Engagement: Part 2
(A Real Cliff-Hanger!)

Much of the main function of this set of three quizzes (this is the second) is to break the student out of stereotypic thinking, and be open-minded - a quality needed to make advances into new realms. It is strongly suggested that the answer to the previous quiz "Sis!" be read before proceeding with trying to answer this one.

..... Mary Lou and Jimmy slinked forlornly out from the meeting hall and onto the verandah which sat above towering cliffs overlooking the ocean. Crushed, Jimmy stood off at a distance, while Mary Lou looked over the low rock wall and watched her tears fall and disappear to be dashed upon the distant rocks far below. ..She sat on the wall and swung her legs over contemplating sending her whole self dashing upon the rocks just as those tears had also been dashed - to say nothing of her future happiness. ..Just then her mother poked her head out the door: .. "Oh, there you two are," she said happily. .."Oh, oh! ..Did you two have a spat? ..You'll have to tell me about it later, I'm late - I've got to run off to meet my sister." .. "But, Mother, isn't Jimmy's mother your sister?" choked out Mary Lou. .."Well, yes, sort of-: she's my sorority sister. .. Gotta run now. .. Be good! ..I'm sure things will work out between you both."

.....Jason and Wilbie were hot and tired after spending the early part of the next morning heating and pouring starch solutions to gel in horizontal electrophoresis boxes (fig.1).
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.....Then, while it was still molten, combs were inserted to form wells (fig.2).
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.....What they had in mind was to separate the various components in the serum, cut up each of the lanes in the gel into little pieces and then liberate each component from the gel pieces by degrading the gel with alpha-amylase. .. They would then test each component for its ability to inactivate the T4 and CMV viruses. .. So once the starch had solidified, they pulled out the combs, added a little bromophenyl blue ("tracking dye") along with some serum to each well, then turned on the power supply to start the serum molecules moving (fig.3), and next went to rest and cool off at a nearby deli while the molecules were being separated one from another. ..

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.....Almost immediately after the boys had left, Mary Lou bopped in late, and took a look at what she thought was happening. ..She noticed a container full of small filter-paper squares nearby, and figured that the boys had forgotten to put them into the gel. .."Maybe I can get two things done," she speculated. .. "If I add a drop of both viruses to each little square and put them into the gel, I can see if I can separate the viruses, too. .. So let me do that and I'll put them into the gel in a pretty pattern (fig.4) - not that boring straight across way everybody else does. ..Why don't they have imagination!?"

.....The boys returned to the lab three hours later, and read Mary Lou's note about what she had done. .. They were furious! .. "She's ruined this!" .. Crestfallen, the two boys didn't even bother to turn the power off, and just went outside to watch an intramural baseball game in the field next to their lab building. .. It was in the middle of the third inning when Wilbie jumped up, made some sort of happy sound, and told Jason that he was searching for the words to tell his buddy about the opportunities Mary Lou had put before them.

.....By the time, the boys looked at their electrophoresis box, the tracking dye had almost reached the end (fig.5).

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....."Great timing!" mentioned Wilbie. Each of the paper squares was removed, carefully cut in half and then each half was set upon a lawn of either E.coli or HeLa cells. Cleverly, they also included blank pieces as controls ("C") to check on any non-specific reactions (fig.6).

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.....The next day, giving time for the E.coli to grow up where they could, and for the slower growing CMV to infect and kill the HeLa cells, this was the result (fig.7):

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.....By the time Mary Lou got to lab - again late, the two guys were not only very excited, but they also had Cheryl, Jim and even Prof. Bengston helping them prepare and photograph their results. .. What was momentous, and what should be done next? (Hint: did you read the answer to the previous Mary Lou quiz? .. It's on the web-site!)

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