Monday, January 12, 2009
Today I woke up at 7:10, it was a comfortable night and I wasn't cold. We had breakfast. After that, we went to ORNL (Oakridge National Laboratory) where we met Dr. Martin Keller. He gave us an awesome introduction to what we were going to do during the week. We were going to collect some alpaca poo to look for enzymes that can digest cellulose, for example the cullulose in poplar trees. Then we were going to take that to the lab and analyze them. We were also going to work with other scientists with plants and see the process of genetic engineering. I know it is going to be a great week.
Can you imagine we finished talking about animal poo? Ok, I'm going to tell you how we got there. Everything started once upon a time when ethanol was used as a fuel to light lamps. We learned about how corn and sugarcane produce ethanol, they are not as efficient as normal fuels, but that is what these people are working on.
I'm going to explain the process. You have the starch, then an enzyme breaks it down, you pass starch through a process called fermentation and then get ethanol. It is very different than cellulose because starch is a more complex carbohydrate so we need to produce a softer cellulose or the perfect enzyme. That is what we were doing at the transgenic lab. It was fun, like altering genes and producing a new species. After that we went for dinner and I got full See you tomorrow!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
When we got to ORNL, we entered the lab, and put on some lab coats and safety glasses. Scott explained the process of creating a media, which is the perfect habitat for the microbe. I'm impressed by how technology has advanced. So many discoveries are being made helping us create solutions for the problems that exist in the world. After we created the media, we added it to the switchgrass and then added our alpaca poo samples.
When we finished, we were ready for the next lab, worm dissection, I called my worm Loby, he was my friend for almost three hours! Then death tore our friendship apart. I felt I was a surgeon, at first I thought I was going to get dizzy and throw up, but when I started with the dissection, I felt like a professional, indeed, I think I did a great job! Then we got the guts and put them in water…we'll just have to wait to see what happens with the microbes tomorrow. But that isn't all, no, Loby didn't die there, its head kept on moving for half an hour. Yes, it was scary, but it has a scientific reason. Worms have no brains, their central nervous system is everywhere around their bodies. That's why they have a connection of nerves we can easily observe. In my opinion, the solution to the energy crisis is everywhere we can get it from biofuels, clean fuels, renewable resources, saving energy, and many other ways. People may say it is not as efficient, but what about a mixture of all renewable resources and the other fuels? It'd be great!
Of course this is not a result of one working day, scientists require a lot of try-outs and experimentation to make sure they've got what they were looking for and then we can do a lot with that. But we need to see tomorrow if our little worms will actually save the world.
To see what happens tomorrow, read Argo Hannah's Mission 4 Journal! ¡Adios Futuros Argos! –Argonaut Hiyam
Q&A with Argonaut Hiyam:
How does technology surprise you and why are those advances important for scientists?
It is surprising to see how technology has advanced. In my opinion, it is very important for scientists to share information so that they all together get solutions. If humans have the power to alter Earth's natural cycle, we also have it to change the planet for good purposes. If we want others to change, we must be their example, and this doesn't just apply to energy, but to every aspect of our lives. This week has been a great experience for me. I have learned a lot about biofuels and their uses. That isn't all either, because I also saw one of the fastest computers in the world. That was so cool!