Wistar rat
Week 3 June 29-July 3, 2015
The main focus of this week was on finishing up the catheters and handling new rats. A week ago the lab got in new Wistar rats that are to be used in upcoming research. These rats will be used to look into the effectiveness of Daun02. We were assigned to handle and mark thirty of these rats that will begin learning to self administer alcohol next week.
When rats, and any other animal to be used for scientific conduct, first arrive they are isolated in a separate room to check for infections, diseases, etc., and to help them adjust to the new environment. After a week they can be taken out, handled, and used for research. The rats we handled were finicky and quite nervous, resulting in a lot of fear induced excrement of the bowels.
To keep them in place we have to hold the base of the tail and allow them to rest on our arms. It also helps calm them down if they find a dark, small place to hide, such as the cavity between the arm and torso or a cupped hand held over their face. Towards the end of the batch we also got a lot of the rats scuttling into the lab coat pockets and falling asleep. It was a pain to get them out, but also super cute.
Each rat was held for about five minutes then marked on their tail with the number they are assigned. This process took a while, with so many rats to hold, but was entertaining nonetheless and the rats are really cute to work with.
In addition to this, we helped Marsida mix Artificial Cerebrospinal Fluid(ACSF) which is used in the electrophysiology studies where Marsida looks at the neurons in the brain and data collection.
This week in the lab was simple and easy going with many being excited for the upcoming Fourth of July fireworks and parties. For the fireworks we walked down to Mission Bay and got to see both the ones across the bay and the ones from Sea World. The fireworks were very extravagant, especially compared to the small town ones I am used to, however I missed the close proximity and deafening noise that the fireworks bring in Ouray.
This week marked both the halfway point in my internship and the end to living in the condo. On Sunday we moved out of the apartment at Pacific Beach and into Betsy’s house up in Rancho Santa Fe. She owns a nice house with a well manicured lawn, hedges, rose bushes, flowers, and clean little courtyard. Around back she also has a small grove of lemon trees that produce delicious lemons. She also has a caretaker named Pilar, a 90-year-old Mexican women who adores everything. Besides Betsy and Pilar and us, Betsy’s son Turner and their dog Kona live in the house.
Next week we have the catheter IV surgeries planned to take place on Marsida’s rats in the nicotine vapor chamber. The surgeries sound interesting to watch and hopefully we can help in the preparation and process of the surgery.
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