Applied Anatomy

Today's blog is not about the direct study I am conducting on these calves, but on the study I am helping the veterinarians with.

Being a part of a necropsy is still not an easy part.  Even though I have gone through some before, I still feel uneasy about having to put an animal down, specially after caring for it from birth until this time.  To any reading this, keep in mind that even though these animals are put down, it is in the most humane way possible (euthanasia by a licensed veterinarian).

Upon opening the animal I began to recall all of the information I had learned from anatomy and my nutrition courses.  From previous high school biology laboratories, and past research I knew what cats, frogs, and pigs were like.  However, I had only learned from books the characteristics of the 4 part stomach of cattle, it was not until now that I was able to apply the information I knew well.

Although, we did not cover in extensive detail the lymph system in cattle I was able to know the general area where each lymph node should be based on the human model we learned.  The lymph nodes seemed much more difficult for me to find on my own, but they are similar to small round balls found on the connective tissue areas that surround the organs.  Pieces of each lymph tissue of each organ in the digestive system were taken, swabbed, and smaller samples frozen with liquid nitrogen.  This was done for all of the calves at day 21.

These samples along with the blood sample I took before will all be analyzed on a later date.

Tips on Obtaining Undergraduate Experience

There are times when it seems to me as if I am just doing what is expected of me or doing what many other students would do in my place.  I only begin to really feel accomplished once I have completed what I have wanted to do, and those around me (most importantly my family) feel pride and look to me for guidance.  This post is meant for those students that wonder how any student can get some experience in animal science, which really can be applied to any field.  Specially for freshman, when the idea of finding a professional willing to help an inexperience 18 year-old seems almost impossible.

Many of my colleagues have grow up in farms or have worked and owned numerous pets, they may also have great connections through their family members.   I seem to be the complete opposite of these students, I was born in a large city (Bogota, Colombia) and have moved to the United States where I had no contacts with any faculty in Animal Sciences.  The first and what I found is the best step is to introduce yourself to professors or the professional that you have an interest in working with and talk to them about your interest.  I have found many are willing to work with and help students that have an interest in their field and the initiative to ask.  Because they do teach several classes, and have their graduate students, etc., they may lose track of the email you send or forget this is why perseverance is key.  Allow them a week to respond if an email is sent or schedule a meeting with them.  It may seem as though you are bothering them at first, but it is always important to remember that they are there to help students develop and find passion in a field.  

It is also certainly possible to work on more than one project, but organization is key.  Another important idea that seems logical, but a few seem to forget is the importance of communication.  Being able to talk with that professor or veterinarian, etc. and understanding what you both hope to obtain from the research or experience.  

Another great way to learn about an experience is using those resources available through the career center, clubs, or other organizations.  I found a great program the the Latino Cultural Organization at the University of Illinois that I did apply and get accepted to.

I personally wanted to get the most out of my undergraduate years in order to both do what I enjoy most and learn a wide variety of things throughout my work.  Those are pretty much the simple and quick tips I use to find a way to work in my field more.  This is what I did in the Spring and before I knew it this summer I am currently working on two different research projects in which I hope to present both at different symposiums, involved in two research programs that help students prepare for graduate school, taking a graduate level summer course, and volunteer as a medical intern at the humane society.  

Gut Microbiome

On Thursday I was able to go to Fair Oaks farm where they keep around 4,000 dairy cattle.  I was amazed  at the cleanliness and almost odorless farm compared to all of the other farms I have been at.  It is incredible to see how such a large farm can have such high hygiene and be so environmentally friendly through its recycling of manure.

As we were waiting for some calves to be born I started thinking about the micro biome.  I was thinking about the way calves go from such a sterile environment to one full of bacteria as they are born.  Bacteria contribute to the metabolism of the host, sort of like an external metabolic organ.  The micro biome is what helps digestion and creates heat in the rumen, for calves the milk is digested in their small intestine (until they fully develop their rumen).

Newborn calves are initially exposed to a wide variety of microbes as they are born through the birth canal.  The procedure we did two days ago on the newborn bull calf in this experiment was to place the calf in the small tub as it is born then the mother is allowed to lick the calf while her udders are sterilized to obtain colostrum and measure it to see adequate levels of IGG, immunoglobulins, to be at least 50 g/l which in the brix scale is around 21-22%. Blood is collected from the tail vein for the cow and through the jugular for the calf before feeding. We feed the newborn calf two liters for the first feeding and one liter and a half two hours later.


Picture Below:  I am just including this picture to show how we feed the calves.  However our bull calf would not have direct contact with other calves like this calf did.

Video Below:  This is an example of how a mother will clean her calf and stimulate it to move.  It is also exposing the calf to more of her own microbes.

Delayed Research

We are currently still delayed in the project.  There have unfortunately been no bull calves born at the University of Illinois Dairy Farm.  However, we have all been informed that  because of the difficulty of getting bull calves we will obtain calves from a larger commercial farm.  I do not know the exact name of the farm, only that it is an hour away from  Champaign.

Our plan is to spend a day at the farm to be present during calving and collect colostrum under sterile conditions for this experiment.   Because of this change in plans, the experiment is on hold while the veterinarians arrange dates with the farm managers of this larger farm.

I guess the life lesson that can be derived from this is to always have a back up plan for research dealing with animals. Nature and animals may not always cooperate the way you plan it.

Besides this, through the classes I am taking and this research  I have developed a larger interest in the nutritional side of animal science.  It is incredible to learn in a deeper level how much nutrition affects the health and behavior of animals.  I hope that what I am learning in my two animal nutrition classes (companion animal nutrition, and animal nutrition) will give me a better understanding of this project when we are interpreting the results of the overall research and my research.

Additionally,  I have recently applied to another internship for the summer.  Currently I do not know what project I will be working on since they did ask each student applying to propose three different ideas.  Even when I participate in some research in the summer, I often find myself wasting summer watching several television shows.  Also because this is my junior year, I would like to get some more hands on experience with animals.

The Animal Science Society

I have not posted very much recently because we are still waiting on the bull calves to be born.  In terms of the study I am conducting and the study I am helping with we have not started.  Next weekend there are supposed to be some calves born, I really hope at least one is a bull calf.

Other than this slight disappointment, I did get such great exposure to the Animal Science community.  On March 17th I was able to go the the Midwest Animal Science Meeting to present my past study.  Because there were some graduate students presenting, we had the road trip to Iowa two days before my actual presentation.  I believe this event would be small and I could only watch a couple of the professor's presentations, which would be similar to in class lectures.

To my surprise this event was spectacular! It was a large event where they allowed both graduate and undergraduate students as well as professors from other colleges to watch any presentation.  There were numerous presentations given at any time so I was able to pick which I wanted to go to.  I met both professors and students from different colleges and countries.

Watching how much enthusiasm each one had when they would discuss their area of interest within animal science made me realize just how diverse this field is.  Throughout college I have learned that animal science is not only this stepping stone towards veterinary school (my goal and what most students in this field at the University of Illinois want), but there is so much more that you can head towards and do as a career.

Caring for Baby Animals

This study will be a very welcomed change from the hard labor it took to care for 23 beef bulls.  Needless to say I am very excited for the day the calves for this study are born. Unfortunately the calf that we were waiting for turned out to be a heifer (these will not be used for the study).  This means we will have to wait until this weekend to see if we can start this study.  I was initially a little disappointed, but we still have plenty of time to conduct this research.

The study I will be working on  is measuring bovine interleukin-1 (IL-1 beta) beta levels in neonatal dairy  calves during their first day of life. The IL-1 beta is important as a mediator for inflammatory response.  I believe this project will be extremely interesting, it is a field that does not have very many publications.  My role for this research will be a little of everything, since it is my own little research I will be (hopefully) taking a part of every aspect of it.  I am sure I will also be obtaining help from veterinarians and other animal science students.  This research will be a great way for me to really continue practicing my skills in animal handling, blood drawing, and ELISA immunoassay (used to determine the IL-1 beta levels).