Walking all over cancer - My March challenge

So it's been a while since I've had time to update. I've been back in the lab since being in London, and it's been super busy. The first of my big experiments finished whilst I was away over the winter, so since my return I've been starting on new things. My next big project is looking into the levels of neurogenesis (new cells forming) in the Hippocampus of an ageing brain, and whether exercise affects those levels or not. This has entailed taking brain tissue samples, processing them, sectioning them and staining them with various different stains. I'm looking for new cells forming, looking at new neurons that have formed, and the number of cells that have survived for 28 days.

Staining my sections for neurogenesis

I was originally planning to spend 4ish months doing this work, taking my time a bit and making sure it all went nicely and smoothly. Instead I then discovered that the conference my supervisor wants me to attend is this November, meaning I have to have some data and an abstract ready by the start of May. Well that sped things up rather significantly, and I'm now having to do things in a much shorter timescale. It also doesn't help that we have undergraduate project students in the lab currently, who are also happening to be doing brain tissue sectioning and staining. At the same time as me. This makes things rather awkward and frankly annoying as there is simply not enough of all of the equipment to easily share so I'm having to constantly dance around them and work extra fast with people hovering over my shoulder watching me and waiting for me to finish with the equipment so they can walk off with it. Very frustrating!

Anyways, onto other news. This March, cancer research were asking people to do 10,000 steps every single day to raise money for them. So I decided to sign up. Now, to some people, 10,000 steps a day sounds like nothing. I know some people do far more than that every single working day. But for me, before March, I was averaging 6-8000 steps a day at most. And in London it was even worse when I was spending all day sitting at my computer desk. But I have 2 good legs, and I can use them. I can't run marathons and I'm too chicken to go up to a high place and jump off it with a parachute or climb down it with a rope. But I can walk, and walk for a long time. And I might as well do it for a good cause as well.

1st March - 11th March

I'm doing good so far. I've hit my step count every single day so far. And I intend to keep hitting it. Even if it means spending 20 minutes wondering around my little flat on some evenings to make sure I've gone over the number I need. I'm hoping that the money I raise doing this can help someone, somewhere, somehow.

If you would be willing to sponsor me, even if its just 10p, I'd be really greatful. If you follow THIS link, you'll find my page for sponsorship and my personal reasons for doing this. Thank you

Nel