Answers

The next two weeks promised to be quite a whirlwind ride with so many activities decorating my bursting calender. So if I don't get back to you, be understanding...otherwise you will be unnecessarily frustrated

Mon-Wed - cca leader camp. on the day of return I will also have to head down to yishun scs for volunteer work as as all will gather to wash car to raise funds.
Thurs (Vesak Day) - meeting my 2 student leaders for an impt briefing for a recce trip the very next day (0600hrs). Pack pack. make sure everything is in order.
Friday (wee hours in morning) - fly off to Chiangmai for recce trip which will end on 4 Jun (Mon)
4 Jun (Mon) - upon landing, if there is a need to, will have to go back to school to help out with the sci camp starting on the 5th.
5-8 Jun (Tues - Thurs) - Science Camp which I am heavily involved in.
9 Jun (Fri) - debrief for Sci Camp and the finally arrived break!
Whoosh! It is going to be an amazing n challenging two weeks.

When will I be ready for consultation?
If you are ready, you can come down on the second wk during the period of the science camp because I am not involved in the workshops so if you let me know, I can set up a timing for both of us (or more). But beyond that....

looking at my calendar(as of current status)
: 11-12-13 looks good (mon-wed of third wk)
so does 18-19-20 (mon-wed of last wk)
But then again, you might catch me on other days too so let me know if you are planning to come down to school. I already promised some of you I will be here.

maybe i will post up a google calendar later or something...
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As promised, the answers to my mcqs:




Ok, I need to find out who has the answers ready for that huge stack of mcqs.

And JC, I thought a vague sequel was up or am I missing something? :)

CMI or not?

you can continue making excuses for their bad grades but when they are not even making the effort, it is frustrating. when is late too late?

Where Do We Go From Here?

My eyes are so weary that I can barely keep them focused today- I think I had stared at the computer screen for too long when doing my research on some conceptual inconsistency. So I simply let the tide of time washed me over and carried me through the day as I dealt with piles of work to be settled before the holidays slip in.
But I thought before I end my day of meetings, I could share some thought, just an itsy bitsy bite after a thought by a student.
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Within less than a year, we will have to make an important decision. A decision that can easily carved out your life in the next 10 years to come and are we ready to make such a decision?

This crossroad is ruthless with many things at stake: pride, glory, stability, peer pressure & maybe the taste of freedom.

I was at this junction once and I understand the struggle just a little bit. But I was slightly more lucky because I get two years to think about what I may want but it is not so for the ladies. In the end, after my two and a half yrs stint with the NS, I applied for a teaching scholarship and was offered one, which ironically, considering where I am now, rejected it after the briefing when we are supposed to sign the contract and sealed our fate.

Why did I apply for it and why did I reject it?
I always thought I want to be teacher but when I come to that decision moment, which I pondered for days, I just have to reject it, I long understood that having an interest alone sometimes is not enough. Can I or will I be the teacher I envisioned myself to be? If I screwed up, who will take the fall? Also, the scholarship did not allow me to take biochemistry (then) but only pure biology - not that I think they will offer to me anyway. So, after checking on the financial status of my family, I rejected the offer although I still pursue the same dream but at my own accord. When I entered Uni, I rejected the offer to play varsity Softball but decided to devote my time to social work to understand my comfort zone in dealing with youths and to really know if I am estrangled from the new generations. I wanted to know if it is still realistic to pursue my dream with my character because this job entails a lot from one. So somehow, I ended up working with youths for 7 years, abused and traumatised by them. Sometimes, it is very tiring and you burnt a hole in your heart because the relationships you handle can be very fragile and there may not be any reciprocity and sometimes I wonder how long can I hold out - I need a decent break every now and then to recharge.
NO need to say, I eventually the plunge to enter this profession (I was quite worried that I might get rejected by the ministry bcos of the less than amiable issue in the past). It actually took me courage because when you really take the plunge into a dream, it can either shatter or embrace you but I took the cue from Paulo Coehl's The Alchemist.
Despite all that, even now, I am not sure if I am doing the right thing or have made the right decision. I only know that I will always do my best even if I cannot be the teacher I envision to be.
Do I regret my choice? I don't because I knew the consequences when I made my decision although I must admit that I am not immune to a fleeting sense of envy when teaching scholars appeared. But only for that fleeting moment because I also know that without the scholarship I was then able to really explore my choices, face my challenges and inner demons, overcome many odds which only made me stronger. The person you see now is very different from what he used to be.

My friends and I always laughed at my predicament now. how lugi I am compared to my peers who took up the scholarship but they also respected and admired my beliefs and stood by me all this time when I ran headlong with all the potential obstacles and depressions. I guess I was never the conventional one, ready to be a rebel and fights for my own beliefs and ever-ready to take chances and get hurt.
But I must admit that I am lucky in path I walked so far.

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Can we make a decision now?
It is not a question which I can answer for you. I have seen both the extremes. Of friends in comfort of where they are and others hating every working day. I have heard of lost chances and frustration and also acceptance of their callings.
If you are willing, I can only offer an ear and bring some perspectives into your contemplation.


Enuff. I cannot make it already...

Questions of the week_18 May 07

Back in business.

Immune Response and Timing
We discussed about this in class but i think some are still a bit lost and I need to clarify something so here is it again in a more structured form:

Apologies to the Fleas but the amount of antibody in the serum can drop to zero but not the population of B-cells producting it! (I was thinking of the B-cells then)

Anyway, in a similar fashion, the number of a particular subset of B-cells will increase with the invasion of a foreign body (there will be a time lag of course)and increased secretion of antibodies. But the no of B-cells will subside subsequently when apoptotic mechanism is triggered in most while the rest remained with memory of the antigen they have fought against.
So while the B-cell may be around, they may not produce antibodies (especially after the primary immune response)

For the secondary response, it will be greater+faster (because the B-cells have a good memory or what we called primed and there is a larger population compared to when the antigen first strike) and the production then can last a longer time with persistent levels for months or even years.

Gene Therapy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_therapy:

On September 14, 1990 at the U.S. National Institutes of Health Brandon Rogers performed the first approved gene therapy procedure on four-year old Ashanthi DeSilva. Born with a rare genetic disease called severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), she lacked a healthy immune system, and was vulnerable to every passing germ. Children with this illness usually develop overwhelming infections and rarely survive to adulthood; a common childhood illness like chickenpox is life-threatening. Ashanthi led a cloistered existence — avoiding contact with people outside her family, remaining in the sterile environment of her home, and battling frequent illnesses with massive amounts of antibiotics.

In Ashanthi's gene therapy procedure, doctors removed white blood cells from the child's body, let the cells grow in the lab, inserted the missing gene into the cells, and then infused the genetically modified blood cells back into the patient's bloodstream. Laboratory tests have shown that the therapy strengthened Ashanthi's immune system; she no longer has recurrent colds, she has been allowed to attend school, and she was immunized against whooping cough. This procedure was not a cure; the white blood cells treated genetically only work for a few months, after which, the process must be repeated (VII, Thompson [First] 1993).

As discussed in class so note that the solution provided in your notes is only a suggestion which I felt can be improved on.
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This article talks about the promise and fall of gene therapy in clinical trials.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v435/n7041/full/nj7041-530a.html

Questions of the week_11 May

In a brillant moment of flashback, I recalled a mini-conversation between FLEA XW and MZ 2 wks back and which I wanted to address . And Yes, your teacher has long-range hearing even if he is terrible at nuances. So here go:

When we talk about an ionic buffer for electrophoresis, pls note that the buffer for PCR and gel electrophoresis is different in that the former specifically contains Mg2+ because Mg2+ serves as a co-factor for Taq polymerase. If you go on to search online, I am sure you will be able to find other functions for the Mg2+ too tho I think the above-mentioned is its lead role.

concerns of the week_11 May

There haven't been many questions lately so I am going to post some of the concerns that were discussed in classes when we revised for our topics through our Biology Discussion Forum, which visitors from other classes might be curious about too.

Does the loading dye stain the DNA/proteins?

No. The loading dye does not stain the DNA/protein but serves to weigh down the DNA/protein and also for the tracking of electrophoresis progress.

The loading dye is typically lighter than the fragments you want (you can purchase loading dye according to molecular wts)so by observing the progress of the loading dye front (colored), we will know when to stop the current (that is running through the buffer) - typically when the front reached the end of the gel.

Will charges in the ionic buffers affect the movement of the fragments? Will DNA be neutralised by the positive ions (asked by FLEA XW)
- I forgot to get back to the class on this

After a deep ponderous moment, I shall say no. Like electrochemistry, the positive ions will be drawn to the cathode while the negative ions will be moving towards the anode. so the positive ions do not neutralise the DNA but will be heading towards the cathode which bears a greater attaction (greater charge). Similarly, the repulsion between negative charges is neglible as all negative ions/fragments are drawn to the anode.

PS: I am taking back my words on repulsion btw SDS and DNA. It is definitely more redundant should it ever be done.

Probes *ouch*

Probe are technically useless unless you label them.
you can use a radioactive probe or fluorescent probe, both of which are typical.

Southern Blotting

Apologies to KR. In Southern Blot you do have to use nitrocellulose membrane. After running the gel, the fragments will be transferred to a nitrocellulose membrane before probing.

- Is DNA probe used all the time? What if we are doing a protein separation?

I think some of you are familiar with Western Blot (for proteins) but most are not.
Pls do not make the mistak: if you are running Southern blot, you are working with DNA fragments, therefore you can use a DNA probe to determine the presence of a specific DNA seqences in any of the ethidium bromide stained bands.

If you read your notes carefully, we stopped at use coomassie blue to stain for (all) protein bands. If you want to verify the identity of any bands (if it is made up of a particular protein) we would use antibodies that will bind specifically to the protein of interest. Again, the protein fragments on the gel have to be transferred to a nitrocellulose membrane before probing with the antibodies can be done.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_blot

Cheers! I think the rest are okay yah? =)

Painful Eyes

I have not been updating this blog because 1) no question was really asked these days 2) too busy 3) too tired, even when thoughts ran round and round in the mind.

But today, I can take a short breather =)
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It was the PTM some weeks ago. I am having amnesia now so I cannot remember when that was. After that day, a student asked me if I have any interesting encounters but while I did not, my colleague did. It is hard when a parent breaks down in front of you when you discuss about the less than ideal grades and you totally understand their plight. The youth we are dealing with are entering a phase of self-determined independence (and sometimes self-delusion) and to the parents, all communication has abruptly come to a halt. And you totally understand the haplessness they felt because on this side of the fence, I felt the exact same thing too when I looked at some of my students and it can be depressing. Yet for the parents, it is a lifelong commitment while for the teacher, it will be a phase. I think my paternity instinct are kicking in too strongly.

Then you get the usual concerns of late-nights, less sleep and too much commitments. I find myself mulling over my replies especially when I remembered myself once exhibiting the very same behaviour. Not that long ago.


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Why M I Here In School?

I did not expect myself to return to RJ but then I am back.
This is not the first time my students asked me, but why did I become a teacher? There are actually many reasons.
I was at this committee outing recently and I found a kindred spirit in my beliefs. I don't think my time in JC was the best of my life. In fact, it was fraught with much frustrations and confusion. Except for a few, I did not think that my teachers were particularly helpful in enlightening me - perhaps the common takeway was that all of us will somehow make it in the end and I supposed we all did but not without great struggle which for some, still came too late. when I was in school, I always felt that gap in content which generates this unfulfilling feeling within becaues something just does not link (although when I examined it now, I realised that something cannot really be done in details at this level although the idea has been introduced) - look it at it this way, I can spend hours trying to understand the uncertainity principle for chemistry when it isn't required at all and hooray, there was no internet or some miraculous database you can draw from. Thus I enjoyed my Uni life when things start to fall into place nicely, when I can integrate the knowledge of all my sciences.

So for one of the many reasons, I am back here in hope to help my students see the light, to break things down so that they can see the beauty and simplicity of a subject, and to fill in the gaps that leave one frustrated. I recognise the struggles that some of us WILL go through and I hope none of you will fall into my footsteps.
I know I am probably not doing the greatest job in the world but I am trying, drawing from all my past experiences. N I tell you, it is very frustrating and almost heart-breaking when the person you would like to help, makes the decision to refuse the hand and lives in self-delusion.
Let's not forget that while we rave about our successes, there will be a handful which did not cross that finishing line at the end of the day with the rest of us.

Then on the other hand, I have very inspiring teachers in my primary and secondary schools. People who did make a difference in my life or at least I am consciously aware of their influences on me, whether in content or character. (This is not to say that all my teachers during those time were all tops, there were some which bear averse effects and thus the stark contrast). N when u recognise the impact of a teacher during those growing years, you worry about those after you. Will they be lucky enough to get teachers who recognise their worth, be it in academics studies or otherwise? Or will they be driven to the deepest doldrums with punishing and flippant words. Of course, we can never please eveyone. All of us confess to our falliable traits which may manifest at all the wrong but a pat of all who even try.

But really, I did not see myself coming back. But now that I am back I have another purpose which I should not rumble on for now because I am tired.