Week 3 everyone,
This week has been captivating and full of new experiences!
To start off the week, we began dissections on a cohort of rats that have completed their scientific mission and have now passed onto a wonderful rat heaven.
What’s fascinating about the rat is that it’s 97% genetically similar to us, which creates parallels between studies in rats to future phenomenons in the human body. The rat has many of the same organs as a human does, and many of which are shaped and function the same as a human. Once the rat has been euthanized, we are able to anatomize and obtain the organs necessary to complete the experiment. The goal for this cohort, was to harvest their brain as well as to get a sample of blood drawn directly from the heart. This was a challenge. In order for this to be done, Sierra Simpson takes each rat and cuts open their Thoracic Cavity to get the rats blood. Then they must remove the head from the body. They do this so then they are able to remove the brain from the skull. To get to the brain, you need to chip back the skull and then peel off a strong thin layer of dura (what protects the brain). Next we submerged the brain into isopropanol (CH3CHOHCH3) which is a colorless, flammable, and foul-smelling chemical compound. On top of this, we were also using dry ice in order to freeze the brain. The brains are now waiting for the cryostat, a machine that slices the brain into 10–40 μm thick. This experiment is necessary to complete Sierra Simpson and Adam Kimbrough’s (PhD) study for a paper they are soon publishing. The goal is to not only look at the genome of the rats, but also to conduct other remarkable investigations in order to get a better understanding of the rat brain and therefore our brain.
Later in the week, Sharona conducted surgeries on rats to put their catheter in. The catheter is a device that you hook up 
to the self administration chambers to secrete drugs into the rats jugular vein. Sharona has a very specific but simple process to put the catheter under the skin and then place a small tube into the vein. Some veins are extremely small which makes it very difficult to place inside the vein. Only one female rat was lost, her vein ruptured on both sides so she had to be put down. This cohort of rats is being used for a different experiment using alcohol and alcohol vapor chambers that will begin Monday to give the rats a few days to recover.
Apart from the internship, I ventured to try my first aerial silks yoga class which involved a lot of inverted poses. It was very pretty, you could see the ocean as you hung upside down in a silk. Saturday, I went up to Costa Mesa and continued my black belt training at Bob Whites Karate Studio. This weekend, I met some of the world’s greatest fighters who taught me many things about fighting and traditions. Today I will begin an amazing volleyball camp in the evenings at UCSD. Keeping fit. Anyway, thanks for reading this week, and ill see you next week! 
-Danika Petit
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