What did we Conclude?

Overall, our experiments did not work out as well as we had hoped, and less than half of the information that we should have gotten actually came out. This could be due to improper procedure when using the Laser Capture Microdissector, not having enough DNA for the Electrophoresis machine to process, or using the wrong concentrations of materials for this sort of sample. Another possibility could have been an error in pipetting, but this is unlikely because the experiment was repeated and re-pipetted and the results were similarly lacking. However, we did get enough data to conclude that microheterogeneity does exist, and that it is worthwhile to check for microheterogeneity when analyzing a tumor because if there is microheterogeneity, treatment may be different.

The most rewarding aspect of this project was the opportunity to experience actual lab work. It was nice to be able to see what it would really be like to work in a research laboratory. This was especially helpful because choosing a field to go into is often difficult when you don't know too much about it. This is especially true since we have both been considering research as a possible option. Overall, the opportunity to experience it was invaluable, especially because it was something we really enjoyed.

This project turned out to be one of the most successful group projects either of us had ever done. We worked well together, and our productive mesh of talents produced a product better then that which would have been seen had we worked alone.