Protein Extraction:
Through creative optimism and a little hard work, I received 2 biomarkers this week (Thank you Josh). One is from Fisher (measures protein MW of 116.0-14.4 kDa) and one from Biorad (measures protein MW of 250-2 kDa). My plan was to run these two biomarkers on a 4-20% Tris-HCL PAGE and then use it to measure the bands on the 4-20% Tris-HCL PAGE that I ran last week (2 identical gels). I loaded to 10 uL of Fisher into lane one and 10 uL of Biorad into lane 8. Running buffer was prepared using 100 mL 10x tris/glycerine/SDS buffer to 900 mL DI water. The gel ran at 100 volts for 2 hours. What resulted was each biomarker produced one band about 1/4 from the top of the gel. I am not sure why this happened. The electrophoresis tank did not make the usual high pitch noise that it does when it reaches maximum voltage but it stayed at a steady 100 volts and I could see continuous bubbles  so I didn't really worry about it. There are so many possibilities aas to why this run was not successful (equipment malfunction, defective product, and technique are at the top of my list so far). I will research this more and run a few more gels next week.

Blood: I am preparing to do a DNA extraction in order to visualize the double genome for blood type that I have been told that I have. I am meeting with Anil today to brainstorm some possible ideas.

Fish: The fish are still happy but the pH is still very stable at 8. They are also dependent on fish food and I would like them to eventually obtain optimal nutrition from the roots of the plants in the tank. Jeremy suggested that they do not like the plants that are growing and did a bit of research on fish palate. He discovered that fish enjoy bok choy, kale, arugula, and swiss chard. I used the extra tank to plant these. we will see if the fish enjoy their new salad bar.

Algal infection:
So after taking a water sample and staining it, I discovered that there is indeed bacteria present. They are cocci,Gram positive bacteria that look pretty scary under the microscope. I streaked a McKonkey plate to make sure that they are gram negative and I also streaked a MSA plate to see if they are halophiles given the salinity of the water, although this may have been a byproduct from the algal cell lysis.