Independent Component 2 Approval

1.  Last semester, half of my independent component was taking part in a tar extraction project at the lab I mentor at - the Oak Crest Institute of Science.  I will continue on with it this semester.  The project involves using a protocol developed by my mentor and his colleagues to extract DNA from tar samples.  We have yet to collect fresh samples, but should soon.  There are multiple directions for the project to go in from there, all involving analyzing the DNA, most of which will be of extremophiles (anaerobes, etc.).  The details of the project have yet to be sorted out, and I am not permitted to disclose them once they are.  I also plan on taking an online class, though I have not yet decided which.  Coursera offers a few on the science behind global climate change that could be helpful - one of which is "Global Warming: The Science of Climate Change." offered by the University of Chicago - but all of which begin in March.          

2.  Each tar extraction takes a good four hours from start to end, and multiple extractions should take place.  Add that to the collecting of the samples - which is an all-day affair.  As for the time it would take to carry out analyses, that is to be seen and cannot be detrained as of now.  The online class I plan to take will account for remaining thirty hours.   

3.  Being familiar with what enables extremophiles to thrive in the environment they do will help me better assess how extremophile research can be used to address global climate change.  An example most relevant to the tar extraction project is bioremediation - the use of living organisms to clean up environmental pollution, like oil spills.  To use oil-degrading bacteria for these purposes, much needs to be understood about the nature of their interactions with their environment and with each other before they can be utilized.  The tar extraction project involves this seeking of understanding.  The online course on global climate change will familiarize me with the other half of my EQ.  Together, my independent component 2 will allow me to gain a broader and deeper understanding of how my EQ can be answered by further exposes me to its two facets: extremophile research and global climate change.          

4.  It hath been done.