen TikToks about girls' drinks? Well, here's mine: on average, my drinks include a coffee (already empty), water, and some soda (healthier choice today).

Hi Everyone, Another busy week. Mostly busy outside of school, and because of that, I had little time to work in the lab. I've been at a standstill for the last week, unsure what to do with my experiment. The Conga Red that we ordered, lost, and then had to re-order, didn't work as expected. I've dove a little deeper and found a more accurate but laborious option for detecting biofilms. On a better note, I've been able to really work on my research paper, which, in previous semesters, had typically been put on the back burner. Next week, I plan to dedicate my lab time to working on this new technique. Can you see the film in the tube?

Hi Everyone, Hope everyone had a nice spring break. I spent most of the break taking long naps and enjoying my birthday. I never realize how tired school and constantly being on the go makes me feel until it all comes to a stop. This week is about finding my groove again, but I also have to worry about the second exams for my science classes. When I returned from break, none of the bacteria turned black (or any color) on the conga red plates. Black would've indicated biofilm-forming bacteria. Josh and I are sure the pseudomonas aeruginosa is at least a biofilm-forming bacteria, which leads us to believe that something is wrong with the conga red in the agar plates. To prove our theory (pseudomonas aeruginosa being a biofilm-forming bacteria), we've put pieces of foil in TSB to promote biofilm growth. We are doing this because we noted that for biofilm to form, it needed a surface to adhere to.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a pathogen found in dirt. It has become more commonly associated with hospital-related infections, including those such as ventilator-associated pneumonia. (Lima et al., 2017) It is also known for being particularly hard to kill because of its high intrinsic antibiotic resistance. Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus are considered two of the most prevalent pathogens in hospital-related infections. These strains of Staphylococcus usually are part 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 b