Today was my third day with the people from The Fish Diseases Laboratory. I sat down first with Sofia who was messing with a bag of blood and guts. She told me she was examining the entrails of dead fish to discover what was causing the lumps, hemorrhaging, and discoloration of the intestines. This was done by using small medical scissors to cut open and examine what is inside of the intestines, especially if there are any parasites. So let me clarify, there is fish poop inside fish intestines, outside of the intestine is slimy and covered in fish blood and guts. I joined in the fun and also tried to cut the toothpick think intestines open lengthwise, not easy. Then I would smear whatever is inside onto my hand to see if I could see any little parasites. After 4 hours of work we found 5, actually she found 5; all I found was fish poop.
The lady on the other side of the table was examining another type of fish for a similar condition, a different species of worm. This parasitic infestation was much more severe, her method was to cut open the intestine and put everything in a Petri dish. Then she would use a small paint brush to pick up the worms. I would estimate she found about 500, she said this was not a severe infestation, it can get much worse.
At about 11AM one of the women closed the door, the windows, and turned off the fans. The room quickly became miserable, then she turned on a giant Bunsen burner… I asked what she was doing and she didn’t immediately answer, only when she put the cover back on the Petri dish did she respond. It turns out she was testing a tissue sample for bacterial diseases. (I’m not sure I completely understand this so please leave comments if you can clarify) This is done by taking a small tissue sample from the possibly infected fish and placing it in saline solution. Then the scientist must make a medium for each disease that might be present in the sample. The medium is a mixture that encourages the growth of the bacteria of the disease while inhibiting growth of anything else. So when the scientist smears a tiny bit of the sample on the medium, if anything grows you know the specific disease is present. The reason the fans had to be turned off was so that the medium would not be infected by any other bacteria in the air. The Bunsen burner was used to sterilize everything that comes in contact with the medium.
We finished the work at around 2PM and I headed back to my room. On the way back I had a discussion with a scientist about Israel. He believed that Israel started the Yom Kippur war with the intention of simply killing Muslims. I think that is ridiculous, I don’t know if Israel was right or wrong but I don’t believe that was their intention. I also disagree on the point that Palestinians are without blame. I think both sides are wrong.
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