The Udder Truth: A Tale of Cows, Horses, and Research
This week, I learned that research is like herding cattle because there are just so many directions it can take. Speaking of cattle, my project has officially evolved into a bovine-versus-equine showdown. Instead of just focusing on equine amniotic samples, I’m now comparing them to bovine ones to see which has better growth factors for medical applications.
I also had my first research roundtable in school, where everyone shared updates on their projects. Everyone’s project is at a different place, and it was nice to know that our projects are advancing at different rates but still see progress. When it was my turn, I confidently explained the intentional pivot in my research (as if I hadn’t spent hours last week spiraling over it).
Of course, expanding the project meant diving into more literature, which meant hunting for sources. This part of research should come with a survival guide. Half the articles I found were either completely irrelevant or locked behind paywalls as if they contained state secrets. I did, however, come across a thrilling study on “The Emotional Lives of Cows.” Not helpful for my research, but good to know that cows have feelings, too.
Now, the main focus is comparing the key growth factors in bovine and equine amnion. Are cows secretly superior in the regenerative medicine game? Or will horses hold their ground? Only time (and a ridiculous amount of data analysis) will tell.
For now, I’ll keep wrangling research papers, hoping my project doesn’t take another unexpected turn!
Sources:
Capistrano da Silva, E., Arrington, J., Yau, P. M., Smith-Fleming, K. M., Canisso, I. F., & Martins, B. D. C. (2021). Proteome composition of bovine amniotic membrane and its potential role in corneal healing. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 62(2), 11. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.62.2.11
Roychana, M., Suroto, H., Wardhana, T. H., Chilmi, M. Z., Widhiyanto, L., & Utomo, B. (2025). Comparison of thickness, biomechanical characteristics, and absorption capacity of decellularized freeze-dried amnion membrane from human and bovine sources. Journal of Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Research, 7(2), 161-171. https://doi.org/10.48309/JMPCR.2025.457748.1248
Wells, H. C., Sizeland, K. H., Kirby, N., & Haverkamp, R. G. (2022). Structure and strength of bovine and equine amniotic membrane. Biology, 11(8), 1096. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11081096
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