Technology in Medicine (Sci-fi or Reality?)

For the last few days we have been researching rare diseases and have created small presentations on a different disease for each group. We picked a disease that we thought would be kind of Sci-Fi and interesting, so we picked Necrotizing Fasciitis. Necrotizing Fasciitis is a disease that attacks tissues all over the body with bacterias like Strep group A, E. Coli, and others. This infection of bacteria releases toxins into your skin causing it to rot and decay. This disease is more commonly known as “The Flesh-Eating Disease”. Treatments usually include removing the tissue surrounding the affected areas and grafting good tissue onto it, or placing a prosthetic onto it. Take a look at our powerpoint below (Don’t mind the name)!

CAUTION: IMAGES IN THIS POWERPOINT ARE EXTREMELY GRAPHIC VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!

Rare Disease Thingy-11lv9ai

This morning we went to Dr. Griffith’s lab. We were able to see organelle’s under an electron microscope and DNA under an electron microscope. This was very interesting because there are only a few electron microscopes in our area. We were able to see the DNA in both linear and plasmid form under the electron microscope. We also learned about the process needed to view things under an electron microscope. It was very interesting to learn how much work goes into preparing something to view under an electron microscope.

 

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In the afternoon, we prepared our 3d prints for use. We sanded down some of the corners of the 3d print so that it wouldn’t hurt the rabbit. We then opened back up the rabbits. We checked the fit of the prosthetics and found that it was a perfect fit. We use super glue to attached the prosthetic to the bone. It took a couple of times but it finally stayed in place. We continued to practice our suturing on the rabbits and were able to close the abdominal cavity and stitched the skin close around the rabbit. We got a lot better at stitching with the amount of stitches it took to close the rabbit. It took three rethreaded needles to sew the rabbit closed. With the bones in the way we were unable to close the thoracic cavity. In the end the rabbit was completely covered by its skin with some stitches. With a couple of stitches over the knee it looked good as new and was completely functional. The knee replacement was a complete success. We then watched a part of a cancer documentary that retold the story of a 14th month child diagnosed with Leukemia. The documentary also told of how over a couple thousands of years we have figured out what makes us sick and what cancer is. It was interesting to hear that at one point in time you never heard about cancer and no one survived. Thanks to the work of wealth socialite, she was able to raise money for research and make it a priority for the nation.

Today we skyped with Dr. Kwong. She is in a residency program at the Med Star Hospital in Washington, D.C. for general surgery and intends to go into a fellowship for surgical oncology. She answered our questions about cancer, immunotherapy, surgery, and becoming a doctor.

 

We also learned some basic suturing techniques so that we can close up our rabbits. We practiced suturing on some bananas.

 

 

After lunch, we observed our bacteria colonies to determine if our experiment was successful. The bacteria on the plate with ampicillin and arabinose plate fluoresced under a black light. This indicated that our experiment was successful. Additionally, we had borrowed the products of another group’s ligation reaction after we messed up our own. The two groups saw similar results on their plate from tube 3 (the tube that contained material from the other group).

 

 

Today, we presented our presentations of rare diseases or afflictions. We researched and presented on Mixed Connective Tissue Disease.

Mixed Connective Tissue Disease Presentation-2c6xjdk.

Welcome to the blog of team Scrubs: Alexandra and Amy.

Movie of the Day:

Today we started off the day by finishing up our rare disease presentation. We researched and presented Zika virus as well as its cause of microcephaly. Other groups presented diseases such as Progeria (see the movie of the day).

Go check out our presentation below!

Zika Virus PowerPoint

Also check out our research and notes!

Zika Virus Information

After the presentations, we finished up the second documentary about cancer. We learned more about the history of cancer treatments, and it was fascinating. Advances in combination chemotherapy, as well as progress in curing childhood leukemia, were the main topics for the day.

Right before we went to lunch, we tested to see if Sydney and Cindy’s enzymes were actually successfully genetically modified or not.

After lunch, we did the same procedure as we did with the genetic transformations on Day 3. Here are our results:

These results show that the gene was there, therefore, the experiment was successful:)

We’ll catch you tomorrow! See you then!

~SCRUB OUT~

Welcome to the blog of team Scrubs: Alexandra and Amy.

Movie of the day:

Today we attached the prosthetic paw that we designed and 3-D printed to James. The bone glue worked well and it was an overall success. If only James was alive to try it out.

Then we brought back those suturing skills we learned from banana practice and used them on the rabbit. We started by stitching up the muscle layer over the abdominal cavity and then proceeded to stitch up the skin. Despite its length, the fur wasn’t too much of an issue. You can see all of this in the movie of the day!

Finally, we watched more of the cancer documentary to finish off the day.

We’ll catch you tomorrow! See you then!

~SCRUB OUT~

Welcome to the blog of team Scrubs: Alexandra and Amy.

Today we went to the Griffith Lab at UNC Chapel Hill where we met some biologists, who gave us a tour and talked to us about DNA among other things. It was a great learning experience, as you can see in our vlog. A big thank you to the people working in Griffith lab!

Movie of the day:

 

After lunch at Moe’s #sponsored #ad we watched a couple hours of a cancer documentary, which was both incredibly depressing and interesting.

We’ll catch you tomorrow! See you then!

~SCRUB OUT~

Today we went to Dr. Grifths lab on UNC campus. We heard them speak about some of the work that they have been doing. They presented some photos of DNA and mitochondria. We learned about how they prepare the cells for viewing under the microscope where they cut the cells. They also showed us two of their microscopes and let us try using them. They also demonstrated the process for cutting the cells under a microscope. Dr. Grifth showed us one of the microscopes that he built himself.