Yesterday and Today was filled with lab work. We cut the abdomens off frozen Honeybees, ground them into a buffer solution and diluted it. This allowed us to identify proteins and find the reaction or inhibitors of certain pesticide chemicals. Although we have not summarized the findings, our data was showing great readings.
Each tray carried 2 columns of each sample and each row a separate dilution of the specific chemical.
This machine calculates the absorption rate to determine the inhibitors.
After lunch today, there wasn't much to be done. I shadowed a couple other students. I learned how to inject bees with Deformed Wing Virus, a virus transmitted by Varroa mites. (Note: This is only for experimental purposes.)
These bees were painted purple to be properly identified in a later experiment by a fellow student at the lab.