Gwyneth Tefft, Entry #4, Ants Smells

This week I have been working on doing solid-phase microextraction (SPME) trials for Brian's project. This involves using SPME fibers to test the compounds that ants are emitting. We put ants in a vial with a SPME needle and wait for 30 minutes to allow it to collect the pheromones being released. My job is to put the needle into the GC/MS, which is a really big, very expensive machine used to tell you the exact compounds present in a sample. The first time I used the machine alone, I thought I broke it when a part of it started unexpectedly spinning before I could put the sample in. Fortunately, I realized that I had accidentally used the wrong program and just needed to switch it back. Once we complete enough trails, we can begin to analyze the results, which will hopefully give more information about the chemicals the Argentine ants use.

Different SPME needles we use

Outside of the lab, I have been having a great time. I went to LA for 4th of July weekend to visit my fellow EXPers. It was good to see them again and hear about their experiences working in a lab.