Increasing Telomere Growth

[jackkwan]

Thank you! I will take what you said in consideration as I plan my procedure.

[SciB]

I would advise you to run your procedures by us before you finalize them. We are experts in planning and developing workable projects and we may be able to suggest some modifications to improve an experiment or ways to avoid problems.

Good luck!

Sybee

[jackkwan]

As soon as I formalize my procedure, I will run it back to you guys!

[SciB]

OK, Jack. Good luck!

Sybee

[jackkwan]

Hey! I am currently creating the homogeneous substance that I will use for my experimentation. I am having an issue with understanding how much of each ingredient I should be using. The problem is I don't want to kill the yeast when I mix it into the agar medium. I need to figure the right quantity of each ingredient to use before I do my experimentation. Do you think I should just use the trial and error method and mix certain quantities of my substances with my yeast and see what happens? Also I am currently looking for mentors for this class. It is a requirement and is necessary for when we write our research proposal and the actual paper. I am currently not getting any responses from the emails I am sending out to the different college's professors. I was wondering if you would want to be my mentor and be listed on my abstract and etc. It would entail frequent email communication like we have been doing already. Let me know if you would be interested!

Thanks once again, Jack

[SciB]

Hi Jack,

I think for a high school science project that the requirement is for a mentor that you can talk to in person. Don't use email. It often ends up in the spam folder or is ignored. I would find a nearby college or university and make some actual phone calls. Before you call, however, think about exactly what you want to say so you can give your proposal in the briefest time but with all the necessary information. Aim for about 3 minutes, and you must state your case very clearly and persuasively. They will want to know exactly what their responsibilities are and how much time it is likely to take.

Now the question is whom should you call. Since your hypothesis is that certain antioxidants will preserve telomeres, you should look for professors in biomedical sciences such as at a medical school or in the biology department. Professors usually have web pages where they describe their research interests and you should read these to find out those individuals who would be most likely to be interested in the role of telomeres in aging or cancer. Once you find some good candidates you should call them directly and politely ask them if they or someone in their lab like a graduate student or lab tech would be able to act as your mentor. Tell the person that this is a requirement of your high school and that you would be very grateful for the help. Be very clear about the responsibilities of your mentor like whether you have to meet with them in person, how often you will need to communicate with them and that their name will be associated with your project.

If you still can't get someone to agree to be your mentor then of course I will do it, but first ask your teacher if the requirement can be met by using an online science project service like Scibuddies. The rules may say that the mentor must be someone at a university and you may actually have to talk to them in person.

In regard to your initial question about how much of your preparation to use I was a little confused by what you said about adding it to agar. How did you plan to determine the numbers of yeast cells in the treated cultures compared to controls? The usual way to test a substance's affect on cells quantitatively is to do a liquid culture. You would count the number of cells in the culture using a hemocytometer at the beginning and again at the end to see if the antioxidants allowed the yeast to divide more times before stopping. Instead of counting cells using a hemocytometer, you could plate them on agar and count the colonies but you would not have the antioxidant present in the agar. Can you clarify your reasoning in this experiment?

Sybee

[jackkwan]

Thanks for the response! I am currently reaching out to local universities and colleges in search of a expert related to my area of research. I am allowed to have a mentor online. You have been very helpful to my project so far and I would love to continue to collaborate with you. Have you written any published articles?

I have to decided to use solid agar embedded with the various antioxidant substances as my substrate. I was planning on counting the yeast cells with my naked eye. I see what your saying about the liquid culture. My control group is the agar without my substance added to it. My experimental group will be the agar with the substance added to it. Based of the rate of growth and amount cells replicated I will be state a correlation between my substance's presence and telomere growth. The longer the telomeres are the longer the cell can divide. Let me know what you think?

[SciB]

Scientists need to measure things accurately. I know a project becomes more difficult when you have to make measurements that generate actual numbers but that is the only way you can test a hypothesis. You need to count the numbers of yeast cells, as I said. If you plate them on agar containing some concentration of your test substance and on agar alone you will get the same number of colonies in both cases, provided that you spread the same amount of yeast on each plate. What will you be looking for? Larger colonies on the plate that has the test substance compared to the plate that does not? You can do it that way and maybe you will see a difference, but it won't be quantitative and you won't be able to do a statistical test to prove or disprove your hypothesis.

The experiment can be easily done as I described it to you. Make liquid cultures of the yeast and to one set add different amounts of your antioxidant mix. The other set gets only water. Let the yeast grow at 27-32C and do cell counts every day. If you can't borrow a hemocytometer from someone then just plate the yeast on nutrient agar and count the colonies that form. This will tell you two things--the rate at which the yeast are dividing and how long they continue to divide. Those are the two necessary measurements you need to test your hypothesis that the antioxidants promote longevity.

I hope it is clear to you why you need to make quantitative measurements in an experiment. If you are not sure about something please ask us. If you need help with the methods, explain the procedure to your teacher and she/he should be able to give you advice. Otherwise ask us and we will give you detailed instructions. Science Buddies is your mentor and any expert can offer advice on your project.

Sybee

[jackkwan]

Thank you so much for the response! I am setting up my experiment and I am taking your suggestions into consideration. I am starting with placing yeast on solid nutrient agar and then several days later, I will compare the differences between the amount of yeast cells between the control and experimental groups. I am going to do the liquid culture in quantitative measurements as you suggested.

In regards to the mentor ship, I am required to have forms signed by the mentor who is guiding my project. Would you be willing to sign this form?

Thanks, Jack.

[SciB]

Hi Jack,

Good job on setting up your experiments! Let us know as soon as you get some results. We always like to know how a project turns out so we can offer better advice to other students.

Experts must remain anonymous and cannot contact students off the Science Buddies platform. That is the rule that applies to all experts. Explain to your teacher that you are being mentored by an expert forum associated with an international online science project help service. If he/she needs proof just give them the link to the website.

Good luck!

Sybee

[jackkwan]

Thanks, I will keep in touch as my experiments progresses!

[SciB]

OK, Jack. Remember, we are still your mentors so if you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to ask.

Good luck!

Sybee

[jackkwan]

Sounds good!
Thanks, Jack