After starting the day with breakfast, on day two at the Purdue II Biochemistry program, we began to work on an activity that utilizes BLAST, then we had our fourth lecture of the program, and following lunch we worked on a lab.
Our first academic job of the day was utilizing BLAST and a few other online resources, in order to work our way through an activity. After completing the activities, we felt more confident with the tools at hand. These activities, while challenging, gave everyone a great opportunity to learn the “ropes,” and gain confidence in what they knew.
For our fourth lecture of the program and first of the day, we learned about recombinant DNA technology, with Dr. Guei. His lecture covered what it was, how it works, and key terms for understanding it. While a challenging subject, Dr. Guei made sure everyone understood the key concepts, and emphasized the importance of understanding the why, rather than just blindly knowing the answer.
Finally, in our lab today we worked with our bacteria cultures again, and made buffers with SDS. This work utilized many skills in the lab, and helped us improve our lab etiquette.
-Maddox
