Ria Patel

Last week was the start of a new timetable with new modules. With the introduction of plural group projects, Google Docs has been a very useful programme and i have become more accustomed with its tools. I particularly enjoyed the physiology lecture with the balloons and interactive videos and animations, it helped explain the theories much better. I also like that Dr.Hamann drops hints on what particular slides are going to be essential for exam revision. Fortunately, due to delegating and meeting up, the #MB1004 presentation with James and Rachel is completed 5days in advance. This week i will be focussing on the #MB1031 poster presentation with Ni Ni and Tom and keeping up-to-date with lecture notes for the new modules. - Ria Patel

When researching for my #MB1031 poster presentation on why do wounds scar, i digressed slightly and came across this article on a rare skin cancer called MSSE that grows rapidly for a few weeks before healing spontaneously. Researchers have identified the gene which is responsible for the tumour and are now hoping to go on to find out how the tumours self-heal.Only scars are left behind, such like the topic i am researching. - Ria Patel

When researching for my microbiology essay on transgenic crops, i came across this article. The world's first transgenic dog. It is able to produce a fluorescent protein that glows red under UV light. The future of this project is to go on to create transgenic dog models of human diseases, also their lab hopes to knock out a specific oestrogen receptor in dogs to understand the hormone's effects on fertility. It also links with the #MB1005 module as the processes of transformation and cloning were essential. - Ria Patel

With the introduction of many new assessments and the final few lectures of microbiology, this week has been manic. Fortunately, due to starting the microbiology essay well in advance i managed to put the final touches to it this week (and Dr.Clokie's lectures helped very greatly with this), and it is all ready to be submitted. We had a productive genes tutorial on Wednesday where we were quick to delegate the workload, and due to this, managed to research most of the presentation in two hours. I found the #MB1031 poster preparation session very useful, and am pleased to have an interesting topic to work with Ni Ni and Tom with. This weekend will be spent finishing microbiology notes,hopefully in time before we start the new physiology module, and attempting the t-test assessent. - Ria Patel

This article explores the dynamic nature of centromeres.It was an interesting read when preparing for the #MB1031 timed essay on Monday. There is strong selective pressure to reduce crossing over close to the centromere as it usually leads to premature separation of sister chromatids. The article goes on to describe how this crossing over is suppressed and it all becomes a bit complicated but nevertheless interesting. - Ria Patel

This week didn't start that well with the onslaught of results but moving on quickly from that, it's been another jam-packed enjoyable week. Currently i am focussing on the scientific report for MB1031, but i have also made a good start on the BS1009 essay. (As a positive change to last term, i am starting assignments well in advance of their due date). The MB1005 tutorial with the meiosis card game definitely got me thinking and was an innovative way for working out the variety that results from meiosis. I found the BS1011 excel assignment last week quite challenging,so am a bit wary for this week's and have set a significant amount of time aside for it.For next week, i am hopeful about the microbiology course quiz to see whether my reformed ways of going through lectures soon after attending them is working out well and also to seeing the results&continuing with our transformation experiment in MB1005. - Ria Patel

#MB1031 #BS1009 #MB1005 #BS1011 - Dr Chris Willmott

This article is helpful for the scientific report assignment in that it explains why certain methods were chosen and how to interpret results. It also relates to BS1009 as it highlights Dr.Heapy's lectures in that microorganisms can be found everywhere and although this article is not meant to cause alarm, those with a compromised immune system may be at risk. It outlines an experiment undertaken to study the presence of mycobacteria on showerheads and in the water blasted from them. - Ria Patel

Mmm, something to think about next time you're having a shower. - Dr Alan Cann

This week has flown by! Now the modules are all flowing well i feel that i'm going to enjoy this term more than the last due to the great variety of subjects we're covering at the moment. The MB1031 talk this week on malaria and alzheimers was fascinating and although a few things did go straight over my head,i thought professor Tobin was an excellent speaker and was very engaging. The MB1006 thursday practical kept us busy and i felt much more comfortable using the microscope this week. It was really useful to practice doing genetic crosses and i completed the follow-up report that night. Another highlight this week was the CABS talk on Wednesday, although i could not stay for all the talks, it was very helpful hearing passionate speakers talk about their career paths and showing the vast array of jobs that could be out there for us in the future. This weekend i am going to try to review the lectures from this week and make sure i am uptodate for next week. Fingers crossed we have better luck with fire alarms! - Ria Patel

#MB1031 #uolbiocareers #uolbioscicareers #MB1005 - Dr Chris Willmott

This study relates to #MB1006 and #MB1004 as it uses cross-breeding experiments and studies mutations, as well as showing the importance of the sodium-potassium pump. A mutation in a gene is the cause of epilepsy in mice and could be a targer for anti-epileptic drugs. The mutation changed 2 amino acids of the protein and this made the a3 form of the Na+,K+-ATPase protein inactive. - Ria Patel

It has been a very busy week getting used to a new timetable, modules,lecturers and not being in the Rattray the majority of the time... but things are looking hopeful! Although it didn't all go to plan, i really enjoyed the #BS1009 practical on Tuesday morning and have to say a huge thanks to our demonstrator Jamie for being so helpful. I also did the follow-up questions to the practical that evening, which i feel is a positive start for a new semester and if i can keep on top of my work in this way work will be far more manageable. It wasn't too fun being told in #MB1004 that the theories we had learnt in our A-levels about membranes were wrong, but the lectures were very interesting and i think the new,improved model and explanations will actually end up making things clearer. The #MB1005 practical yesterday started off really well with the interactive quiz,however i felt a little lack of manual dexterity when dealing with the needle under the microscope. Although the week is... more... - Ria Patel

Good luck to you too :) - Kelly Barnett

do you mean that both are wrong or just one of them? - Jalpan Patel

Thanks Aklimah!:) - Ria Patel

One of the topics in the #MB1030 presentations last week was fMRI, and i hadn't heard of this technology before so found the talk really interesting. Here is an article i found on one of the uses of fMRI where it is used to identify brain activity in those who are unconscious or unable to communicate to see if it is consistent with those who are conscious. It can help assess the health of the brain and its chances of recovery. - Ria Patel

The most important thing i have learned this term is the skill of time management. It has been very important for me to settle into university life, get the most out of the experience by making new friends and socialising but not letting my academic work fall. I invested in a planner (wall and a personal diary) to organise my time well and be well aware of looming deadlines and time lengths of projects. It is necessary,particularly in certain weeks where i have had up to five assignments on the go, to make sacrifices in order to mange my time. I feel i have matured greatly since school and been able to put this into practice by being organised, independent and putting a lot of hard work into all the assignments so far... None of this would have been possible if i had not improved my time management skills. - Ria Patel

Have you got Chang its awesome? - Arun Bahl

Added to the Christmas list! - Ria Patel

This is an interesting article about the always-relevent topic of stem cells and relates to the talk we had on animal testing in #MB1030. It is research into the potential treatment of using a person's own brain cells for treating brain damage.It was extremely successful in the experiment on rats. - Ria Patel

I did this too, it really helps to read it out loud to someone! - Alice Stephens

yes practising beforehand with friends has helped me improve my presentation skills :D - Sabrina Rai

I'm pleased, although the maths on #BS1010 is not really about improving your skills, more about revision of what you've done before (possibly years ago). - Dr Alan Cann

It definatly sparks a few memories from the old times ! - Bashir Mohamed

Good idea, nothing worse than leaving it to the last minute!! - Alice Stephens

Yeah same, better get started before next week - Mohamed Isse

This article from New Scientist relates to my #MB1030 presentation on synthetic life in the use of biosynthetic corneas to aid the restoration of damaged sight. The synthetic corneas are made out of collagen which fuse easily with the eye and encourage the person's own cells to grow. The cornea is an essential part of the eye, accounting for 2/3 of total optical power. This article also shows a different function of collagen to the structural fibre we studied in #BS1015. - Ria Patel

great article ria! I know many individuals that are taking up the task of presenting a ten minute talk on 'synthetic life' and have recommended your article, even apart from that its great to read!..keep up the feeds! - Mayank Patel

For #MB1030, i was assigned the oral presentation on synthetic life. This article is relevant to this topic as it talks about a study carried out in the USA to develop synthetic DNA using bacteria. The host cell into which the synthetic DNA was placed was still able to divide and produce proteins. At the bottom of this article there are links to articles with similar relevance. - Ria Patel

Thank you, this is very useful as I am doing the same topic as well! :) - Izzah Abdul Latiff

I'm pretty sure we are going to discuss our answers in the session like we did earlier in the year on the evaluation of sources activity. - Gulshana Choudhury

Thank you because my answers really don't fit in the gaps on the worksheet! - Ria Patel

Yes, that's a great resource. Printing out the notes is smart too (or saving them as a pdf) because when the Blackboard modules roll over at the end of the year you won't have access to them any more. - Dr Alan Cann

I printed mine for each assesment before i did it and highlighted. This definately helped me too. - Alice Baxter

#uolfeedback - Dr Jo Badge from iPod

@Ria I think you meant "selective" not "subjective" (which isn't usually seen as something to aspire to) - Dr Chris Willmott

and you too :P no use now though.. the Patel's union was good lol.. and hope you did well! - Jalpan Patel

This article is related to the essay on the role of genomics in cancer treatment for #MB1030, which i'm sure everyone's looking forward to getting their teeth into now the #BS1015 water essay is handed in. This article talks about a study which was carried out in which six genes were tested to see if they could forecast whether a breast tumour was sensitive to a certain drug. The research was carried out by Cancer Research UK in London and it highlights the importance of genomics when identifying markers that can predict drug responses. This may be the future of increasing the likelihood of a treament's response whilst avoiding any adverse effects. - Ria Patel

brilliant, thanks ria! i'll see you there...looking forward to putting all our research together into a presentation. - Alice Stephens