When we have informal discussions like in ChatShaala or in general as well, the interconnectedness of all walks of STEM comes out to be very evident, which is very difficult to relate to when in a Typical Academic Setting. In a Biology Class, the discussion will be limited to biological systems and the same with Chemistry, Physics, and Math. But here at Living Academy, we are talking about a trans-disciplinary approach.
To quote:
I am Abhijeet Singh, and I have been a part of CUBE (Collaboratively Understanding Biology Education) since 7th Grade. I’m about to Graduate Soon (Journey of CUBist). Though we have a keen interest in Biology and Biology Education, the discussion of CUBE is never limited to it. We always cross the trans-disciplinary barrier as the context of the discussion demands.
I have been culturing various organisms in my Homelab since the lockdown period. These are used as a context to address the contemporary curriculum and curiosity of CUBists. I came to know about Living Academy and thought about sharing these organisms to start with the Biology Corner of Living Academy.
1st organism I brought is Moina, a freshwater organism commonly referred to as Waterfleas. These are from a single mother Moina, which means they are of the same species, i.e., Moina macrocopa, as its identification was done by CUBists around 2016-17. It is used to address questions of Epigenetics and Molecular Biology as well as Environmental Biology (Will discuss more about it later)
I also brought seeds of Cardamine plant, which is of the mustard family, and it has been used as an organism to be used for research (Model Organisms) by CUBists and Scientists of Plants Sciences. Arabidopsis thaliana is a widely used plant for Plant Science Research but has limitations as it can only be found in temperate regions. Cardamine, which is a close relative of Arabidopsis, is now being looked upon as a powerful system to study as it has no such limitations.
We emptied one corner of Living Academy and cleaned it for the Biology Space.
In the tank, Fresh Dchlorinated water is added and 10-15 moina from Abhijeet’s original Culture was added into this. Sahamatha here is adding label to this culture
GN is adding soil in the seedling tray in which later seeds of cardamine will be added.
Ali is helping in sowing single seeds into each seedling well.
We made tank and bottle cultures of Moina and a Seed tray for sowing the seeds of Cardamine.
Ali, Sahamatha, and GN helped set up this biology corner, and it’s ready for STEM enthusiasts to explore.
