Hey everyone! This week was a little bit of a shock, and my plans didn’t go as expected. I was supposed to receive the shipments of bovine amniotic samples from Canada this week, but I found out that the barn where the samples were supposed to come from burned down and the owner is in the hospital… please place your prayers for him.

As for the samples, it’s a waiting game now, and I’ll have to figure out a new plan moving forward. After talking to my advisor, we are looking for a new place to ship samples from, and I may have to fly out to collect the samples. With the bovine samples on hold, I shifted back to working with the equine amnion in the lab. It was a short week because of spring break, so I only made it to the lab once. I spent that time working with powdered equine amnion, packaging it into vials for future analysis. The goal is to make around 1,000 vials between my partner and me. We measure out the powder and put it into the vial with a funnel, measuring out to 0.025-0.03 grams, which is quite difficult. 

The most exciting news is that the horses are finally arriving at the farm this week! I’ll be doing some night watches to help out with the animals and, hopefully, collect fresh amnion samples during the foaling process. It’s not a typical way to gather research data, but I’m excited to work with the animals again this year.

For now, the bovine samples are on pause, but I’m hopeful there will be more updates on that front next week. This week was a mix of unexpected setbacks and small wins, but it’s a reminder that research doesn’t always go as planned. Thank you so much for sticking around and here’s to waiting for better news next week!