It seems that we are finally going to experience an actually real and true first week of the actual HHMI program. There is not any summit or anything of that sort that will keep the participants of the program out of their labs.
I am actually starting to stay in lab for longer periods of time. The methods and experimenting is a bit challenging as we have been writing and trying to devise a new protocol in order to isolate several particles in the cell that we want. This is of course called Cellular Differentiation in which you take a large flask of cells and then put them through the centrifuge in order to sort the substances in the cell by weight. The first is the heaviest things to come out and this is usually the nucleus. What the project and what we have been thus far in the lab is that we have been trying to isolate the plasma membrane and microsomes within the cell. I have done several things so far with this as well. I have performed right now, Four Bio rad tests, which basically looks at the protein content within the cells. All of this is just practice really for me. I have to learn these processes and techniques well enough to be able to do them on my own without any help. And to move on from this subject, I have been attempting to take notes thus far on that which has been done.
I am having a few second thoughts about my career and major. That is all that I am saying for now.
Ah that was really all that has been done and of course, HHMI presentations. Here is a list of them. Only half the group presented.
The Tympanic Membrane: Reconstruction of the Tympanic Membrane and Repair of Perforations “Allison D”
Treacher Collins Syndrome Research: Creating a Mouse Model to Study the Genetic Disorder “Heather Cross”
Do Glutamate Receptors Exist in the Rodent Immune System “Cathryn Kurkjian”
How Does HCT Decrease Cellular Aflatoxin Accumulations "Tristan Hayes" presentation is in my File Box on my facebook profile?
Collagen Self Assembly Mechanism “Mary Beth Bird”
Zebrafish CaMK-II Beta 2 “Ludmila Francescatto”
The Use of HDACi to inhibit Pathways involved with Endotoxic Shock “Sung Lee”
Metastatic Cancer Cells and the significance of Vimentin, ZBP-8 and Sumoylatin “Maimuna Bruce”
Sequence Homology Using Automated Pattern Discovery “Derek Austin”
Sedation Effects in Mechanically Ventilated Patients “Patrick Headley”
Modulation of PL Kinase activity By Drugs “Sam Aboagye”
Descriptions were omitted, full powerpoints are all going to be made available, I believe
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Payment is Always Well Received
The rest of the week finished up quite smoothly with a great transition into the normal weekend. There was perhaps one simple highlight to the weekend and I will explain in great detail.
I managed to get to the bank on Thursday after I went to the lab for a tiny bit. I cashed the $1000 check that we get for the research. It was partitioned into two sets, one for a bit that I will carry around on hand and then the other half for the part that will stay in the bank. On about Saturday morning, the money appeared in the bank account at around 9 in the morning. I went ahead and proceeded to ordering a Nintendo Wii from Ebay. I also went and gave a tour on this same morning.
The tour proceeded without a single hitch. I had to alternate part of the trip though to accommodate for the many graduations that took place in and around the Stuart C. Siegal Center. I wont say that I rushed through the tour but I did finish within the normal time that a tour is done, if not faster. It was extremely hot outside and I really wanted to get into the cold but I had to digress. I like giving the tours as they are a nice thing to do on the Saturday morning and give me something to do. I did have two embarrassing moments though, they both involved VCU buildings being closed (usually during the normal fall and spring semesters the buildings are open, but of course during the summer semester they are closed unfortunately
).
Ah after the tour I went to the Gamestop that is located right underneath the VCU Ramz Hall. In this Gamestop I went ahead and preordered Pokemon Battle Revolution for my future Wii. I also eyed a Pokemon Ultimate Pokedex for Diamond and Pearl, and I bought that too. And finally, I also looked at another game for the Wii, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. I might even get it, really.
Saturday night, I went with a friend, Jordan, and we went with a Kuwaiti friend to the Short Pump mall. This mall is unreasonable expensive looking. I of course didnt buy anything from the stores. On the way out of the mall I was a bit disappointed because I could have stopped off at the Foot Locker or the Finish Line and bought a new pair of shoes. I didnt spend any money there. I also ran into a few friends of Jordan, who are here as part of a missionary training group around Richmond. They all were from Texas, so it was amazing to hear things about Waco, Texas and such.
The final stop on Saturday night was at a WalMart. It was hear that I bought a new TV. I Was surprised at the price of the TV, it was directly what I aimed for ($250). The TV is HDTV built in so it automatically converts and receives the HD signal. It is 19inches (seems bigger for some reason) and also goes up to 1080i. When I got back to Gladding Residence Center at VCU, I failed to get the coaxial cord to connect the cable cable to the actual TV, so I could watch anything, well spare the basic channels.
Sunday I went to church and had a blast. I love Grace Bible Church for some reason. Its simple style is to die for, especially its teaching. The only thing that is not so hot is the music because they do not actually have a choir, but rather everything is a congregational type song. They are nice, but I miss the style of my home gospel choir. Some of the songs they sing at GBC are similar to the ones we sing at FBC and a few other churches in my area, but these are mainly old hymns that are hardly ever sung in an alternate way. Well for one into gospel songs, the hymns sometimes do get a revamp and such. This is becoming more common nowadays. After I got out of church I walked down from GRC to Lowe's. The walk took about 20 minutes but it was really worth it. The cable cord I got works and I managed to get a Philly Cheesesteak from Dominic's that is usually in front of every Lowe's.
The TV works great in the dorm. One of the benefits with having the Built in HDTV receiver is that it automatically detects all the analog and digital signals. So, I guess unknown to a large portion of students. We get over 150 channels for TV from VCU's cable provider. Regular tvs dont pick up the signal which is why it is such a big surprise to me and many of my other friends. Ah, that is mainly what happened today. Oh yeah, I did run into Maurice (my old roomate) on Thursday and I also ran into Haris who will be here for Summer classes. We went to TT Lounge for the slush and boba drinks and the korean kitchen place for food.
I managed to get to the bank on Thursday after I went to the lab for a tiny bit. I cashed the $1000 check that we get for the research. It was partitioned into two sets, one for a bit that I will carry around on hand and then the other half for the part that will stay in the bank. On about Saturday morning, the money appeared in the bank account at around 9 in the morning. I went ahead and proceeded to ordering a Nintendo Wii from Ebay. I also went and gave a tour on this same morning.
The tour proceeded without a single hitch. I had to alternate part of the trip though to accommodate for the many graduations that took place in and around the Stuart C. Siegal Center. I wont say that I rushed through the tour but I did finish within the normal time that a tour is done, if not faster. It was extremely hot outside and I really wanted to get into the cold but I had to digress. I like giving the tours as they are a nice thing to do on the Saturday morning and give me something to do. I did have two embarrassing moments though, they both involved VCU buildings being closed (usually during the normal fall and spring semesters the buildings are open, but of course during the summer semester they are closed unfortunately
).
Ah after the tour I went to the Gamestop that is located right underneath the VCU Ramz Hall. In this Gamestop I went ahead and preordered Pokemon Battle Revolution for my future Wii. I also eyed a Pokemon Ultimate Pokedex for Diamond and Pearl, and I bought that too. And finally, I also looked at another game for the Wii, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. I might even get it, really.
Saturday night, I went with a friend, Jordan, and we went with a Kuwaiti friend to the Short Pump mall. This mall is unreasonable expensive looking. I of course didnt buy anything from the stores. On the way out of the mall I was a bit disappointed because I could have stopped off at the Foot Locker or the Finish Line and bought a new pair of shoes. I didnt spend any money there. I also ran into a few friends of Jordan, who are here as part of a missionary training group around Richmond. They all were from Texas, so it was amazing to hear things about Waco, Texas and such.
The final stop on Saturday night was at a WalMart. It was hear that I bought a new TV. I Was surprised at the price of the TV, it was directly what I aimed for ($250). The TV is HDTV built in so it automatically converts and receives the HD signal. It is 19inches (seems bigger for some reason) and also goes up to 1080i. When I got back to Gladding Residence Center at VCU, I failed to get the coaxial cord to connect the cable cable to the actual TV, so I could watch anything, well spare the basic channels.
Sunday I went to church and had a blast. I love Grace Bible Church for some reason. Its simple style is to die for, especially its teaching. The only thing that is not so hot is the music because they do not actually have a choir, but rather everything is a congregational type song. They are nice, but I miss the style of my home gospel choir. Some of the songs they sing at GBC are similar to the ones we sing at FBC and a few other churches in my area, but these are mainly old hymns that are hardly ever sung in an alternate way. Well for one into gospel songs, the hymns sometimes do get a revamp and such. This is becoming more common nowadays. After I got out of church I walked down from GRC to Lowe's. The walk took about 20 minutes but it was really worth it. The cable cord I got works and I managed to get a Philly Cheesesteak from Dominic's that is usually in front of every Lowe's.
The TV works great in the dorm. One of the benefits with having the Built in HDTV receiver is that it automatically detects all the analog and digital signals. So, I guess unknown to a large portion of students. We get over 150 channels for TV from VCU's cable provider. Regular tvs dont pick up the signal which is why it is such a big surprise to me and many of my other friends. Ah, that is mainly what happened today. Oh yeah, I did run into Maurice (my old roomate) on Thursday and I also ran into Haris who will be here for Summer classes. We went to TT Lounge for the slush and boba drinks and the korean kitchen place for food.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
The Fight
After spending a weekend of cooking fun, I was quickly brought back to reality with the preparation of a science research project proposal, a science conference, and the struggle to ascertain funds. Although it was both great and bad, this week did bring me new information and insight into things at hand.
For HHMI, I went to the lab and prepared my presentation on my project. The project centers around the mechanism of transport of a chemical produced by a fungus. The chemical is called Aflatoxin and cause a myriad of effects in people. The effects range from liver cancer to death. This substance is actually common in our foods (though like only 90 ppb of grain). I created the presentation steadfastly and then went to the Jefferson Hotel for the Summit on Systems Biology. This day had the introduction of the heavy hors d'oeuvres for dinner and a meet and greet, basically networking event. I managed to talk to a few people from firms that will help graduates find careers in the life sciences careers. I got an amazing glass cup from a company called illumina, I believe they manufacture these amazing micro array slides that have about 40 million spots on them (on the molecular level) that all take a part in analyzing the genome and sequences.
The next day opened up with the talks and such. I did manage to take quite a few notes:
At 7:00 we had a Continental Breakfast in which, I ate tons of grapes and such, I got so full.
Dr. Eugene P. Traini, the President of VCU spoke and gave us an introduction. He is an amazing speaker. The speakers came immediately thereafter.
The Systems Biology Challenge in the 21st Century Biomedical Research, by Dr. Leroy Hood (famous for the Automated Sequencer)-Systems approach in Biology and Medicine.
In the future he hopes to see that there is a grand convergence of several sciences enabling us to have predictive, personalized, preventive, participatory medicine. He defines biological information as being of two parts, one of digital information (the genome), and those of environmental information.
Perspectives on Systems Biology from the Research Institute, by Dr. Claire Fraser-Liggett (President and Director of TIGR, The Institute of Genomic Research, known for sequencing several genomes). She stated that DNA sequence data is the starting point for genomics based research. She also claimed that science takes place at the interface of computing and biology.
Perspectives on Systems Biology from the NIH (National Institutes of Health) by David Balshaw (works in NIH Environmental Health Sciences). Apart from hearing the word "peculated, I gathered from him that they have a $29.8 billion dollar budget.
Perspectives on Systems Biology from the Academia by Michael Savageau (University of Michigan), He spoke of elucidating and quantifying data. There is one goal of academia and that is to design a system for the coupling of expression in elementary Gene Circuits.
Perspectives on Systems Biology from the Pharmaceutical Industry- Burt Adelman, He basically said that the pharmacy must understand how human population has to understand human pathobiology. They have to focus industry research efforts on making drugs with the full collaboration of the scientific community.
Systems Pharmacology: An Application of Biology by Kieth Elliston, he simply said these few things. Systems biology, translational medicine, and drug development must be combined. Phenotypes are the result of complex network reactions in a biological network. High failures of drugs are due to a primitive understanding of the molecular actions of drugs. A better understanding of molecular reactions will help reduce failures.
Model to note: Casual System Model-rationalize based on knowledge we know-Automated Reasoning (interrogate data with artificial intelligence).
Human Microbial Metagenomics: Understanding Our Microbial Selves, by Clair Faiser-Liggett (she was my favorite speaker of the mix). The science of microbial communities is the systems biology of the biosphere. Microbiome0 A multi-membered community of bacteria that exists within a defined environmental domain. Human Microbiome-The community of bacteria that live on or in the human host (mucosal surfaces). Metagenomics- The culture independent study of the genomes of many organisms simultaneously in order to understand microbial communities as intact systems. In order to put this into practice we must take surveys of community diversity, do whole genome sequencing, and map the community functions back to the cells. (here she used the herculean word, as in a herculean amount of data). In summary, Our 'metagenome' is a composite of Home Sapiens genes and genes present in the genomes of trillions of microbes that colonize our adult bodies.
Circular Causality: Principles for the Analysis and synthesis of dynamical systems, by Rene Thomas (best known for Discovery of DNA Denaturation in 1951, from Universite Libre de Bruxelles). Two types of circuits exist, positive and negative. Epigenetic differences are those which can be transmitted from cell generation to generation in the absences of any genetic difference. Multi stationarity characterizes systems that can display two or more stable states in identical external systems. Whether a circuit is positive or negative depends on its partial parity. Positive circuits generate multi stationarity. Negative generates periodicity. Differentiative is a regulatory mechanism that happens when two types of extremes must be chosen. When the sign of a circuit depends on the location in phase space, we call it an ambiguous circuit.
Multi-omics analysis and date-driven systems biology by Masaru Tomita from Keio University in Japan. He spoke of the process of Capillary Electrophoresis and Mass spectrometry. He performed research in E. Coli and says that it seems to use complementary strategies that result in a metabolic network that is robust against small perturbations. Biosimulations can confirm if your model is consistent.
Digital Genetics: Unraveling the Genetic Basis of Evolution by Chistoph Adami from California Institute of Technology, created digi life. The origin and dynamics of evolutionary change is evolutionary genetics. Complex genes evolve through the accumulation of function, while the selective target constantly changes.
Student Presentaions Night
Is Reductionism Enough for the -omics hierarchy? by Derek Austin, senior HHMI VCU. Science tries to answer questions about natural phenomenon. Reductionism seeks to express life itself in terms of a dance of isolable chemical fractions (Robert Rosen quote). Conclusion: Purely reductionist study, based on the belief that biological phenomena can be completely explained by chemical phenomena is insufficient to analyze the -omics hierarchy".
Evolutionary neuronal and glial growth on electrospun polarized matrices: bridging the gap in percussive spinal cord injuries, by Woon Chow, graduate PhD student. He discussed and modeled a new method of healing spinal cord injuries, elctrospin the fibers and get straighter regrowth in the spinal cord.
The Human Cytomegalovirus Alkaline Nuclease As An Target by Allison Muchta, PhD student VCU. Current antivirals of HCMV have side effects. Alkaline Nuclease is the possible antiviral target. It is a possible recombinase or debranching enzyme.
Toward a General Approach of Designing Glycosaminoglycan Mimics by Arjun Raghoraman PhD student VCU. GAG's play an important role in the functioning of several proteins in our body.
Complex Analysis of Chromatic Associated Genes in Lung Adenocarcinoma,Sterling Thomas, PhD student VCU.
Day 2
Genome-Scale Models, by Bernhard Palsson, University of California-San Diego (Computational Systems Biologist). Genome-scale reconstruction and constraint based modeling: Enabling in silico (performed on a computer) analysis procedures. RNAP binding and dynamic maps are obtained (experiment).
Genome Design, Engineering and Evolution in Cell Cultures by George Church (known for the creation of the first Direct Genome Sequencing Method and Personal Genome Project) MIT professor and Harvard Medical School professor. He discussed the Personal Genome Project (basically people getting their genomes sequenced and it being available for scientific study).
Function, Design and Evolution of Gene Circuitry by Michael A. Savageau. Graded switches have faster switching times, robust switching times, and robust thresholds. Hysteric switches for irreversible commitment during differentiaion have slow times and act as a filter in the cell.
Identifying Gene Networks in Acute Responses to Ethanol by Expression and Behavioral Genetics by Michael Miles, VCU.
Where Medicine Went Wrong by Bruce West, author of books. Linear implies simple.
Metabolic Profiling of Planned Heart Attacks by Robert E. Gertszten, MD of Harvard Medical School.
Integrative Modeling of Cardiac Function in Health and Disease, Raimond Winsolw of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The Cell as a Dynamical Information Processing Network by Stuart Kauffman (known for arguing for Biological Complexity) from University of Calgary. Critical Cells maximize correlated behavior of genes over time. Thus they can carry out most complex coordinated behavior.
Genomic Strategies to Cancer Biology and Cancer Therapy by Joseph Nevins of Duke University. Gene expression profiles as surrogates for biological phenotypes.
Basically and in sum, I attended the conference for three days, endured just about every single presentation, and had loads of food to eat. The event was nice and I did get to meet some of the most amazing scientists ever. It really has made me think of my future and my future in research or so. I have to decide on that which I want to do now that i have seen several different areas of Bioinformatics and such in this short time.
For HHMI, I went to the lab and prepared my presentation on my project. The project centers around the mechanism of transport of a chemical produced by a fungus. The chemical is called Aflatoxin and cause a myriad of effects in people. The effects range from liver cancer to death. This substance is actually common in our foods (though like only 90 ppb of grain). I created the presentation steadfastly and then went to the Jefferson Hotel for the Summit on Systems Biology. This day had the introduction of the heavy hors d'oeuvres for dinner and a meet and greet, basically networking event. I managed to talk to a few people from firms that will help graduates find careers in the life sciences careers. I got an amazing glass cup from a company called illumina, I believe they manufacture these amazing micro array slides that have about 40 million spots on them (on the molecular level) that all take a part in analyzing the genome and sequences.
The next day opened up with the talks and such. I did manage to take quite a few notes:
At 7:00 we had a Continental Breakfast in which, I ate tons of grapes and such, I got so full.
Dr. Eugene P. Traini, the President of VCU spoke and gave us an introduction. He is an amazing speaker. The speakers came immediately thereafter.
The Systems Biology Challenge in the 21st Century Biomedical Research, by Dr. Leroy Hood (famous for the Automated Sequencer)-Systems approach in Biology and Medicine.
In the future he hopes to see that there is a grand convergence of several sciences enabling us to have predictive, personalized, preventive, participatory medicine. He defines biological information as being of two parts, one of digital information (the genome), and those of environmental information.
Perspectives on Systems Biology from the Research Institute, by Dr. Claire Fraser-Liggett (President and Director of TIGR, The Institute of Genomic Research, known for sequencing several genomes). She stated that DNA sequence data is the starting point for genomics based research. She also claimed that science takes place at the interface of computing and biology.
Perspectives on Systems Biology from the NIH (National Institutes of Health) by David Balshaw (works in NIH Environmental Health Sciences). Apart from hearing the word "peculated, I gathered from him that they have a $29.8 billion dollar budget.
Perspectives on Systems Biology from the Academia by Michael Savageau (University of Michigan), He spoke of elucidating and quantifying data. There is one goal of academia and that is to design a system for the coupling of expression in elementary Gene Circuits.
Perspectives on Systems Biology from the Pharmaceutical Industry- Burt Adelman, He basically said that the pharmacy must understand how human population has to understand human pathobiology. They have to focus industry research efforts on making drugs with the full collaboration of the scientific community.
Systems Pharmacology: An Application of Biology by Kieth Elliston, he simply said these few things. Systems biology, translational medicine, and drug development must be combined. Phenotypes are the result of complex network reactions in a biological network. High failures of drugs are due to a primitive understanding of the molecular actions of drugs. A better understanding of molecular reactions will help reduce failures.
Model to note: Casual System Model-rationalize based on knowledge we know-Automated Reasoning (interrogate data with artificial intelligence).
Human Microbial Metagenomics: Understanding Our Microbial Selves, by Clair Faiser-Liggett (she was my favorite speaker of the mix). The science of microbial communities is the systems biology of the biosphere. Microbiome0 A multi-membered community of bacteria that exists within a defined environmental domain. Human Microbiome-The community of bacteria that live on or in the human host (mucosal surfaces). Metagenomics- The culture independent study of the genomes of many organisms simultaneously in order to understand microbial communities as intact systems. In order to put this into practice we must take surveys of community diversity, do whole genome sequencing, and map the community functions back to the cells. (here she used the herculean word, as in a herculean amount of data). In summary, Our 'metagenome' is a composite of Home Sapiens genes and genes present in the genomes of trillions of microbes that colonize our adult bodies.
Circular Causality: Principles for the Analysis and synthesis of dynamical systems, by Rene Thomas (best known for Discovery of DNA Denaturation in 1951, from Universite Libre de Bruxelles). Two types of circuits exist, positive and negative. Epigenetic differences are those which can be transmitted from cell generation to generation in the absences of any genetic difference. Multi stationarity characterizes systems that can display two or more stable states in identical external systems. Whether a circuit is positive or negative depends on its partial parity. Positive circuits generate multi stationarity. Negative generates periodicity. Differentiative is a regulatory mechanism that happens when two types of extremes must be chosen. When the sign of a circuit depends on the location in phase space, we call it an ambiguous circuit.
Multi-omics analysis and date-driven systems biology by Masaru Tomita from Keio University in Japan. He spoke of the process of Capillary Electrophoresis and Mass spectrometry. He performed research in E. Coli and says that it seems to use complementary strategies that result in a metabolic network that is robust against small perturbations. Biosimulations can confirm if your model is consistent.
Digital Genetics: Unraveling the Genetic Basis of Evolution by Chistoph Adami from California Institute of Technology, created digi life. The origin and dynamics of evolutionary change is evolutionary genetics. Complex genes evolve through the accumulation of function, while the selective target constantly changes.
Student Presentaions Night
Is Reductionism Enough for the -omics hierarchy? by Derek Austin, senior HHMI VCU. Science tries to answer questions about natural phenomenon. Reductionism seeks to express life itself in terms of a dance of isolable chemical fractions (Robert Rosen quote). Conclusion: Purely reductionist study, based on the belief that biological phenomena can be completely explained by chemical phenomena is insufficient to analyze the -omics hierarchy".
Evolutionary neuronal and glial growth on electrospun polarized matrices: bridging the gap in percussive spinal cord injuries, by Woon Chow, graduate PhD student. He discussed and modeled a new method of healing spinal cord injuries, elctrospin the fibers and get straighter regrowth in the spinal cord.
The Human Cytomegalovirus Alkaline Nuclease As An Target by Allison Muchta, PhD student VCU. Current antivirals of HCMV have side effects. Alkaline Nuclease is the possible antiviral target. It is a possible recombinase or debranching enzyme.
Toward a General Approach of Designing Glycosaminoglycan Mimics by Arjun Raghoraman PhD student VCU. GAG's play an important role in the functioning of several proteins in our body.
Complex Analysis of Chromatic Associated Genes in Lung Adenocarcinoma,Sterling Thomas, PhD student VCU.
Day 2
Genome-Scale Models, by Bernhard Palsson, University of California-San Diego (Computational Systems Biologist). Genome-scale reconstruction and constraint based modeling: Enabling in silico (performed on a computer) analysis procedures. RNAP binding and dynamic maps are obtained (experiment).
Genome Design, Engineering and Evolution in Cell Cultures by George Church (known for the creation of the first Direct Genome Sequencing Method and Personal Genome Project) MIT professor and Harvard Medical School professor. He discussed the Personal Genome Project (basically people getting their genomes sequenced and it being available for scientific study).
Function, Design and Evolution of Gene Circuitry by Michael A. Savageau. Graded switches have faster switching times, robust switching times, and robust thresholds. Hysteric switches for irreversible commitment during differentiaion have slow times and act as a filter in the cell.
Identifying Gene Networks in Acute Responses to Ethanol by Expression and Behavioral Genetics by Michael Miles, VCU.
Where Medicine Went Wrong by Bruce West, author of books. Linear implies simple.
Metabolic Profiling of Planned Heart Attacks by Robert E. Gertszten, MD of Harvard Medical School.
Integrative Modeling of Cardiac Function in Health and Disease, Raimond Winsolw of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The Cell as a Dynamical Information Processing Network by Stuart Kauffman (known for arguing for Biological Complexity) from University of Calgary. Critical Cells maximize correlated behavior of genes over time. Thus they can carry out most complex coordinated behavior.
Genomic Strategies to Cancer Biology and Cancer Therapy by Joseph Nevins of Duke University. Gene expression profiles as surrogates for biological phenotypes.
Basically and in sum, I attended the conference for three days, endured just about every single presentation, and had loads of food to eat. The event was nice and I did get to meet some of the most amazing scientists ever. It really has made me think of my future and my future in research or so. I have to decide on that which I want to do now that i have seen several different areas of Bioinformatics and such in this short time.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Project Kitchen: Cooking is not as hard as it seems!
As I may have mentioned in perhaps a previous post, I had decided to, on Friday night, go out and cook some fish. I wanted to test out my new cook book and see if the recipes were really as good and easy as they seemed. After spending about forty minutes flipping through the pages, I settled upon a great meal, Pan-Fried Tilapia. The fish fillet meal would prove to be a bit involving as I soon came to find out.
In order to prepare the meal at hand I needed several ingredients. However, before I could get the ingredients for the meal at hand, I needed to also get some tools to cook with. The things that I needed were of course a whisk, a measuring cup, measuring spoons, and a pan. The meal required several things.
2 tablespoons of all-pupose flour
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon of dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon of curry powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of pepper
2 Tilapia fillets
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Total cost of the items was around $10-$15 (would be cheaper if I had several of these things already)
After placing all of the ingredients on the counter I then took out the fish from the freezer.
The Tilapia actually came in a package of two fillets, which is more than enough for one person. I immediately took it out of the package and patted it dry. While that was sitting out, I immediately gathered all of the dry ingrediantes and began to mix them in a bowl.
Once I had poured all of the dry ingredients into the bowl, I mixed it up for a few minutes with the whisk. This part was actually fun, for I got to see the powdery stuff go up and down and travel all across the bowl. I loved the smell that came up. Most likely I smelled the garlic and curry. I couldn't wait to try it. After doing this, I immediately poured this dry concoction onto a plate. 
As I had already mentioned the fillets were literally patted dry (the fish were a bit wet so i patted them dry with a paper towel, I couldnt find parchment paper). The fish fillets were then placed into the dry concoction. I attempted to coat it generously with the mix. Meanwhile, I went ahead and turned on the stovetop to medium high heat. After waiting for about two minutes, I then added the Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the skillet. After waiting for twenty seconds, I then placed the fillets onto the skillet.
After waiting for about two minutes I then flipped it over so that the other side could get cooked. After another two minutes I prepared to take them off the skillet. I actually kept it on the skillet for a bit longer, because it was looking a bit pale, but all in all I did take it out before it sustained burning. 
To complement the meal I fixed some of the mixed vegetables. This allowed ample time for me to clean up the kitchen and for the fish to cool down. I would give myself an 8 out of 10 for this meal. The only thing that I could have done better was to have actually practiced flipping the fillets over. For I actually splashed some of the sauce onto the stovetop and onto myself (it hurt!). But then again, I guess that is a risk to take when flipping stuff over. I believe that the next meal that I will do will either be Pesto Chicken Roll Ups or Fettuccine Alfredo. Ultimately, this meal was quite easy to fix up, therefore proving that for this meal, cooking is assumed to be harder than it actually is.
In order to prepare the meal at hand I needed several ingredients. However, before I could get the ingredients for the meal at hand, I needed to also get some tools to cook with. The things that I needed were of course a whisk, a measuring cup, measuring spoons, and a pan. The meal required several things.
2 tablespoons of all-pupose flour
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon of dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon of curry powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of pepper
2 Tilapia fillets
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Total cost of the items was around $10-$15 (would be cheaper if I had several of these things already)
After placing all of the ingredients on the counter I then took out the fish from the freezer.
The Tilapia actually came in a package of two fillets, which is more than enough for one person. I immediately took it out of the package and patted it dry. While that was sitting out, I immediately gathered all of the dry ingrediantes and began to mix them in a bowl.
Once I had poured all of the dry ingredients into the bowl, I mixed it up for a few minutes with the whisk. This part was actually fun, for I got to see the powdery stuff go up and down and travel all across the bowl. I loved the smell that came up. Most likely I smelled the garlic and curry. I couldn't wait to try it. After doing this, I immediately poured this dry concoction onto a plate. 
As I had already mentioned the fillets were literally patted dry (the fish were a bit wet so i patted them dry with a paper towel, I couldnt find parchment paper). The fish fillets were then placed into the dry concoction. I attempted to coat it generously with the mix. Meanwhile, I went ahead and turned on the stovetop to medium high heat. After waiting for about two minutes, I then added the Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the skillet. After waiting for twenty seconds, I then placed the fillets onto the skillet.
After waiting for about two minutes I then flipped it over so that the other side could get cooked. After another two minutes I prepared to take them off the skillet. I actually kept it on the skillet for a bit longer, because it was looking a bit pale, but all in all I did take it out before it sustained burning. 
To complement the meal I fixed some of the mixed vegetables. This allowed ample time for me to clean up the kitchen and for the fish to cool down. I would give myself an 8 out of 10 for this meal. The only thing that I could have done better was to have actually practiced flipping the fillets over. For I actually splashed some of the sauce onto the stovetop and onto myself (it hurt!). But then again, I guess that is a risk to take when flipping stuff over. I believe that the next meal that I will do will either be Pesto Chicken Roll Ups or Fettuccine Alfredo. Ultimately, this meal was quite easy to fix up, therefore proving that for this meal, cooking is assumed to be harder than it actually is.
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