Ami17

Hehe... What a clean image...

Ok, enough for gel image... I will capture some lab images next week... Who want to be my models... Wahaha...

FYP spree

Well, since Mokky had post up some interesting pictures, why not I add on some onto the gallery while trying not to divulge my progress, hehe...

Okay, first of all, we get do some sampling around the Kampar campus area - the ex-tin mining secondary habitat. It is an extremely interesting area for research and sight-seeing, especially the extra-large servings of "cake", aka cow dung/牛粪.

One of our sampling sites is a home for a immensely huge Mimosa species, not the ordinary M. pudica/含羞草. Let the pictures do the talking (photos credits to Mike):

The size of this plant is about knee-height. No kidding. Like the normal M. pudica, the leaves close up upon touch. It is called the Mimosa pigra.

This is a closed-up view. See the menacing thorns? Much longer and more compared to ordinary "shy grass".

This "tree" is taller than me. It is also the plant shown before - M. pigra. Huge leh. Even Dr Choo was in aghast when he witnessed this unreal plant.


Now, the other sampling site:

We were sampling around the bushes until we saw this hole. This is not the only hole, mind you. There are no less than 10 holes around the bushy mound. The guards told us sightings of monitor lizards and pythons and cobras... we were like WTFREAK?!?! The hole is one of the entrance of a nest - probably a reptilian, a monitor lizard perhaps?, due to the leathery egg shells we found near the hole as shown in the next photo:

Nah, the eggshell.

This is the flower of the bush on the nest.

These are some gel images taken during the course of my FYP, no description is given since it is "highly classified", hihi.

FYI, before doing FYP, we only do once or twice of gels, and barely once PCR. Now, we do almost 2 PCRs per day, run about 2-3 gels per day, do DNA extraction about 2-3 times per week (regardless of gel extraction or soil DNA extraction). Now we feel nauseous whenever we hear the word "gel" and "PCR". God bless all FYP students...

Note: The gel images above were taken using a gel visualizer which is equipped with an EXPENSIVE camera. Too bad it was stolen last week. Wish the culprit would be apprehended and the camera returned. The photos taken by it were of high quality. Now we are resorted to another slightly inferior gel visualizer, Mike, don't get all fired up when you read this coz I know you abhor that thing a lot. lol. Till then...

Ami203

Hehe... another gel image...

The image is good, why?? Coz the ladder is very clear and good, haha... (from my senior, most FYP students will come to run gel with ladders only... haha)

Other bands seem very faint... Why?? Lane 2 actually use same sample as previous two gels, but they seem different... Why??

Anyone can answer me?? Hehe...

Gel Image for PCR Result

This is my PCR product gel image, post post for "shuang"... Hehe...

Figure 1: PCR Products (100bp ladder, Ami-203, C391, Cj18, CUD-68, Cuj131, -ve)

Figure 2: PCR Products (100bp ladder, -ve, Ami-203, C391, Cj18, CUD-68, Cuj131)

Discussion:

- Thinner gel better, coz you can see more bands for Figure 2 (which is thinner gel)

- Smaller EZ Vision volume (loading + staining solution) is better, coz less dark area for Figure 2

- 3% gel not easy to cast, coz there is some "condong" bands at lane 6 and 7 in Figure 2, which is caused by uneven gel solidification

- FYP not finish yet... :) + :(

P/S: Hope to see other interesting results... Hehe...

Life and Death Situation

Yo, everybody, put down your MC notes and turn your attention to this briefly. There is something REALLY REALLY important in the course email. As the title implied, it is life-or-death. I can't post it here because it is "sensitive".

To those people who STILL DON'T KNOW OUR COURSE EMAIL EVEN AFTER 3 YEARS... it is biotech0507@live.com.my

The password is.... please ask your friends.

By the way, those in group 3, except Kitson, no need to read the mail.

FYP lab briefing

Please attend the following lab session tomorrow according to your supervisor and the time slot as mentioned in this post(click):

SD001 (Microbiology Lab)
Dr Hii Siew Ling, Dr Adeline Ting, Dr Haresh Kumar, Dr Wong Ching Lee

SD101 (Research Lab)
Dr Lim Soo Thye, Dr Wong Kam Huei, Dr Woo Kwan Kit, Dr Loo Joo Ling

SD102 (Research Lab)
Dr Alan Ong, Dr Gideon Khoo, Dr Tang Pek Yee

SD023A (PTC lab)
Dr Ramani, Dr Anna Ling, Dr Tee Chong Siang/Prof. Faridah

SD023B (ATC lab)
Dr Anthony Ho, Dr Lim Yang Mooi

SD107 (Mol. Bio. Lab)
Dr Say Yee How, Dr Kim Lian Hua

SD106 (Biochem Lab)
Dr Soon Siew Choo, Dr Mohamed Abdel Rahman Ahmed

SD021 (Incubation room for plant culture)
Dr Ramani, Dr Anna Ling, Dr Tee Chong Siang

*Supervisor's name in blue denotes the lecturer in-charge of the lab session.

This information can also be found on the notices pasted on the lab doors.

Read this

Ok, you can either read this notice from your Intranet or if you want shortcut, click on the image below to view, it is about the Student E-Authorisation Slip, effective from this September 2009 Examination onwards.

The Big Thing

The last big thing we had where the entire course is involved is the T-shirt design. Now, shouldn't we do something big again to let our years in Utar immortalized as a beautiful memory?

What some of us have in mind is to make SKETCHES/DRAMAS/MOVIE CLIPS . Now before you start to say anything, here is a simple thing to do: Go to the polls (scroll up to view the poll and vote).

The plan is to have 1 major drama that involves the entire course, probably by featuring us (in a condensed/compact version) from week 1 to the exam week, stressing on Biotech course as a whole and perhaps symptoms of CSUS.

There will be other sub-dramas just for entertaining purposes.

When the voting shows clear indication of positivity, then I will list down the crew/posts for the dramas. Also, there will be a blog post for brainstorming/brainwriting for ideas.

Show your support. As a Biotechie, we are known for our integrity and cooperation.

Vote at the poll!

Reminder

1. There is MC tutorial on Monday. Please do your tutorial. Download it online from WBLE.

2. Remember that we have 2 IMA lab tests - one on this week's Wednesday, another on the following week's Wednesday.

3. Bring GRAPH PAPERS and RULER on Dr Ramani's lab test. REMEMBER.

4. For the lab briefing, it is held in conjunction with the lab orientation. So, choose the slot which corresponds to your lab and attend it. Attendance is hence compulsory.

15 Malaysia

Ok, I know it isn't a post on anything pertaining to our course BUT, but but, as a Malaysian, we should be a part of this too. A part of what? A part of this upcoming event - the release of 15 Malaysia!

What is it?
It is the a project consisting of 15 short movie clips pioneered by Pete Teo which features the same cast from Malaysian Artist For Unity (MAFU) Video, Here in My Home.

Who are the stars?
Not only local artistes are involved, even politicians, yes, real, breathing, politicians, are involved. Here are some TOP names among them: Nik Aziz (fuiyoh, never expect him to be involved), Khairy Jamaluddin, Namewee/Wee Meng Chee, Liow Tiong Lai etc.

What is the plot?
As expected, it surrounds racial discrimination but nothing sensitive. It encompasses bribery (always a hot cake), how to conduct halal cooking(it is freaking humourous), freedom of expression, party-hopping (recently hot), Malaysian football(...) , Islamic banking.

Where can I watch it/read about it for more info?
So far, you can visit any sites on the google search hits. I suggest this one. The homepage for the movies is here.

Here is one of the 15 previews featuring Khairy and Meng Chee in 'Meter':

IMA Lab tests and Lab Briefing

Notice #1 - IMA Lab Test

There are TWO lab tests for IMA. The first one on next Wednesday while the second one is on the following Wednesday.

The info for first lab test:

Date: WEEK 12, Wednesday, 19/8/09
Time: 8 am, during lecture hour

Scope of emphases:
-significant figures
- conversion SI unit
- lab apparatus etc.

The info for second lab test:

Date :WEEK 13, Wednesday, 26/8/09
Time: 4 - 6 PM
Venue :DK2B (with Biochem)

Notice #2 - lab orientation/briefing

The lab briefing is going to take place DURING the lab orientation. So, choose your own slot of lab orientation based on the notice of (click) one of the previous posts. If your FYP is going to use SD 107 (for example), then go for the SD107 time slot.

Finals Timetable

*OB - Thursday, 17/09/09, 9.00 am.

I know it sucks. Everyone know it sucks.

Important Notices

1. For the FYP lab briefing/management guidelines briefing on the 21st of August, it is CANCELLED, due to PTPTN briefing, until further notice.

2. The lab orientation on the 28th of August is still on.

3. For students doing dry lab, your are required to go for the lab briefing just in case you are required to use the labs. This was told by Dr Wong. As for the lab orientation on 28th, you can just ignore it BUT if your FYP title needs to use any labs, then go for the briefing for the specific lab as shown in the notice in the previous blog post.

4. For the IMA lab test, the scope of the test encompasses from FAAS, GC to HPLC. Since Dr Teh said she might ask some "analytical/general questions" such as basic instrumentation use/general rules in using such instruments (expect questions on significant figures and instrumental errors), so just get yourself prepared. However, she is still indeterminate about the scope yet. So, you are also at least required to know the basics of UV-Vis and FT-IR as well, but no need so detail.

5. Again, for IMA lab test, please bring your own graph paper. REMEMBER, because none is provided on that day. This is from Dr Ramani.

The details of the lab test on IMA:

Date :WEEK 13, 26/8/09
Time: 4 - 6 PM
Venue :DK2B (with Biochem).

Lab Orientation for FYP

This news is announced by Dr Tee today. Here are some details (click to enlarge):


As for the dry lab issue, I had asked Dr Wong already. Now awaiting for her reply. Thanks for your patience.

Make sure you are 18 and above...

In case you missed it on FaceBook...

CSUS

Due to the volleys of reports, assignments and tests (let's call this RATs, since science people adore short forms so much until we have problems in remembering the original full forms), this blog is left to fallows. Ok, what about some something to share which resonates in most of our hearts?

With all the RATs haunting us, we kinda developed symptoms that frequently relapse in every semester. Let's group all these related symptoms under one name: Chronic Stressed Utarian Syndrome, CSUS in short (like I said we science freaks love acronym so much), pronounced as "scissors".

Here is the analysis of CSUS:

Symptoms (mild)
1. Insomnia
2. Short-term memory
3. Flu-like symptoms, let's call it H_utN_ut (UT as in UTAR), or "Hut Nut".
4. Paranoia
5. Trouble in focusing
6. Lost of time perception
7. Depression
8. Immensely strong urge to play (eg. L4D spree)
9. Slight insanity
10. Frequent Facebooking
11. PTS - Pre-/Post-Test Syndrome - extremely crazy before and after tests
12. Irritability
13. Extremely papyrophobic (fear of papers)
14. Very sensitive ears (to collect test hints/tips)
15. Unusually high affinity for beds and pillows
16. Telling extremely lame jokes
17. Laugh at anything, even it is not funny at all
18. Drama/Movie spree

Symptoms (severe)
1. Hallucination
2. Schizophrenia
3. Incoherent speech

Causes
1. Abuse of brain power
2. Incessant RATs
3. Unrelenting lecturers
4. Universiti Tak Ada Rehat - it says it all

Treatment
1. Gaming
2. Shopping
3. Eating
4. Sleeping
5. Taking phytochemicals that allow a person to disconnect from the harsh world and cruel reality
6. God's blessings, lots of them
7. Less RATs
8. Facebooking
9. More time
10. More more more time.

Another version of this disease is the ASUS, not the computer, but Acute Stressed Utarian Syndrome, which is much serious but the symptoms are of shorter duration.

So far, this syndrome is still under investigation. Probable tell-tale signs are:
1. Shock
2. Zombie-ness
3. Loss of hope

Anybody wants to add on to the lists?

*Thanks to vivienne for her suggestion of RATs.

Discover The Brilliant Mind In You

Dr. Piotr Wozniak was right. Everyone including YOU can enjoy the blessing of empowering knowledge. Believe it or not, there are simple defined methods towards rock-solid knowledge based on science and facts. All you need to do is......

• Be thirsty and hungry for knowledge - In order to acquire knowledge, you must first have strong desire for them. If you have a rather weak and fading motivation for them, you can just forget about reading the following lines.
• Know what you really need to know - The earlier you realize this, the faster you could blow up your entire shelf of ill-picked books. Extermination of books containing none of your area of studies should be executed right away.
• Identify the "true" sources of information - Have you discovered the power of the internet? Oops..., WRONG question! I should have asked: Have you utilized your new-found knowledge to its full extent? It is very true that loads of information can be found throughout the web, textbooks, journals, etc. But, you need to seriously pick only information of the highest priority.
• Repeat to remember - Please........please DO NOT trust theories claiming that you can develop long-lasting memory effortlessly. Everything etched in your long-term memory must somehow be constantly rehearsed from time to time. Otherwise, they will sooner or later be blown away by the wind.
• Use imagery - That part of our brain called the visual cortex, the brain center that processes visual stimuli can greatly reduce our learning time in areas especially anatomy, chemistry (yup phytochemistry too!), biology and many more. Now you know why "A picture is worth thousands of words."

Most of you might say, "Siapa tak tahu cara-cara ini. Kita dah tahu awal-awal lagi. Cikgu dah lama ajar kita semua." Think again. How many of us have truly realized and acquired these HOW TO LEARN skills? So...., what are you guyz waiting for? Bring your hidden-for-too-long brilliant, intelligent nature to life NOW! Though some of you might be skeptical about these, but hey, you have got nothing to lose. In the end, you would either gain SOMETHING or NOTHING.

IMA Report 2 - FT-IR

1. Report due on Wednesday (8 July 2009).

2. Ignore the 0.25% reading since it is way out of the curve.

Have a nice day.

Regards,
Your Course Rep

Ken Lee

Just something to relax your nerve. I am not sure how many of you seen this.

Okay, I don't mean to be mean. It's just funny. Don't get what I mean? Try reading this line and guess its meaning: ken lee, tulibu dibu douchoo..

Still don't get it? Watch this.



More... Tuts My Barreh.

Notices

First thing first, for those who wants to take a look at our unit plans and assignment guidelines for Entrepreneurship, please log in to our mail.

Next, it has been proposed that every Wednesday is proclaimed to be the "course T-shirt day". Well, this is the final year, the only last chance we are going to see each other wearing the same, symbolic shirt hanging around in the campus. For those who don't own the Course T- shirt, too bad you can't join in the fun.

Hence, as a course representative, I hereby declare that WEDNESDAY is the official day for the donning of COURSE T-SHIRT. I hope we can see cohesiveness in the Biotech's via this simple activity.

Geez, I sounded as if I was announcing for a public holiday for Utarians...

FYP list

Everyone, the List is out. If you can't wait for the hard copy, go check the course email for the photos of the list. If you happened to forget the email address and password, please check the sidebar of this blog or ask around.

Instrumental Presentation

Hey there, guys, here are some important news pertaining to our Instrumental presentation, which starts on WEEK 5.

1. Hand in your hardcopy of slides on the day you are presenting.

2. PLEASE prepare 2 copies of your slides - 1 copy is the one you use for presentation, another copy is a copy with all the information you are going to present, including the points and elaborations that are not in the slide. This is because the topics presented might be coming out in the exam. We need to pool in all the topics presented by other groups so that we can learn information that is not found in your own group.

3. I have assigned different people in all 3 groups to help copy down the Q&A sessions between the presenters and the lecturer since the questions asked might also come out in the exam, as mentioned by Dr Teh. The "Chosen Ones" are:

Group 1: Liang 少
Group 2: Me
Group 3: Kitson

4. The presentation sequence is according to one's topic. Every tutorial session will have 4 groups presenting. For Group 2, ALL TOPICS have been chosen, including the previously unpicked questions. Repeat students have selected the rest of the questions. So please don't bug me with changing your question number.

5. In case you want to know, here is the list of the presenters and their "big day":

*** ONE more thing before showing the list, the FYP list should be out tomorrow, the briefing for FYP will most probably be by tomorrow. BioMed and BioChem had theirs today.

GROUP 1 - The Ever-So-Populous:

Tutorial #1
Q01 Winnie Lau, Peak Mun
Q02 Shee Wuen, Shen Chie
Q03 Soon Hang, Soo Ping
Q04 Wen Ghim, James Bong

Tutorial #2
Q05 Liang 少, Jojo
Q06 Lim Lea, Sio Yen
Q07 Ren Quan, Ejin
Q08 Indra, Navin

Tutorial #3
Q09 Sin Yee, Hooi Yee
Q10 Jee Yan, Yu Nen
Q11 Ce-Yan, Francis
Q12 Xin Yu, CJ

Tutorial #4
Q13 Chiu Yen, Wei Pei
Q14 Jamuna, Fiona
Q15 Mei Yi, Wan Sin


GROUP 2 - (still thinking for a tagline...):

Tutorial #1
Q01 Wei Jian, Tzer Han
Q02 Zhi Xian, Ruth Ling
Q03 Wei Feng
Q04 MinZeee, Ah Ting Ting

Tutorial #2
Q05 Yong Yong, Voon Chai
Q06 Jia Qi (hope you know who you are, lol)
Q07 Li Pei, Thng Huei
Q08 Vien vien, Small Wind (hahahahaha)

Tutorial #3
Q09 Orchid Biang, Lao Lao
Q10 Gregorule, Melinda
Q11 Chee Shin, Tze Hann
Q12 iSieng, Ah Yi

Tutorial #4
Q13 Yu Siong, Han Chuen
Q14 Shiew Shya, Cui Li
Q15 Ah Ngo, Potato


GROUP 3 - the lone rangers/独行侠:

Tutorial #1
Q01 Kar Ee (Group 1)
Q02 Kok Yik
Q03 Han Ping
Q04 Ying Li

Tutorial #2
Q05 Yi Jen
Q06 Suk Tzin
Q07 Ying Jun
Q08 Ya Peng

Tutorial #3
Q09 Yee Wei
Q10 Kitson
Q11 Cheng Zu
Q12 Surentharan

Tutorial #4
Q13 Li Ying
Q14 Wai Yee
Q15 Voon Sin

You Better Read This

VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGES

For next Monday and Tuesday (1-2 June 2009), classes in SE block are unavailable. Two of our subjects are affected. The amendments are as follows:

1. Molecular Cloning and Gene Expression

The afternoon class is brought forward to 9-10 am, DK 3. This is mentioned in the previous post. So, the afternoon class is cancelled - that means you can go home earlier. However, this change only applies for next Monday. The following Mondays' molecular cloning lectures will resume the afternoon 4-5 pm slot. In other words, ONLY for next Monday, the molecular cloning class is moved to 9-10 am (DK 3), not 4-5 pm. But for the rest of the semester, the class will be as usual - 4-5 pm in SE108.

2. Principles and Application of Phytochemistry

The 4-5 pm lecture in SE110 for next Tuesday (2 June 2009) is CANCELLED. Again, this only applies for next Tuesday. Whether it is replaced or not, we have to wait for further notice.

ABOVE ALL, please attend the Monday Molecular Cloning class at 9-10 am since there will be an important briefing by our beloved Dr Tee.

PRACTICAL CLASSES

For Instrumentatal Methods and Analysis, the practical is on Week 2. For Molecular Cloning, NO LAB on first week. Further info is available during the Monday briefing. For Phytochem, the lecturer is not yet reachable. So, wait for Dr Tee's first lecture a.k.a "The Briefing" on Monday.

Brought to you by your Dr Tee and course rep.

Please Take Note

Announcement from Ren Quan: Practicals for Molecular Cloning and Instrumentation start on the SECOND week. There will be a briefing on Monday (1st June) from 9 - 10am, DK3. This announcement is also confirmed by our respective course rep - Min-zhin, Dr. Ramani and Dr. Tee. Please help to disseminate this news to other course mates. Thank you.

Angel In Disguise

"Lying is WRONG, dear. Promise me, you must NEVER lie."

That was ONE of the very first things my mother taught me when I was a kid. Lately, I have been bugged by this question: "Has she been HONEST to me all these years?". As you all know, ONE thing leads to ANOTHER. As a result, an even greater question struck my mind: "If the answer is NO, then why did she lie to me? And is she still lying to me right on my face?".

I thought long and hard for hours, days and even months. Finally, the ultimate cure to my thirst for the answer to these GREAT questions has been revealed. She lied when she said.....

• "Eat this, dear. I'm not hungry." when she placed her portion of rice into my bowl so that I would have a fuller meal;
• "Drink it, dear. I'm not thirsty." when she handed me her glass of cold water so that I would no longer be thirsty;
  
• "Go back to sleep, dear. I'm not tired." when she spent the whole night mending my torn old school bag so that I would not be a laughing stock at school;
• "Take it back, dear. I have enough money." when she refused to accept the money I earned from doing part-time jobs so that I would have enough money for myself;
• "Don't cry, dear. I'm not in pain." when she was lying sick on the hospital bed with her chronic back pain so that my heart would not hurt so much seeing her like that.

And yes, she is still lying to me till today. After all these years, I have now realized that mother's UNCONDITIONAL love and sacrifices know NO BOUND indeed. She is after all, an ANGEL IN DISGUISE. Just one more thing before I end this. People, please ask yourselves this question (the greatest one of all): "Would we be able to do the same thing for our BELOVED mother in return EVER?".

Pray

Fellow friends who are friends and acquaintances of ah mok aka mok shao feng, his grandma has left this world in peace today. Together, we pray that she will rest in peace. Also, let's wish ah mok can get over it soon. He has been a great guy bearing all that pressure.

Let's pray that everything will be well.

Regards,
As a friend aka house mate aka room mate of ah mok.

Wear Course Tee

Just want to remind all of you, wear your course T-shirt on C&C exam. Show some sense of unity to our lecturer! As what is mentioned in C&C, we stick to our own subculture/co-culture and that culture lends a sense of identity to us. Everyone, all the best in the next 2 upcoming subjects.

Regards,


Your Course Rep
Min-Zhin

Student Bill

Fellow biotechies, your student bill for next semester is OUT. This time, you will have to download the soft copy (in pdf) and print it our yourself. No more hard copy from office. You can pay it the usual way - Public Bank or Finance. Read the bill for more information.

Also, the bill, also called the e-bill, is found on the intranet under the newly created tab - "My Billing". See the following:

Home | My Course | My Co-Curriculum | My Billing | My Account | ...

Or, click and view the image below:

Figure 1: Student Bill notification

The deadline for the payment is 12 June 2009.


Regards,


Your Course Rep
Min-Zhin

Today | Tomorrow

Today, might be a cloudy day...


Tomorrow, is expected to be a lightning storm...


But let's spread a little bit of hope and ray of joy here, think of tomorrow as a storm but with a silver lining;


and believe that, the sun will eventually shine - with warmth and comfort.

"God helps those who help themselves."
- Benjamin Franklin

We believe we have put in enough effort, so may God bless us all.

Good luck tomorrow, guys!

Regards,

Class tee

Sorry for the long wait.

Just to inform you all who ordered the 'You Name It, We Clone It' tee-shirt, they are here. There is still a balance of RM8.00 to settle for each tee shirt.

I hope we can wear it sooner and take a group photo before we finish our final at 12th May.

All the best and good luck in the final!


Regards,
Liang少

UTAR Biotech Boleh!!

Just to lighten the tensed-up pre-examination atmosphere:

A proof that we are memang boleh!!

Notice what is on the upper right hand corner?? Hehe, that name filled all the space in top ten. (wonder who is that?? us or our senior?? anyone knows??)

It seems that UTAR Biotech can achieve great results in games, so why can't in exam?? The coming exam will be piece of moral cake, like makan MB kacang and also cute cute Drosophila... Haha...

!!! HOT !!!

Many people MIGHT agree with me..

.

.

.

These few days are sooooooo~~~~~~~

HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

However, Final is coming..

Gambateh and good luck!!!
TQ BB for gambateh-ing for us.

Y3S1 Timetable

Click here for the coming semester's timetable :)

Exam Schedule Part II

Exam schedule is out in the intranet. Not a good change. Not at all. Before, the time table s**ks. After, it also s**ks. I don't feel like posting the time table. My fingers feel heavy for every word I type. So... THREE WORDS: God bless us.

Nevermind. BT will never fall. Fact is a fact and we cannot change that. Time table is fixed and nothing much we can do BUT... BT can stand no matter what. We have been through the Killer Week 9/10 and we survived - amazingly. No matter how bad the arrangement is, as long as we are fellow BT's, we will walk down the path as strong as we can. Nothing can stop us.

If you mess with BT's, you are messing with a hive of bees. We never give up. We go for our target. We act as a swarm. We WON'T FAIL. Beef up ourselves! W-E C-A-N D-O I-T!!!

Our last day is pushed later to the 12 of May. Bad. But so what? If you want us to do so, then we fight till that day though we hate it. You will not break our spirit. Not our kiasu spirit.

Urgent - ATC

For those who have read earlier, please read again. It has been edited.

Here is an important concept for ATC:

The calculation of cell counting and step-by-step reasoning:

A x B x C x 10^4

"Divide total viable cell by 8 to get C" This is what the TA say. But Dr Lim say NO! In the test, whenever you are given a viable cell number, divide it with 4, not 8, to get average viable cell. Why 4? Because normally, we use only one chamber instead of both of them. In one chamber (see figure 1) there are 4 corners with 4x4 boxes. Each of them is 1mm (width) x 1mm (length) x 0.1mm (depth) = 0.1mm^3.

Figure 1: One chamber of the haemacytometer

1. We need to calculate how many cells are present in only ONE of the corners (the corners are marked RED in Figure 1). Since there are 4 of them, you calculate all the viable cells in all 4 corners (like what we did in the lab), then divide by 4. Last time, we calculate for 2 chambers. So, 2 chambers x 4 corners = 8 corners. That's why we divide 8 for our last experiment. But in the test, please divide by 4. Because normally we use ONE chamber. Let's say we calculated 20 cells for all 4 corners. So, 20 cells /4 = 5 cells.

Then, 5 cells x 2 (dilution factor) = 10 cells.

2. Now, we get 10 cells. 10 cells refers to the number of cells, on the average, in ONE CORNER. But, how much is the volume of the cells is in ONE CORNER? According to the manual, the volume of 1 corner is 0.1 mm^3 (as calculated as above). But we don't want mm^3, we want ml! So, to change 0.1 mm^3 to ml, you need to divide 0.1 mm^3 by 10^3 . So,

(0.1 mm^3/10^3) x 1 ml = 1 x 10^-4 ml

The ml value is now 1 x 10^-4 ml. But how to get a conversion factor?

3. Still remember your microbiology? If you do a dilution of 10^-5 (the diluted value), your dilution factor is 10^5. Right? You just have to do this to get the factor: 1/(diluted value). So, 1/(10^-5) = 10^5. See? That's the dilution factor. In our case, to get the conversion factor, just do the same thing:

1/(converted value) = 1/(1 x 10^-4 ml) = 1 x 10^4 per ml or 10^4/ml.

TADAA!! Look carefully, your conversion factor's unit is PER ML, or /ml, because you divide 1 by millilitre (1/10^-4 ml).

4. When you get the 10 cells in step 1 & 2, you are only calculating for one corner, still remember? And 1 corner is 0.1 mm^3 or 1 x 10^-4 ml. So, what we want to know now is, how many cells are there in ONE MILLILITRE? To get that, you multiply 10 cells with the conversion factor (10^4/ml):

10 cells x 10^4/ml = 1 x 10^5 cells/ml

Yay. Now we are almost done. Now, the LAST STEP.

5. This step is VERY IMPORTANT. We didn't do this in the report. Now, what we want to know is how many VIABLE CELLS ARE IN THE WHOLE CULTURE. Just now, we only calculated how many viable cells in ONE CORNER per ml. To get the number of cells for the whole cell culture (in the T flask, or petri dish), just multiply with the total volume of the culture. Let's say the culture in the T flask is 20 ml. So, the total of viable cells in the whole cell culture is:

1 x 10^5 cells/ml x 20 ml = 2 x 10^6 cells (see that the unit ml is cancelled off)

So now, your answer is the unit of CELLS.

In short, the formula is:

A x B x C x 10^4/ml

where A is the TOTAL CELL CULTURE VOLUME
B is dilution factor
C is the average viable cell => total viable cells in all FOUR CORNERS divided by 4
and 10^4 is the conversion factor from mm^3 to 1 ml.

Just a slight modification from what you have learnt in the lab manual.

PS. Do the same thing for dead cell count. Good luck in your lab test!

PPS. For the unit of conversion factor, if you want to delete the "/ml", it is okay. Dr Lim allows this. But if you do that, you also have to delete the "ml" in the total cell culture volume (A). Otherwise, you will find that you can't get "cells" as the unit.

PPPs. Some more, the example above assumes that we use only 1 chamber. If the question specifies that we use TWO chambers (so got 8 corners), then you have to do one by one. DON'T SEKALI GUS count all and divide by 8 like what we did in our report. After you do both, plus the both answers to get the total cells. Although the answer is the same as dividing 8 , Dr Lim insists on doing separately. Go ask her why yourself.



Source: Dr Lim and http://www.abcam.com/index.html?pageconfig=resource&rid=11454 .

binatang liar series~

since the beginning of the sem, we've actually observed the lives of a new species of wild animals...

and here these are some of them.....

hands r actually nothing but just deco to make her looks normal, head is the substitute of hands for her

sleep like a bamboo in high places during summer to avoid heat

sleeping style during winter...with additional layer which is also the lab coat and moral notes in this case

oh, she use straw to drink, same as human...

told u edi, lab coat is used as shelter for winter, so din wear in the lab. drinking in the lab somemore, means they dunno how to read signs at the door...

til then, more observations have to be conducted for more of the life-style of the new species

BT Y2S1 Perak Campus

From top left:(KC, Chee Wah the top1 student, Goh Poh Tien, Leon, Candy, Lord aka Vincent Then, Clement Wong, Sanjaya, Neo, Siah, Xian, Yen Da, CM, Iyngaran)
Bottom from left: Manju, Angie, Bonnie, Monica, Kylie, YeeChan, Jenny, Jing Jing, Joselyn, Siet Teng.

Enjoy the photos. If anyone of you spotted anyone of them, please tell me. XD

p.s. Angie, Xian, KC, Chee Wah, Poh Tien, Jose and Vincent (they are couple) not available. Others all single and available XD

p.p.s. I do like selling my friends. =.=

p.p.p.s
What the hell is this? One pBR322 (left), another one is unknown (right). Insert size is 1.3kb. These are all after digestion, so how to map to determine the unknown? T.T

我在kampar的生活

今天买猪肉送条葱~~~
本大人来个买一送一
po多一篇
这次让本大人来说说我在kampar总校的朴实生活~~~
嗯...首先说说环境..

kampar的太阳公公很有活力
所以...肤色黑了

kampar的雨小姐很有个性
所以...雨淋多了

kampar的空气应该比kl好
所以....鼻屎少了

kampar的牛粪很多
所以...我骑脚踏车的技术进步了

kampar的aunty uncle很热情
所以...我常常无端端被uncle aunty 搭讪

kampar的campus算大(加上我懒)
所以...开学到现在我只在学校食堂吃过一次饭...

嗯...
就是酱...
然后kampar真的没什么娱乐
没有mid-valley,没有times square,没有sg.wang
所以当然就没有red box,没有green box,没有gsc
最重要的就是....kampar没有mc.donald!!!!
最近的mc.donald在怡保!!!所以也没有delivery!!!
kampar去怡保要差不多半小时车程...
唉...

所以我们的娱乐就变成
打cs(自己跟自己打)
看anime(我还没有internet,只能永远重复看那几部)
去tesco散步
去tesco玩投篮机
去tesco k box唱歌(有很多马来歌)
去tesco杂志点白看人家的报纸杂志
养狗(养了一天结果狗跑掉了)
溜狗(就是狗自己溜掉了)
看牛
看月亮
看人
看山
看湖
看车
看虫
打篮球(可是最近篮球筐歪掉...不能投篮了...我怀疑是个胖子想灌篮的结果...)
在马路上打羽球(结果跌伤右脚)
在马路上打排球(3人排球...自创新的玩法)
骑脚车到处溜(刚睡醒骑车结果跌伤左脚)
去巴杀买菜
煮饭
种菜
吟诗作对,饮酒作乐(和中文系的学生去瀑布喝他们老师酿的酒体验诗人的风花雪月)
捉鱼(中文系老师说捉到一条赏RM10...结果我看到好几百块在握面前游来游去,可是我一条也没捉到)
开烧烤会(常常都有)
"围炉"(就是大家一起吃火锅的意思)
爬山(要上瀑布就要爬山)
玩水(瀑布)
去怡保几十年老店吃好吃的
半夜睡到一半被人挖起来骑脚车去喝茶
各种赌博(常常赌通宵)
拼酒(啤酒)
玩uno
玩pick up stick
研究"一棵鲜草长在牛粪上"
和蟑先生小强同学玩兵捉贼

这....就是本大人在kampar朴实无华的生活...

我housemate有plan周末去pangkor...
kampar去pangkor还蛮近的
所以有机会应该会去

msn怪谈

大家!!!本大人muzhi我又回来啦!!

总觉得这个sem大家都过得很辛苦

唉...我虽不能和大家一起并肩作战

但我的精神永远与大家同在!!

(怎么感觉那么像我去了卖某种咸咸的食物??)

choi choi choi!!!

回归正题,今天让本大人来po一点废话吧

话说...

难得有机会一面做assignment一面和tingting闲话家常的本大人

在msn上和tingting有一句没一句地聊着

聊着聊着我就问tingting要不要看看我做的assignment有几变态

然后tingting就说好

我就send过去给她看咯

怎知...她一直收不到

然后我们就开一个新的room

顺便add埋yongyong进来

然后就出现以下的对白了...

怕大家看不清楚,以下是文字版本:

穆祉=本大人 ；
≡〓‖天堂⑦号‖〓≡ = yongyong(草容) ；
Marilyn=tingting

穆祉 says:
ok? is everyone in?

≡〓‖天堂⑦号‖〓≡ says:
ok?

Marilyn says:
how cmoe got yong yong de?

穆祉 says:
i tot u said yongyong wanna in?

≡〓‖天堂⑦号‖〓≡ says:
cannot got me?

Marilyn says:
i cannot accept the file becoz got more than one person in the conversation

穆祉 says:
juznow dat conversation room only got me n u ah

≡〓‖天堂⑦号‖〓≡ says:
wat file?

穆祉 says:
got 3rd person meh????!!!

Marilyn says:
shi meh?

穆祉 says:
dun scare me!!!

Marilyn says:
got 3 ppl wo

穆祉 says:
huh?!!!!!!!!!!!!

Marilyn says:
really de

穆祉 says:
......

≡〓‖天堂⑦号‖〓≡ says:
-.-

所以从以上的对话我们可以总结出3个conclusion:

1. 灵异事件发生了
2.tingting看到我看不到的东西
3.就是....yongyong从头到尾都被我和tingting无视!!!最后只能以一个-.-表情作结尾~~

啊哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈啊哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈

所以虽然做assignment做到吐血,
可是我还是突然觉得很爽!!!哈哈哈哈哈~~~(嘴巴流着鲜血奸笑ing)

Reminder and announcement

Reminders:

1. Tomorrow PTC replacement from 9 to 11 a.m. at SE109.

2. Week 13 ATC tutorial from 9 to 11 a.m. at seminar room.

Announcements:

1. Molecular Biology
Dr Tee wants to remind you all that our EXAM (that means finals la) syllabus includes the un-tested ones in Test 1 PLUS nucleosome, chromatin and chromosomes section (though it is covered in Test 1)

2. Exam Schedule
For the exam schedule problem, we have met Dr Alan and he told us that DEA had just FINISH COLLECTING THE FEEDBACKS. So, they need time to process the feedback - wait, wait, don't get too agitated - and we have to do the FOUR LETTER WORD - WAIT.

The best case scenario is that we will get our answers by THIS WEEK. Note that I said BEST CASE SCENARIO, not WORST CASE SCENARIO.

Hence, everybody - bio-sapiens of Year 2 Sem 2 of Utar - keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best. Say your prayers according to your religious belief (if you lack one, then, um, just pray the way you think is appropriate la - UCB, don't look away, I know you are one of them). Do more good deeds this week, be nice to lecturers and don't skip class (find it hard to do that for this Thursday, ooops, I just didn't say that), maybe that might help us get through this predicament.

Just want to let you all know that we had done our best and so did Dr Alan.


Thanks for your support, guys!



Regards,
Your course rep

Making your life less harder than the hardest.

The Grim Reaper - Message from Hell

Click to enlarge this message. Don't worry, it won't bite you now. But I cannot guarantee it wouldn't do that 5 weeks later.

Yes, this is a message from the killing machine - Utar. See the consecutive blows from MB and Genetics? Yup, 2 in A ROW. And see how long later we would be taking our CTC?

That's the Utar way of doing things. God bless our ravaged souls...

And by the way, the last time I checked, our elective is called "Culture and Communication" and the unit code is UAPS2013. Since when it is called Intro to Socio (though this is our first part of our subject) and when its unit code becomes 2003? Something is wrong here...

Then and again, since when things are right at the first place in Utar?!

Prepare yourselves people, be prepared...

summon in utar..??

today we spot some cars parking in S-block kena summon....


1st summon is actually by DBKL, but we personally think tis is just a prank since there are some handwritten words and the location is in jalan prima setapak. somemore, DBKL should wont enter into utar to summon ppl gut...


tis is should be done by utar guard. their job is never easy, have to check car by car, lol. dunno utar got sponsor them the paper n marker bo? haha