MARIN ACADEMY RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE​
STUDENT BLOGS
COMPOSTING PLASTIC WITH WORMS!
With my research, I plan to further the applications of experiments that have been conducted concerning ways to decompose plastic. I am going to create a compost system similar to the ones found in many homes with earthworms eating food waste with a major twist. Instead of using earthworms, I will be using mealworms, super worms, wax worms, or a combination of all of them to decompose plastic.
January 10, 2019
NEW SEMESTER
This semester brings a lot of excitement and questions. Several weeks ago, just before going on winter break, I completed the experimental part of my research which was incredibly exciting. There were not many worms left by the end, which made the final count much easier than the first few. The speed at the end was also partially due to the practice that I got with so many weeks of counting so many worms. Now, looking forward, I’m really excited to organize and analyze my data to determine its significance. Hopefully I have some strong results! Right now my task is to figure out how exactly I plan to analyze my data. I will start by looking at past papers, conferring with Stori, and reaching out to researchers who have conducted similar research.
January 17, 2019
DATA ORGANIZATION
Over the past week, the entire MARC class has done a lot of work on how to organize and analyse data. I had not previously done much work with Excel, but I can now say that I am comfortable with many of functions relevant to my research thus far. I have made a lot of progress in organizing my data and getting everything into spreadsheets, but beyond basic functions I have not done much data analysis. Stori, my teacher, suggested that before I leap into data analysis I work on considering what I want to convey to my reader. Based on that advice, I have spent time brainstorming what I believe are the most important takeaways from my research that I hope my paper clearly and accurately conveys to my future audience. My next major step will be to look at parallels between my research and previous research done in the same field to understand what techniques I may want to use for data analysis. I will also be reaching out to relevant authors to speak with them directly about data analysis strategies for this type of work. I look forward to further analyzing my data to see if my hypothesis and current conjectures are supported!
January 24, 2019
PRESENTATION
Today I will be presenting information about my data analysis to my class. The presentation will include all of the work that I’ve done over the past several weeks to organize my data including the Excel spreadsheets that I’ve been putting together. After describing how I’ve organized my data, including the small calculations that I’ve made relating to differences and averages, I will begin to discuss what I believe is significant about my study. The important takeaways are a lot of what I’ve been brainstorming over the past week. One of the most important things that I want to talk about the general shift from eating patterns in the beginning as compared to the end of the study. There was a shift in which worms ate a lot of styrofoam which related directly to the food available to them. This should produce a general X-shape on a line graph, but I want to brainstorm with my class about whether I should use percent of styrofoam eaten or difference in styrofoam from the beginning to the end of the week. I also want to work with my class on considering how I should deal with clearly irrelevant data (such as negative differences that suggest more styrofoam was present after the week). Further, I hope to find ways to present information about worms running out of bran, being weak from just styrofoam, that there were significantly more pupa when worms ate bran, more molting when the worms ate bran, and the failure of worms to gain weight from just styrofoam.
January 31, 2019
UPDATE
The presentation that I referred to in my last post went great! I got good feedback from my peers and Stori, and I now have some ideas about how I will analyze my data. One of the particularly helpful things that I got out of my presentation was figuring out how to account for weird data. I’ve been struggling with how to handle negative differences between the styrofoam weight before and after the week (negative differences imply that the styrofoam gained weight) and I now know how I will deal with that data. Another piece of exciting news is that I just finished my application to the Marin County Secondary Science Fair. I took part in the same competition in eighth grade with a different environmental science project, and I look forward to doing it again. Looking ahead, I hope to finish up data analysis and my results section in the coming weeks!
February 7, 2019
UPDATE
This week has included a lot of trial and error working with Excel. Before this week, I didn’t know how to make charts/graphs on Excel, so I spent a lot of time watching tutorials and fiddling with my sheets and graphs. Now, at the end of the week, I am proud to say that I have graphs! The original graph that I made was for the percent of styrofoam eaten week by week for each container of mealworms with styrofoam. I was incredibly confused with the visual result of that graph because no trends were apparent. Then, I realized that because the original amount of styrofoam put in each container was not the exact same weight, the percent eaten didn’t actually mean anything statistically for my purposes. After arriving at this conclusion, I started making new graphs using difference in styrofoam (the amount of styrofoam the worms ate). The first graph has all of the containers separate (6 different lines) and includes all of the separate dates. The second graph has the types of containers combined (3 different lines) and all of the dates. The third graph has the types of containers combined and chunks the dates into 2 week increments. I also made a chart with survival rates for each different container and another with the types of containers combined. I’m not sure which of these charts I will be using, and still need to make data tables and figure out p-values. I look forward to continuing to work on that!
February 17, 2019
UPDATE
It’s been quite a week! I’ve been somewhat preoccupied with tech rehearsals and performances for a play that I was in, but I still managed to get a lot of good work done for my project. Primarily, I’ve been doing more work with my data. I’ve been working through getting all of the standard deviations calculated for my averages and am nearly done. I also went back to read the papers that Dr. Wu sent me before so that I can get a better understanding of how those researchers dealt with data. I’ve been taking careful note of what information is in tables versus graphs, what types of graphs are used, and most importantly what statistical tests they use. It seems that the key test for me will be a Pearson Correlation. However, I’m not quite sure what it is and how to use it. To solve this issue, Stori suggested that I meet with Taylor Tan, a math teacher at Marin Academy who teacher statistics. I have a meeting set up with him for Thursday of this coming week. I sent him the paper that I am most focused on so we should be on the same page during the meeting. I look forward to hearing what he has to say and learning about a Pearson Correlation! In other news, my proposal was received by the Marin County Secondary Science Fair organization. I have not heard anything from them beyond that, so I’m curious to learn more about what I need to do for the fair.
February 21, 2019
UPDATE
Over the past week I’ve made good progress on my poster for the Marin County Secondary Science Fair. Stori forwarded me the information that I needed, and I started working on putting together all of the information and different pieces. My introduction section is completed with little text and a few helpful graphics. My methods includes a comprehensive graphic with a visual explanation of how I set up my containers with different protein sources and bricks of styrofoam. My data section is coming together nicely, but I still have to make some decisions about what I will include and in what format. Currently, I have three graphs but no tables. The graphs show average amount of styrofoam eaten for each styrofoam food combination in two week groupings, average weight per mealworm based on food available, and average worm survival rate based on food available. I’m not sure if any of that information should be in tables instead of line graphs and what other information I should include if any. The rest of my poster still needs some work. Looking forward, I’m very excited for my meeting with Taylor Tan and I hope he will have helpful information to share.
March 7, 2019
UPDATE
Last week, I completed my poster for the Marin County Secondary Science Fair! My poster was printed, and is not at the fair ready to be judged. I look forward to learning how the judges respond to my research. Looking ahead, I am turning all of my attention to data analysis. My meeting with Taylor Tan was helpful, but not very productive. We discussed the data that I have, and certain restrictions that exist including that not every container started with exactly 200 mealworms as thought. This means that percentages of survival must be used rather than number of surviving worms. Unfortunately, that caused some issues in terms of figuring out how to properly analyze the data for significance. At the end of the meeting, we did not come to a conclusion about how to move forward with the data. I sent Taylor all of the raw data and graphs that I have, and he said that he would work on it with Kevin, another math teacher at MA, to figure out what to do. I am eager to hear what he has to say. Hopefully, I will have another meeting with him soon which will be more informative and I will have a way to move forward with my analysis and manuscript. Until then, I will continue to write and edit my manuscript!
March 14, 2019
UPDATE
I won first in the Marin County Science Fair! I will now be moving forward to the Bay Area Science Fair. Unfortunately, because of the size of my poster it didn’t print perfectly, so I redid my poster to better configure it for a tri-fold board. I also have pictures on my board now to provide examples of qualitative data. There is a picture of a Styrofoam + bran container, Styrofoam + whey container, and a just Styrofoam container. Using those pictures, I was able to explain differences in sizes of worms, how much they shed, and how many pupa are present. I think that the pictures add a really nice touch to my presentation. Looking forward, the Bay Area Science Fair is a very different and more intense process. Last time I competed in the Bay Area Fair in eighth grade, there was a required interview component. If this is still true, it will be a good chance for me to work on verbally presenting my work and explaining my process and results. On a different note, I just reached back out to Taylor Tan to ask if he has put any more thought into how to analyze my data. Hopefully we will set up a meeting soon to discuss how I should move forward with my analyzing so that I can complete my manuscript.
April 24, 2019
This will be my last blog ever! I'm working on finishing up my manuscript right now and hope to submit it to a journal. MARC has been an incredible experience and I'm so glad I got the chance to work on this research for the last two years. The skills that I have learned in the class have prepared me well for my future and I look forward to putting them to good use.
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March 21, 2019
This weekend I will attend the Bay Area Science Fair! I look forward to walking around the fair to read about the projects of my peers from around the Bay Area. If I am being considered for first place in my category, I will receive an email Friday night regarding a Saturday interview. Hopefully I get an interview! Beyond that, I need to get back to working on my manuscript. I have been reaching out to Taylor Tan to try to set up a meeting, but he has been very busy. I’m not sure if he has been able to meet with Kevin Reese to discuss my data, but hopefully once he does he’ll reach back out to me as he said he would. If not, I will email him again or go to his tutorial to talk to him about my data. Over the next few weeks I hope to have a solid draft so I can work on editing and peer review!
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March 28, 2019
I won third in the Bay Area STEM Fair! Though this means that I will not be moving onto the state fair, I am very proud of my accomplishments with this project. Now I will move full force into work on my manuscript. I still need to set up a meeting with Taylor who has been somewhat difficult to reach, but once we have a time nailed down I should be good to go! I will hopefully finish drafting my manuscript by the end of spring break so I am ready to edit for the last two weeks of classes. Beyond that, I have spent a lot of my class time helping Brian Little, a fellow MARC student, with his project.
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December 11, 2018
END OF SEMESTER
It's been a big semester for my project! I've spent the past several weeks carrying out my project. Once a week, I count all of the mealworms that are part of my project which is a very time consuming activity. I have two more rounds of counting which means I'm almost ready to analyze my data! I'm really excited to see if my data is significant. I need to work on reading more studies to consider data analysis technique, but I have a good sense of where to look for that. Next semester, I will start with this analysis then move into writing my manuscript. Hopefully, I will submit my manuscript to a journal. I have some work to do in terms of researching journals that I might want to publish in, but that will happen later in the semester. Overall, I'm really happy with my progress. A year ago this time I was stressed and feeling pretty hopeless about my project, and now I feel like I'm going to have a great final product.
September 20, 2018
READY TO START
I plan to begin my experiment next week! Very exciting! I have ordered the materials that I need to begin two composting systems. The first will be for super worms eating styrofoam and the second for wax worms eating PET plastic. They will be kept in plastic crates with wheat meal layering the bottom to ensure that they have a secondary food source in order to get nutrients necessary to molt. The wheat meal that the wax worms will be kept in will also be mixed with honey as is common practice in wax worm farming. They will be kept in a dark room at about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I look forward to this new journey!
September 13, 2018
NEW (SCHOOL) YEAR, NEW PROJECT!
I decided to make a significant change to my project this year due to my general lack of success last year. Currently, my plan is to pursue the concept of creating a composting system but for plastic instead of food waste. I plan to use mealworms, super worms, or wax worms to accomplish this. Mealworms and super worms eat styrofoam while wax worms eat PET plastic. Both of these plastics are problematic, so I might either try to use both types of worms in the composting bin or just one depending on what I find in my future research. I just reached out to a professor at Stanford, Dr. Wu, who has been researching mealworms and the enzymes in their guts involved in the decomposition process. Hopefully he'll have some insights for me on how to proceed! I'm very excited to embark on this new path.
March 7, 2018
SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM
Science symposium was just officially rolled out at Marin Academy! Â For those who are unfamiliar with this, it is a science fair that freshmen, sophomores, and juniors in higher level science classes take part in. Â All participants conduct research for several weeks in the spring and create a poster to present their work. Then, outside judges come in and evaluate the experiments to award various prizes. Â MARC students who are also in another advanced science class, like me, are tasked with either completing two different projects or somehow combining the subject matter of their MARC experiment and science class. Â I am in physics, so I plan to design a project that furthers my MARC work while also fulfilling the physics requirement. Currently, my thought is to do so by 3D modeling PETase and MHETase, the two enzymes that I am using, to show how they change shape at different times. Â I am hoping to meet with Stori Oates, my MARC teacher, and Shawn Cole, my physics teacher, to discuss this concept further!
February 12, 2018
HARVARD IGEM TEAM CONTACT
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with two past members of the Harvard iGEM team. The first was Lorena Lyon who I was able to talk with on the phone. She told me more about their past project and that they did not have highly conclusive results. While unfortunate, this knowledge inspired me to think of other ways to work with PETase beyond their technology, Plastiback. She then mentioned that one member of the team, Daniel Um, brought their work to a start up lab and modified the technology. I got in contact with Daniel to discuss his work hoping that it might be applicable to what I want to research, but it turns out that he went in a different direction and is no longer using the team's PETase plasmid. However, he told me that I should be able to get their plasmid from iGEM headquarters in Cambridge. Though he didn't know which of their many PETase plasmids with different secretion enzymes would be best for my needs, he was incredibly helpful in pointing me in the right direction. The next step for me is to discuss the plasmids with Kegan Donlan, a specialist on retroviruses from Dominican University, who I will be meeting with tomorrow. I will then hopefully be able to reach out to iGEM headquarters about getting the plasmids that I need!
February 8, 2018
POSSIBLE SHIFT IN FOCUS
After further research on how to harness the power of multiple enzymes at once, I have begun to have some doubts about carrying out a single modification of a host bacteria as I originally planned. The main problem with that proposal is that it is only applicable to locations where the host bacteria is found. It would be difficult to find a bacteria that could host the enzymes both on land and in the ocean, so the usage would have severe limitations. Therefore, I have come up with a new idea with the help of Stori Oates. My most recently concept is to create a retrovirus possessing the wanted enzymes so that I could hypothetically infect any bacteria and it could decompose plastic. A retrovirus is an RNA virus that is able to insert itself into the DNA of the host. If I could create a retrovirus possessing PETase and a secretion enzyme, my work could allow for any bacteria to decompose plastic which would revolutionize the field of plastic degradation. To follow up on this idea, I will be meeting with Kegan Donlan from Dominican University who has done extensive research with retroviruses to see if she believes that my experiment is possible.
February 6, 2018
REPS FROM COLORADO
Today, some reps from a school in Colorado came to talk to our class. They asked questions about our program and how we felt about different components so that they could improve their own program in Colorado. Speaking to them made me realize how much I've already learned through this program. They asked about how we figured out what we were going to study and I thought back on how much my project has changed since I entered the program. We talked about our literature searches with them, and I realized how much better I am at reading scientific papers now than before. I am so excited to continue growing through this program as I become better at literature searches, improve my project, and understand more about scientific research as a whole.
January 30, 2018
EXCITING NEW CONTACTS
This week has been very important for me in terms of connecting with new and helpful contacts. Last Wednesday, I had the pleasure of zooming Dr. Loh of BABEC who I had spoken to before several times as well as George from Amyris who Dr. Loh was able to get in touch with for me. Amyris is a biotechnology company based in Emeryville and George's work, while not directly related to my research, will be hugely helpful to me because of his extensive experience with genetic engineering. He offered many useful tips and invited me to tour Amyris when I have free time to better understand the world of biotechnology! Later that week, on Thursday, I headed over to the Branson campus to meet with Carl Ma who is a biology teacher there. He has a background in biotechnology and knows a lot about the steps that I will need to take in my research to achieve my goal. I look forward to speaking further with all of these knowledgable scientists throughout my research and really appreciate their help.
January 10, 2018
FIRST BLOG POST
I now have a strong sense of what I intend to research during my time in the MARC Program, but it has been a long journey to reach this point. My interest in plastic decomposition began during my eighth grade year when I was determined to have the best science experiment in my class. I knew that my interests lay in environmental science, a very broad field. My research then led me to a paper by Daniel Burd who identified a type of bacteria, Pseudomonas fluorescens, that could decompose PE plastic (3). His work led me to ultimately research which of three plastics, PET, HTPE, and PVC, could decompose at the fastest rate when exposed to P. fluorescens (4). This experiment won me third place at the California State Science Fair and inspired a deep fascination for plastic decomposition that I will pursue for the next year and a half.
CITATIONS
​Research Papers
iGEM. Team Tianjin 2016 Consortium. Web. 11 December 2017. SOURCE.
iGEM. Team Harvard 2016 Plastiback. Web. 11 December 2017. SOURCE.
Burd, D. (2008). Plastic Not Fantastic. Web. 10 January 2018. file:///Users/Jordan/Downloads/08BurdReport.pdf.
Paff, J. (2015). Pseudomonas fluorescens Exposed to Plastics: Decomposition Proposition. Web. 10 January 2018. http://cssf.usc.edu/History/2015/Projects/J1017.pdf.
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