Project Final Fantasy Update: Week 12.5

Literature review went well. I think I am really really used to presenting - to the point that I am actually excited to present. Or is that because the chemical signals secreted by the Brain is being mixed up because of prolonged stress? Anyway, I shall take this in a good light. Good things rare come unaccompanied by bad ones. I have to restart the tasks I did so far with a new cell line. Therefore, it is back to the beginning again - while people are making progress. That is fine. I just have to push harder. After all, I want my results to be solid (best if it can be diamond solid) and not full of asterisks and notes.

I think peoples' talk have a way of influencing me. One "hi" to a girl and my seniors think I like the girl. Wonderful isn't it - if only getting a girl to be a girlfriend can be this easy (with a very very very sarcastic tone). Anyway, initially I really feel nothing towards her. Then after this "hi" incident, something did tug somewhere. A similar situation happened 7-8 years ago. I am not falling for the same trap. Not ever.

It is time I made full use of the "twin drives" that I have. I need to surpass those with "false drives".

Additional Lessons for Working in BSC

1. Spray with alcohol, wait for ~5 minutes, then wipe.
2. If the paper towel is disintegrating, change it.
3. Wipe front grille of the BSC as well.
4. If need to draw/dispense into same flask/bottle repeatedly, leave the cap open and place the flasks on the left or at the back. Repeated opening and closing of cap increases risk of contamination.
5. If there is a spill, ignore temporarily (But not until the end!). Cap all bottles or bring out flasks before wiping it.
6. Add/dispense liquid close to the bottom of the flask. 

Virus ARE Living Things

On my daily commute to work today, I had a passing random thought: Virus are living things. Ok, every biologist would say "But they cannot reproduce on their own!" / "They have no metabolism outside of host cell!" etc etc etc.

Well, I subscribe to the view that life begins from simple molecules - the so-called "RNA world". We do have RNA viruses, which suggests that viruses are extremely old - think "billions of years" old. According to this "RNA world" hypothesis, DNA came into being after RNA. Many of the viruses' hosts use DNA as their "store" of genetic material. So viruses precede their hosts.

Viruses, through infecting their hosts, gain access to the hosts' protein synthesis machinery and nucleic acid synthesis machinery (to a certain extent) to enable the viruses to replicate. Why do viruses not reproduce on their own? Well, if they can rely on host cells to do that, why would they need to retain this ability? By not needing to reproduce, to metabolize, the viruses are actually "streamlining" themselves - they got rid of functions which they can "outsource" to. 

For those who believe in evolution, let me put this picture to you: Virus started out as some living organism, needing to feed and reproduce by itself. Over the years (not decades or centuries or even millenniums, think tens or hundreds of millions of years), new organisms came about (maybe viruses are their predecessors?). Competition for food/materials to live drove the original viruses towards extinction - the original viruses are being selected against. However, a small group of viruses, through mutations, gained parasitic ability - they can invade host cells and produce within host cells (like some bacteria). However, as selection favours faster growing/replication population, over time, the original viruses ditch their own systems and streamlined their genome, relying on host cells to do all these jobs for them (perhaps because small genomes can be replicated more rapidly? because these host cells are more capable or efficient at obtaining nutrients than the viruses?).

Of course, I have no proof to support what I have said thus far. However, this is still a tantalizing thought is it not?

Project Final Fantasy: Week 11.5

Week 11.5. Assay does not seem to be working although further verification is needed. I suddenly realized my treatment protocol is flawed. Therefore, I have to redo. Anyway, I am using a new system and therefore will have to redo in any case. Oh well, another roadblock. At least I think I am getting really used to the routine of going to work every single day. The only thing I need to be cautious about is to ensure that I really put in 100% concentration when I am working.

Outing with Gossip Lane people again. Probably the final outing, until Project Final Fantasy ends. If memory serves, they are the only ones who made me, to date, having to rush to catch the last train twice. Haha. They are my very good friends (Possibly the best of friends, even though I (sometimes) do feel kinda weird when going out with them. Imagine 1 guy with 6 pretty girls [I really mean it. The part about pretty.]). They wanted me to get top grades "for them". Haha. Very interesting. Even my parents do not bother about such things and they actually said that. This is why I think I am closer to my friends than my parents. Yup. I will. For myself, for them, for my supervisors, for my previous mentor and for my parents (even though they do not care).