BIOL368/F20:Class Journal Week 14

Anna Horvath Response

• What is the most important thing that you learned this semester in this class?
  • With your head (biological or bioinformatics principles)?
    • I learned how to be more critical in my analysis of what I consume, specifically scientific articles. I also learned how to work with a variety of different biological database in order to gather information about future research I will be doing.
  • With your heart (personal qualities and teamwork qualities that make things work or not work)?
    • I have learned how to work better with team members, as well as the importance of good communication. If guidelines are set for projects early on, the work will be done in a much more efficient manner. I also learned how to reach out to others when I need help.
  • With your hands (technical skills)?
    • I learned how to use Wiki Syntax, something I would have never thought myself capable of doing as a scientist. I am proud of the fact that I have improved so much in this area since the first week of the semester!
• What will you take away from this class that you will still use a year from now?
  • I will take with me the presentation skills that you have taught us! Making a presentation in that format is very professional and I will definitely be using those guidelines in the future.
• Thank you for a great semester Dr. Dahlquist! I learned a lot in this lab and am excited to apply this knowledge later on!

Anna Horvath (talk) 21:29, 4 December 2020 (PST)

Nathan Beshai

For your last reflection you will reflect on this entire semester:

• What is the most important thing that you learned this semester in this class?
  1. I learned a lot of useful information this semester from the class that I am able to use in future classes and in the real world. The most important thing I believe I learned is not to take everything scientifically published as fact. It is important to view everything with a grain of salt and look at who the publisher is and who most likely reviewed the article. For example, if the publisher does not have a huge editorial and advisory board, did someone credible review the authors' work before publishing. Also, I would make sure the authors weren't in a rush to publish and made sure everything they are publishing is accurate.
  • With your head (biological or bioinformatics principles)?
    1. Finding sequences and structures through databases that will provide me with information that I can utilize in other labs. Before this class, I had no idea that there were so many free resources for those seeking sequences and other public information and that people can study structures of new viruses or ones that they always wished to learn about.
  • With your heart (personal qualities and teamwork qualities that make things work or not work)?
    1. This class is the first class that I really had the opportunity of working with a new teammate every week. It taught me that as a biologist it is always more helpful to have more than one person working on something to provide a fresh set of eyes and a new perspective.
  • With your hands (technical skills)?
    1. Looking through search engines and correctly filtering out irrelevant articles is crucial to supporting your evidence with the most credible and useful information. This will help my future work by allowing me to search through databases quicker and more effectively.
• What will you take away from this class that you will still use a year from now?
  1. One thing that I will still use a year from now is the whole process of writing a lab. I already noticed it in my other classes when asked to write a methods and results section it was almost like muscle memory and I was a lot more efficient at it. The repetition of doing it every week allowed me to practice my skills and at the beginning, it took me a lot longer to formulate my thoughts in the wiki than towards the end.

Nathan R. Beshai (talk) 00:38, 9 December 2020 (PST)

Aiden Burnett

• What is the most important thing that you learned this semester in this class?
  • With your head (biological or bioinformatics principles)?
    • I value just having a better understanding of the work which goes into research involving gene sequences, protein structures, and modelling. I plan on pursuing a career involving botany or forestry, which is why I don't necessarily foresee using any one specific technique. Instead I value the overall insight into this area of research, as it will allow me to better appreciate the difficult & important work being done by my fellow biologists.
  • With your heart (personal qualities and teamwork qualities that make things work or not work)?
    • I learned about how beneficial it is to be open & honest with teammates! During one of our project I was having an extremely trying week and was in the middle of a very numbing depressive episode. I told my teammate and asked if they would be willing to take over the last few slides I needed to do. They generously obliged and this act of kindness, as well as chatting with them afterwards, did wonders for my mental state.
  • With your hands (technical skills)?
    • I think I most valued learning that I am capable of becoming competent with a programming language. I assume this wiki syntax language is less complex than other languages, but I was surprised by both how quickly I took to it and how much fun I found it.
• What will you take away from this class that you will still use a year from now?
  • Wiki editing! I have already used skills from this class to view page histories and see some entertaining, if pedantic, fights in the background of Wikipedia pages. I know that my love of learning & detective work will have my using my wiki editing skills frequently.

Yaniv Maddahi Reflection

What is the most important thing that you learned this semester in this class:

1. With your heart (personal qualities and teamwork qualities that make things work or not work)?
   • This semester I learned an incredible amount regarding working in groups, emphasizing each others strengths and using them to be as efficient and to create our best work.
2. With your head (biological or bioinformatics principles)?
   • I learned an incredible amount on SARS-CoV-2 and interactions with ACE2. Especially with regard to RBD binding.
3. With your hands (technical skills)?
   • I learned a lot on properly citing my work, and really being focused on the nuance of work, paying attention to the database I am obtaining the work from and even if there is a bias in the technology. I also learned an incredible amount with regard to coding WiKi pages.

What will you take away from this class that you will still use a year from now?

1. I will definitely take a lot from this class especially when having to create projects and assignments and presentations. I have developed skills with regard to citation that I will carry when writing any piece of work and I will always be grateful for the skills with regard to tracking my progress in a journal and keeping tabs of everything.

Yaniv Maddahi (talk) 10:00, 9 December 2020 (PST)

Owen Dailey

• What is the most important thing that you learned this semester in this class:
  • With your heart (personal qualities and teamwork qualities that make things work or not work)?
    • This semester I learned the importance of communication within research groups. Given the amount of data that was analyzed in this class, it was important to meet, talk, and text with group members frequently.
  • With your head (biological or bioinformatics principles)?
    • I learned a tremendous amount of information regarding the D614G mutation. In regards to bioinformatic principles, I learned how to navigate quite a few databases.
  • With your hands (technical skills)?
    • I learned how to search for scholarly articles in an efficient manner, and this is something I will need for dental school.
• What will you take away from this class that you will still use a year from now?
  • A technique that dental schools use to prepare students for the clinic in the second half of their education is to present the students with case studies in the first half of their education. This exposure to unique case studies forces the students to think critically, apply the knowledge gained in the didactic course work, and more importantly search through the scientific literature to assist in the case study. So, I hope my ability to find scholarly articles will translate well in to dental school.

Owen R. Dailey (talk) 19:05, 9 December 2020 (PST)

Macie Duran

1. What is the most important thing that you learned this semester in this class?
   • With your head (biological or bioinformatics principles)?
     • I was able to become much more knowledgeable on SARS-CoV-2 than I was prior to this class. I knew the basics, but this class allowed me to go much deeper in my understanding. I also learned a lot about how to be critical of sources, even if they are peer reviewed and published. Scientists are not perfect and cannot always be 100% objective, so it is important to consider where information is coming from.
   • With your heart (personal qualities and teamwork qualities that make things work or not work)?
     • I was able to work with my classmates each week and collaborate to produce work we were both proud of. Communication is very important to make sure both teammates are on the same page, and their strengths are being utilized.
   • With your hands (technical skills)?
     • I didn’t know wiki syntax before this class, and I am glad to have learned it. Additionally, understanding how to use biological databases is extremely helpful in conducting research.
2. What will you take away from this class that you will still use a year from now?
   • Being critical and carefully analyzing sources of information, as well as utilizing databases to conduct research and continue to learn.

(Macie Duran (talk) 23:01, 9 December 2020 (PST))

Fatimah Alghanem

1. What is the most important thing that you learned this semester in this class?
   • With your head (biological or bioinformatics principles)?
     • The most important thing that I learned this semester is how to research for creditable papers. I also learned how to interpret protein structures.
   • With your heart (personal qualities and teamwork qualities that make things work or not work)?
     • Especially with the pandemic, I learned to communicate with people remotely and work together without actually meeting which was challenging but doable.
   • With your hands (technical skills)?
     • I enhanced my ability to work in the wiki, I am much faster now than I was last class.
2. What will you take away from this class that you will still use a year from now?
   • I learned how to research properly which I will use for the future in my researchs.

Falghane (talk) 23:28, 9 December 2020 (PST)

Kam Taghizadeh

• What is the most important thing that you learned this semester in this class?
  • With your head (biological or bioinformatics principles)?
    • I have learned how to better analyze scientific articles that I read, and attribute them to the bigger picture.
  • With your heart (personal qualities and teamwork qualities that make things work or not work)?
    • I have learned how to communicate better with others when it comes to group projects.
  • With your hands (technical skills)?
    • I have learned some variation of coding which is a great tool to have. Hopefully I can go further with this one day.
• What will you take away from this class that you will still use a year from now?
  • I will definitely utilize the attention to detail I have acquired throughout this class! Thank you for a great semester Dr. Dahlquist, you were truly there for us when we needed a breather, or if we had any questions in general and I won't ever forget that!

Kam Taghizadeh (talk) 23:57, 9 December 2020 (PST)

JT Correy Response

• What is the most important thing that you learned this semester in this class?
  • With your head (biological or bioinformatics principles)?
    • I think the most important thing that I learned was in the information literacy unit. I thought that I was coming into this class with a really good grasp of data bases and ability to digest articles. I definitely learned a lot about being able to quickly but efficiently go through articles and find important/applicable sections. From the first journal club to the final presentation I improved dramatically on my ability to understand challenging articles.
  • With your heart (personal qualities and teamwork qualities that make things work or not work)?
    • I think that what I learned most applies to all my classes this semester and it is just how to work effectively when things don’t go as planned. Obviously, no one thought a global pandemic would be a part of their college experience, but here we are. I think that OpenWetWare was a really good tool for managing the virtual learning and allowed us to work together in teams really well. Overall, this class and semester have been challenging for various reasons but I think I learned in my heart that sometimes you jut have to push through and it will be worth it in the end.
  • With your hands (technical skills)?
    • I think the work with databases was very useful. I had used the library onesearch before but pubmed was new to me and I only had very little exposure to Web of Science.
• What will you take away from this class that you will still use a year from now?
  • I learned a lot about making a proper biology presentation. I have only learned tips from bio111 and we grade differently in that class since it is the freshman introductory class. Things like making sure the title of your slide is a complete thought and always having a formal outline slide.

Jcorrey (talk) 12:56, 10 December 2020 (PST)

Nida Patel Response

• What is the most important thing that you learned this semester in this class?
  • With your head (biological or bioinformatics principles)?
    • I learned how to effectively analyze research articles to curate necessary information in my research. I also became very familiar with multiple databases, but most importantly I developed the skill set to continuously familiarize myself with new tools and databases as necessary.
  • With your heart (personal qualities and teamwork qualities that make things work or not work)?
    • I have learned how to work better in team settings as well as effectively communicating and distributing workload within group members. I think this class stressed the importance of communicating when something is unclear and not relying on oneself solely in a situation that requires team effort.
  • With your hands (technical skills)?
    • I learned how to effectively use PUBMED a resource I had always seen, but been overwhelmed to use prior to this class
• What will you take away from this class that you will still use a year from now?
  • I will take my ability to utilize databases for effective data cumulation in a way that I was incapable of doing prior. Additionally going over proper scientific format in our wiki pages as well as presentations is a skill I will always come back to throughout my education.

Nidapatel (talk) 17:50, 21 December 2020 (PST)

Taylor Makela Response

• What is the most important thing that you learned this semester in this class?
  • With your head (biological or bioinformatics principles)?
    • I found the research skills that I developed in this class to be incredibly valuable. I now feel confident moving forward that I will be able to conduct good and reliable research whether it be for another class or for my own research down the line. I also learned a lot about biological databases and I now have the confidence to use not only the databases we've used in class, but also find and navigate new biological databases. After going through this course, I now have the resources and skills to find accurate and dependable resources for future research.
  • With your heart (personal qualities and teamwork qualities that make things work or not work)?
    • Throughout this class I have learned a lot about how to successfully work on group projects. Prior to this course, I hated doing group projects because the workload was never distributed evenly and my group members never seemed to all be on the same page. However, our group projects throughout this class really showed me the importance organization and clear communication from the very beginning in order to have a successful group project.
  • With your hands (technical skills)?
    • In addition to my new skill in working with biological databases, I also really enjoyed learning how to use different online programs to run multiple sequence alignments and simulations, to build 3D protein structures, and create phylogenetic trees.
• What will you take away from this class that you will still use a year from now?
  • In the years to come after this class, I will definitely continue to utilize the research skills that I developed in this class. Our exercises involving Google Scholar, PubMed, and Web of Science provided me with invaluable research skills that I will undoubtedly use throughout the rest of my college career and beyond.

Taylor Makela (talk) 18:05, 25 January 2021 (PST)