Today was the day that I really got a feel of how the rest of the camp would be like and would be able to develop a more comfort feel. After falling asleep on almost every lecture the past two days, I figured it would continue until the end of the program. Although they all contain information that I find appealing, some of the speakers add some unnecessary detail that elongate the lectures rather than skipping to the direct point. The introduction to vaults was something that grabbed my attention (but only for a few minutes before I fell asleep) as they can act as vessels to possible help transfer material throughout the body or can be used for addition storage of some kind to help a cell perform different functions. The guest lecture on silver was another engrossing presentation considering I learned a substance I see quite often can kill bacteria.
As for the more engaging tours and activities, I found the microscope attached to a cell phone was a very creative one allowing for more accessibility in microscopy research. The zero wave project was something I looked forward to during the day, but for some reason when I actually got to mess with them, I got bored really quick; it may have been the drowsiness from falling asleep during the lectures. Although the zero wave project did not have any practical everyday uses, it definitely opened many doors for scientific study and I look forward to seeing how some of these new inventions may turn out.
Lastly, the most exciting thing during the day was the spill proof lab coat which repelled the liquids we tossed on them due to hydrophobia in the material.
http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/silver/
http://www.theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Elements/047/index.html
http://wetenschap.infonu.nl/scheikunde/18559-hydrofobe-interactie-of-reversed-phase-chromatografie.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrophobe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vault_(organelle)