Meeting Summary: CUBE ChatShaala – 24 June 2025

@Arunan @KiranKalakotiR @sakshiconsultant2002 @Theertha @dhanraj7 @Sailekshmi @2020ugchsncnseethala

:clock9: Session Overview

Date: 21 June 2025 (setup)
Time: 9:00 AM SAST (Saudi Arabia Standard Time)


:dart: Objective & Expectations

Investigate the presence of fruit flies

Determine food preferences (choices: tomato, orange, lemon, banana)

Expectation: At least 5 fruit flies, with tomato or orange being preferred


:pushpin: Experimental Setup & Observations

Locations & Bait Placement

  1. Kitchen (near waste bin)
  • Baits: orange slice, lemon slice, tomato, two banana slices

  • Observation times: 9:30 AM, 10:00 AM (no fruit flies detected at either interval)

  1. Outside the hall (near entrance)

Same bait setup as kitchen

  • Observations at same times
    No fruit flies seen

Summary

  • No fruit flies present at either location during the observed time

  • No preference inferred, as count was zero


:writing_hand: Discussion Notes from Whiteboard

Key Scientific Figures & Concepts

:diamond_shape_with_a_dot_inside: Friedrich Miescher (1869) – discovery of nucleic acids

:diamond_shape_with_a_dot_inside: Thomas Hunt Morgan (1909) – early genetics in fruit flies

:diamond_shape_with_a_dot_inside: Watson & Crick (1953) – elucidation of DNA double helix

:diamond_shape_with_a_dot_inside: Mendel’s laws of inheritance, using pea plant traits (e.g., flower colour)

Highlighted Scientist

  • Rosalind Franklin – her contributions to DNA structure via X‑ray diffraction

:herb: Live Organism Examples

Chlorella + Hydra – studied together as Chlorohydra

Other simple organisms illustrated: Amoeba, Hydra, Chlorohydra

:microbe: Cell Diagram

Basic representation of a cell (membrane and interior)


:white_check_mark: Key Takeaways

  • No fruit flies were captured during the trial—likely due to timing, bait placement, or environmental conditions

  • Reinforcement of fundamental genetics and cell biology concepts

  • Introduction to microorganisms and symbiotic or associative studies (e.g., Chlorella + Hydra)


:question: Follow-up Queries

  1. Fruit Fly Study
  • Would extending the observation period or changing bait placement/time increase fruit fly capture?

  • Could different baits (e.g., ripened mango or over-ripe banana) yield different results?

  1. Genetics & History
  • How did Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray diffraction technique complement Watson & Crick’s model?

  • What are Mendel’s laws, and how do they apply to pea plant traits like flower colour?

  1. Microorganism Studies
  • What is Chlorohydra, and how do Chlorella and Hydra interact in that system?

  • How do simple organisms like amoeba and hydra exemplify basic cellular functions?

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