Phase II Neurobiology Workshop
During the second week of Summer Study 2011, a group of Phase II Scholars participated in the Bugs, Mice, and Brains workshop. It was hosted at two labs at the University of Washington Medical Center and Kincaid Hall on the UW Campus. At the medical center, Scholars had the chance to complete a junior-level lab for neurobiology majors. This lab used sensitive electronics and amplifiers to measure electrical signals in cockroach neurons. The Scholars manipulated the spines on cockroaches to see how different stimuli can affect a cockroach's reaction and adaptation to the signal.
In the lab at Kinkaid Hall, the Scholars dissected and tested the hindbrain on a mouse embryo. The lab was set up to measure florescence in the embryo tissue. Scholars tested different drugs on the tissue and recorded how it reacted. Each of the workshops gave participants an opportunity to work in two real, functioning science labs and learn how to formulate hypotheses, test them, and draw conclusions from experiments.