1. Spring Semester 2012-13
University of Puerto Rico - Cayey
RISE Program
Template for Laboratory Summaries of Assignment 3 Biol. 4997-Biomedical Techniques
Due date May 3, 2013
Reg.# 7 Name Juan E Maldonado Weng Date: 3 de mayo de 2013
Summary 7. Phages & Proteomics February 8 & April 12
In this laboratory workshop, much has been learned about bacteriophages. These impressive
organisms, or non-living things (still in debate), are viruses that affect bacteria. There are widely
diverse and, like fingerprints, every phage is unique. Much is not known on how they can be applied
usefully for humans but they are very interesting for their behavior and diversity. For reproduction,
each phage invades a bacteria and duplicates within it. In the workshop, a soil sample was tested to
see if there were any phages. In a plate of broth, bacteria were added to feed phages so they could
have been revealed as little hollow dots on the plate. This technique was done various times until
recently. This discovery of a phage has led to the purification process which is to pick out a single
phage from the cluster. Even though the purification process is not yet completed due to the
recentness of the discovery, the goal is to reveal the protein strands of the phage. This workshop was
difficult yet very rewarding.
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Summary 8. Water sampling, testing, and statistical application March 8 & April 26, 2013
In this fascinating workshop, water that you drink might have small communities. The goal was to
understand how to test the quality of water. Many sources of water may be found contaminated by coliforms
which are microorganisms. It is very important to understand that even though the water might have these
microorganisms, it is still safe. It might be even safer than processed water because the amount of chemicals
used can be harmful. Water samples were brought and tested. Because of these tests, a result might bring
the fact that this researcher’s high school’s water supply, which is open for people who live in rural areas, is
quite clear from contamination. The results, which were verified with a repeated testing, could be doubtful

2. as it is unclear if the water is treated by the school. Even though the results are uncertain, the workshop by
Prof. Arce was very helpful because of the understanding of contamination and water-quality testing which
will always benefit the community. Water is the source of life and it continues to support it.
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