June 29 MSTF SPIDER SILK

June 29
Today Tom took me to the chemistry research lab to collect the 5 acids. We are going to test the web concerning N/A, dissolve, or hydroxylation (or both). We collected the acid and will figure the molarity of each acid with the % assay value. We will mix the dilutions tomorrow. We could have done the dilutions today but were running out of time and we didn’t want to lose track of all the dilutions and bottles etc. After mixing the dilutions we will probably have to test the webbing Wednesday since we have to go to the ASU PT Campus (Williams Air force Base) and will be short on time. The acid may have an immediate effect or may take more time which is what we are short on. Not a lot was accomplished today but that is going to happen. Too much to do not enough time! We are still brain storming how to bring the concept to the classroom. The concept seems direct but the details are not in place yet. We are hoping everything will fell in to place by the fourth week. It was still a good day spending time with the graduate and undergraduate assistants.

June 27 MSTF "Spider Silk"

June 27 End of the second week at ASU
My group started the morning discussing various issues with the project. At 9:30 Janelle started to show us how to run the NMRs. Brian who is charge of the NMR lab heard us talking and stepped in to answer our many questions. My questions were more concerning the physical structural of the NMRs and Janelle answered the data interpretation questions. Brian was involved in production of NMRs and knew just about everything that is known about NMRs. It was too much information to absorb in one session, but was enjoyable trying! I need to take a few more classes to truly understand the majority of the information. Janelle asked if I used NMRs in college and my answer was a “no” with a laugh. NMRs were only theory at best in the 1970s. I believe I could really enjoy working with NMRs with a few more up to date classes in physical chemistry. I like the idea of working with webbing on the macro scale with feeding, labeling, and silking then on the other end of the research looking at the atomic level of the protein structures. The middle ground is up to another research group.
On a side note, I noticed how well the research group including Dr. Yarger and most of all the individuals involved communicated. This is absolutely necessary for progress to occur in research, no “Lone Rangers”! This is just one out of many concepts that I can bring back to the classroom.

June 26 MSTF SPIDER SILK

Today we had a silk meeting with everybody involved with the research. Dr. Yarger asked several questions to each person involved from graduate to undergraduate students and their particular area they were assigned to research. Dr. Yarger also stated or restated the priorities or the number one research goal. Dr. Yarger also addressed our team of teachers and graduate assistants concerning the progress of dissolving verses hydroxylation of webbing in various acids. He was very interested in our progress, which wasn’t much except on a simple qualitative level. We need more time to quantify the experiment. I suggested we use various concentrations of acids from 10 molar, 5 molar, and 1 molar. The problem is finding the specific concentrations and using dilution rates. It would be easier to use Deer Valley acid stock bottles and dilute from that point. It is surprising how much is not known about webbing in acids. It has not been researched from the standpoint of information that has been published. I enjoy being involved in real research that could assist the team in the characteristics of webbing!

MSTF JUNE 25

Today was not very interesting, but very fruitful. Emilee continues to help us to determine what medium will webbing dissolve or hydrolyze in. The results from yesterday show on a qualitative standpoint verses a quantitative standpoint that webbing will disappear in the acids (the base seems to have no affect on webbing). Estaban and I are starting to discuss lab procedures to qualitatively test solubility of webbing in common household products. We have a long way to go before we are done with the final product but we are at least having a specific direction. The details will come in the next three weeks. Scott is headed in a little different direction which is understandable because of teaching life science verses physical science. Tomorrow we are scheduled to sit in on a silk meeting with all the people involved on the research, which should be time well spend. On Friday we are learning to operate the NMRs (the basics only). I asked Tom several questions concerning the maintenance of the NMRs and refilling with liquid helium and nitrogen. The cold liquids keep the superconductor working on an acceptable level. I enjoy sitting at the conference table and discussing several topics concerning the silk research and the MSTF project, it is a good way to start the morning.

MSTF JUNE 24

Today we discussed with Emilee how to research what chemicals would webbing dissolve or hydrolyze in. Dr. Yarger is interested in our results. With the help of Tom we went to a chemical research room which could supply some common acids/bases. We choose phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, formic acid, sulfuric acid and potassium hydroxide. All the acids and a base were at high concentrations. After using the vortex to stir/shake the vials all the acids either dissolved or hydrolyzes the webbing. We need further investigation to determine whether the webbing actually hydrolyzes or just dissolved. My job was to mix up a 10 molar solution of KOH. It seemed the webbing was being affected by the KOH but it was taking longer than the acids. The research was more qualitative then quantitative at this point. It was a bit rushed, but was a beginning to more detailed investigations. There is not enough time in the morning to get much done. Real lab work is time consuming but very interesting. I look forward to tomorrow in the lab. This research can be applied to the high school classroom!

MSTF ASU June 16

Its hot and the first day at ASU for the Math Science Teacher Fellowship. We were assigned to project groups during a continental breakfast. I'm assigned to the "Spiderman" group which includes Estaban Flemons from North High School and Scott Greenhalgh from Tempe High School. Estaban teaches physical science and chemistry, Scott teaches biology, and I teach chemistry and honors chemistry. What is the "Spiderman" group? The research group in the Interdisplinary Science and Technology building is investigating the molecular structure of spider dragline webbing/ silk, which has the real world applications from super light weight bullet proof vests to human tendon implants. Spider dragline has much higher tensil strength than steel and is highly flexible, with only a fraction of the size and weight of metal alloys! It struck me as fascinating, but it was research with a goal of application verses theortical reseach for its own sake. The research lab was impressive and secure. Dr. Jeff Yarger is keeping it real. He is not only an intellectual, but highly creative, not just in the research/application but how to raise research funding. The research is organized with separate research groups and areas of expertise in different locations in the US.Labels: MSTF ASU June 16 2008

MSTF ASU June 20

It's the end of a very interesting week. It was good to brainstorm with Scott, Esteban, Janelle, and Dr. Yarger. We are trying to pick a direction for the group project and lab activity. We took the opportunity to ask Janelle several specific knowledge questions concerning web biochemical mechanics, now that we are a little more educated on the research. Janelle is very good at bringing the amino acid protein concepts to a level the high school students could understand.
She drew a model of webbing, biochemically, that made sense. Jenelle is extremely helpful.
I'm looking forward to learning how to use the NMRs in the lab on Tuesday. Dr. Yarger stepped in around 10:00 and continued to assist us in ideas. He is very down to earth and creative. He directed us in a direction I would not have thought of. Instead of models, or in addition to, we are looking at doing chemical tests on webbing to compare/contrast dissolving verses hydrozation of spider webbing subjected to common household chemicals by comparing chemicals that have no effect, chemicals that dissolve webbing, and chemicals that cause hydrozation.
It was good to end the week with Dr. Yarger!

MSTF ASU June 19

Day 4 at ASU. Today we dissected blackwidows to expose the web glands with the help of Jenelle the graduate assistant. Janelle did most of the work. It was surprising how large the glands are for the size of the spider. The major gland looked exactly like the drawings, white translucence yam shape gland. Halfway through the morning Tom (undergraduate) took us on a tour/ field trip to see a few of the other labs. It was tough to take in all the new labs when I was starting learn just a little bit about the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Lab. The 4 labs were small in an older building verses NMR lab which is very large and in a new building. All the labs are extremely interesting. The tour included the machine shop (my line of work). To operate in a true research lab you have to be proficient in many practical fields from glass blowing to machining parts. Tom was extremely knowledgeable in all the labs. The graduate and undergraduate students were very friendly, knowledgeable, and excited about their projects.

MSTF ASU June 18

The third day at ASU. We had the privilage of silking blackwidow spiders. It was definitely a different experience. Janelle the lab graduate assistant was instructing and answering all of our questions. Janelle was knowledgable and enjoyable to work with. The procedure was as follow: 1. Capture the spider.
2. Put the spider in a passed out state for lack of better words with carbon dioxide in a closed container.
3. You have approximately 30 seconds to pin the spider down with masking tape on a petri dish. The tape is not to tacky and puts off the legs of the spider.
4. Under a field microscope with the twizzers pull the dragline webbing on a small glass drum spinning slowly by an electric motor. Blackwidows will produce dragline for approximately 45 minutes.
5. You must periodically check to make sure the dragline hasn't broke and needs to be repulled and started again.
6. You usually collect webbing from several spiders before cutting the webbing off the drum.

The webbing is difficult to see. The webbing will store indefinitly. It will take several days and many silkings to collect enough to test with the NMR. During the silking the spiders will be force fed the water, nutrient, and most importantly the isotope mixture being tested and isolated as the experimental factor. Blackwidows will live 2-3 years in good conditions. In the stressful lab conditions due to the lack of natural diet, the blackwidow will live 4-6 weeks. The hope is by introducing the isotope to yeast and feeding the yeast to flys (common house fly) and feeding the flys to the spiders, the life spans should increase. This will increase the efficiency and production rates of the webbing.
Time goes fast in the lab!

MSTF ASU June 17

On the second day, we met at the lab. We started to cover background information concerning molecular structure of spider dragline. We covered the molecular structure/protein/anatomy of a spiders' silk glands, ducting, and spineretts. Most was the structure of dragline silk gland proteins and molecular structural changes that occur from the gland down through the duct, solubility verses dehydration, which ended in molecular beta sheeting in the duct. The spineretts were another issue which will be be tackeled by the molecular biologist and enginereers in the different research group in another location. I did not understand all that was discussed, but I did follow the general knowledge of the chemistry content. We are running into problems of how to meaningfully bring this research to the high school classroom. This problem will be worked out in the next few weeks. All the high school teachers were highly engaged with many questions. I'm still amazed at the down to earth attitude of Dr. Yarger. A point of interest or misconception that affected me was the decentralization of reasearch which apparently is far more practical , efficient, and effective. It was a highly enlightening and interesting morning!