Working in the new lab

I have been back from Kenting for a week now, and since been working in the lab at Academia Sinica. I have been working on extracting microbial DNA from the samples I collected in June. It is a LONG and TEDIOUS process. From previous posts, you probably knew that we moved to a new building. And I am the first one to work in the new lab - which means I have to figure out where are all the things (instrument, suppliers, kits etc) are... it was quite an adventure. The new place has a balcony which overlooks the hills, and my colleagues are out there occasionally to enjoy the views. On the other hand, I was too busy to enjoy any views. In fact, I was so busy that I am still working on weekends (both Sat and Sun). The way I see it, I am here to work, and not for vacation, so if I have the chance, I should be working. So, here I am again, on Sunday, and doing gel extractions.

Samples collection - Kenting

Last two days, I and Xue-Ping (research assistant at Academia Sinica) was out in Kenting, South Taiwan to collect my coral samples. I stayed in the new hostel at NMMBA (National Marine of Marine Biology and Aquarium). The place is very new and spacious! There are two levels, and each level has 8 double occupancy rooms. My room had two double beds, a nice flat-screen tv and a nice closet. Unfortunately, the internet here is VERY SLOW... well, you can't win all! :).. I guess the place is really for tourist because I rarely turn on the tv at all. Most of the time, I am either out in the lab preparing my tanks, or in the water collecting my samples.

Room

The new hostel

The purpose of this trip is to collect coral samples to acclimate for the next 2 weeks in the NMMBA tanks. Meanwhile, I would be back to Academia Sinica,Taipei to do some bench work. Besides collecting samples, I also scouted out 3 colonies outside the Nuclear Plant region for my field in-situ testing experiment. There will also be 3 other coral colonies, which I had already confirmed within the Nuclear Plant Inlet site. Therefore, I will be performing in-situ field testing on a total of 6 coral colonies at 2 different sites, which have different water flow characteristics and temperature differences. Wei-Jie, an experienced dive guide helped us with the coral samples collection and ID of the colonies. He is very experienced with helping scientific research, and he knows the area very well, making him a very important part of the experiment!

Acropora muricata colony 1

Acropora muricata colony 2

Acropora muricata colony 3

Wei-Jie busy collecting samples... I just need to stay out of his way

The plan was to be at NMMBA for 2 days for this trip. One day for samples collection and one day to prepare all the tanks ready for the experiment. I reckon there should be some fine tuning when we are back in December for the experiment. However, getting most of the tanks ready now means lesser work in December.

Tanks are ready

Coral nubbins are acclimating

Now... back to Taipei to do some more DNA extraction, and get ready to send the samples out for sequencing!...YAY! :)

Moving

Dr. Tang's lab is moving to a new building next week. So we have to stop all experiments this week, and start packing. There are boxes and boxes of flask, tubes, instruments etc. everywhere. It is a hiccup in my planned schedule because I was hoping to finish part of my work this week. However, it gives me more time to write my paper and I can continue my experiment next week.

It was the birthday of two lab members this week - Amber and Jin-Hong. There is huge thing in Taiwan now with huge rubber ducks! It seems that every province in Taiwan had borrowed/ bought this huge rubber duck (about 10m high) from Germany. They had placed it in the rivers and ponds of the respective province as tourist attractions. Due to weather and bad management, these ducks have "die" one after another (the rubber duck burst!)... back to the birthday... so for their birthday, their cake was the RUBBER DUCK!.... :)

Apartment in Taipei

As promised, here are some photos of the apartment I am staying in Taipei. It is located right in the institute, and the rent is about NZD300 per month! I have to pay additional NZD50 per month for the rental to exchange for new bed sheet and pillow case. Washing machines and dryer are located in the basement of the building, and it cost about NZD2 per 40mins wash (I think..haven't use it yet).

It is less than 5 mins walk to the lab, and the location is quiet as well. There are lots of shops around, and restaurants in the institute are not too expensive (about NZD3.5 for dinner) as well.

Excuse the poor quality of the photos. I am taking pictures using my iphone, which my sister gave to me...it is her older 3S version... even my nephews have 4S versions. However, I am very pleased with this phone, having been using a non-smart phone for years...this is a new experience :) The nicer, better quality photos will have to wait until Hannah comes with the better camera.

Living / dining room

Bedroom... single bed..so it will be slightly more cozy when
Hannah arrives :)

Refrigerator

Even has a microwave and water heater

Spotted crane hunting in the artificial pond / reserve
on the way to the lab

Back in Taiwan

Back to my lab and field work in Taiwan. I have been here since Oct 27, but trying to catch up with what I left behind the last time, thus did not have much time to write until now. I will be here until end of January 2014, and then will be going to Singapore for a couple of weeks (for Chinese New Year) before heading back to Auckland.

The goals for this trip is :
- finish all the microbial DNA samples for experiment 1, and send it for sequencing
- conduct experiment 2 (lab manipulation flow-temperature) and part of experiment 3 (field manipulation flow-temperature)
- extract microbial DNA samples for experiment 2 and experiment 3, and send it for sequencing

Hannah is joining me in Taiwan on January 1st, 2004! We know that it is a luxury when our budget is so tight. However, I knew that it is going to be tough for both of us when I am going to be away for 3 months (especially through Christmas, New Year and our wedding anniversary!). Therefore, I convinced her that we should try to get her on this trip, and we would save more when the school starts next year. Also, we feel that it is a good time to visit my parents for Chinese New Year as well.

I am trying to get as much done as possible before Hannah reaches Taiwan. I was (secretly, hopefully) hoping that I can get the last week off from work so that I can tour around Taiwan with Hannah. Believe it or not, this is my third trip, and I have only been around the research institute and my field site! Not much touring around the rest of Taiwan.

This time I am staying in the hostel in Academia Sinica. The place is SO MUCH better than the last one (I will try to put up some photos soon) and the rent is cheap as well. Accommodation is paid using the research funds, but I need as much funds as possible for all the stuffs that I need to work on.

Busy, busy...