LAB IS IN SESSION
Like many other programs at Lynn, the College of Arts and Sciences thrives on providing students practical experience, particularly through its science labs.
This semester, there were 16 science lab classes offered alongside their corresponding lectures. In the recent Bio II lab, students worked in groups to test hypotheses about how long flies with different mutations would take to climb a set distance. The activity taught the class about formulating and testing hypotheses, as well lessons including how genetic mutations can affect a fly’s physiology.
In fact, that is just one of the many different labs students can and will take during their time at Lynn. Juan Zhuang, senior, remembers making slime in the chemistry lab. This activity taught him and other students about the properties of plastics by making a substance that had those properties and was fun to play with.
“I love so many of [the labs],” said Anden Velez, sophomore. “My favorite would have to be the ‘make your own’ experiment in the biology lab. I tested how Planarian worms would respond to sugar and caffeine by giving them a Monster energy drink.”
Velez now works as an intern with the science labs and recently presented research on Planarian worms at the College of Arts and Sciences Symposium. He cites the initial lab working with Planarian worms as igniting his interest for doing this work.
Morgan Meltzer, senior, says that the anatomy and physiology labs were her favorite. Meltzer plans to work as a physical therapist and can apply what she has learned toward her future career.
“I think the body is really interesting and I’m fascinated by examining it as close as we can,” she said.
In the anatomy and physiology courses, students dissect and examine animals physically similar to humans to learn about human anatomy and physiology. Alex Edwards, senior, particularly enjoyed the anatomy and physiology lab, drawing application to his future career in medicine.
“Taking apart the heart and the lungs, that was really cool and something you should do if you’re thinking about going into medicine,” said Edwards.
Ray Mackoul, senior, found his favorite lab in Organic Chemistry II.
“We tried to figure out how to extract phthalates from urine. It has relevance to the real world with urine testing, and I enjoyed actually figuring out the correct method to do so,” he said.
Regardless of the individual’s post-academic interest, it is clear the science labs empower students to enjoy their studies while learning lessons that have real-world applications.
