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Results!
Results!
Throughout the analysis of the lifespan of D. melanogaster, I was able to determine the significance of 7-Keto DHEA on their lifespan. Because I had determined that with an increased metabolism, there is a decreased lifespan, I was then able to use the correlation between this to measure the effectiveness of 7-Keto DHEA. I separated the flies by sex and then made 8 total vials, two control vials, two low dosage vials, two medium dosage vials, and two high dosage vials, one vial for each sex at each dosage, (Figure 1). I then waited for life to take its toll on the flies, or in other words, waited for them to die, recording how many flies were alive each day until there were no flies left. I took these data points for each of the vials, as opposed to each of the dosages.
Figure 2: Comparison of metabolism after administering 7-Keto DHEA to the fruit flies as measured by their average lifspan in days
After determining that it was appropriate to combine all of my data into one graph of the overall average, I compiled it into yet another bar graph, (Figure 3). I was able to take this graph into consideration to observe that even just visually in this graph, any administration of 7-Keto DHEA did cause a decrease in lifespan, and therefore it increased their metabolism. As a result, I was able to determine that it did have an impact in their lifespan, and I just needed to determine whether or not this impact would be considered statistically significant.
Figure 4: This image depicts how to calculate the Chi Square test, the statistical test that I utilized in order to determine statistical significance in my study.
Figure 5: This figure depicts my Chi Square calculations to determine the statistical significance of 7-Keto DHEA on fruit flies.
(Figure 1) This image shows the setup of my vials, each of which contained ten flies.
After completing the overall analysis, I inputted the average data points for each sex, (Figure 2). Although my initial question did not take the sex into account, it was important for me to put them side by side in order to determine that there were no outstanding discrepancies which could serve as inconsistencies throughout my overall data analysis. Because there was no overall outstanding significance of either males or females consistently outliving the other, it was therefore appropriate for me to combine them into one average moving forward.
Figure 3: This graph depicts the overall average lifespan in days of the fruit flies at various dosages of 7-Keto DHEA
For my statistical test, I used a Chi square test which is used to understand the relationship between two or more categorical variables, (Figure 4). For this specific study, I had four categorical variables, which were my dosages, the control, low, medium, and high. From this point forward, since I was using the overall average as opposed to the average by sex, there were four variables as opposed to eight. Based on this, I determined my degrees of freedom by subtracting one from the four categorical variables in order to get my degrees of freedom of three. I wanted to perform this calculation at a 95% confidence interval, therefore giving me a critical value of 7.815. Any value that is less than 7.815 is considered to be statistically insignificant, and any value greater is considered statistically significant. After determining the basics of this calculations, I needed to perform the calculation four times, (Figure 5). For each calculation, I needed to define what exactly my expected value was, and based on my specific study, this would be the average lifespan for the control vials. When performing the initial calculation, this means that the value for the control is zero because the observed control value is equal to the expected value. I continued this calculation among all of the groups and for the low group I got a Chi Square value of 0.195, the medium group was 1.647, and the high group was 11.611. Through the Chi Square analysis, it was determined that the dosage was statistically significant at the high dosage. Although there was a decrease in lifespan noted at all dosages, it was not considered to be statistically significant until the high dosages.
Discussion!
The data that I obtained did support my initial hypothesis in that the administration of 7-Keto DHEA would lead to an increased metabolism and thus a decreased lifespan in fruit flies. Overall, this strengthens the claim that by taking 7-Keto DHEA, there is an increase in metabolism. Not only this, it also examined the effectiveness of 7-Keto DHEA at various levels, and overall I found that there was increasing effectiveness in higher dosages, ultimately finding statistical significance at the high dosage. Because of the connections that I made in my research, it sparks new inquiries among other variations of these supplements as well as in other model organisms, until there is the potential for this to actually be applied to humans, which overcomes the setback of the FDA not monitoring or approving of these dietary supplements. The overall results of my research are highly significant in that they should lead to further research.
Although my data did show statistical significance in the high dosage, I was also held back by several limitations. One of my largest limitations was time, and while obviously any study is hindered by time, the fact that I only had two months to perform this study only allowed for me to run one trial. However, in the future I would like to run more trials in order to look more into the statistical significance of the metabolism increase caused by 7-Keto DHEA. In addition, as with any scientific study, there is always the risk for human error, such as in my measurements and recordings of death. I may have made small errors in my measurements which could alter the results, and I measured the deaths according to which days the flies died, not exactly what time they died. Again, if I were to repeat this study, I could account for these in a more highly equipped lab which would be capable of more precise measurements, and ensuring that I got the exact times of death of each fly to take a more accurate average. Another limitation that I faced was the fact that I mixed the supplement in, rather than sprinkling it on top, meaning that I am unable to determine if each fly ate an equal amount, or if they ingested as much as they were intended to. In the future, I could try a mix of the methodologies and compare them among each other in order to determine if there really is a difference. In addition, there is really no way to combat the inconsistency in how much each individual fly ate, which means it would be a limitation regardless of the execution of my study. Overall, regardless of the limitations, my study still provides convincing evidence that there should be further research conducted on the impacts of 7-Keto DHEA on various model organisms and their metabolism as determined through their lifespan.
Conclusion!
Overall, the fitness community plays a large role in society today, and more and more people are taking weight loss supplements or supplements to enhance their workout process. However, because these supplements do not have to be monitored or approved by the FDA, they consequently do not undergo the same precautions that other things that undergo in order to enter the shelves for people's consumption. As far as my research goes, it continues to add to the converstaion that further research needs to be done in order to determine whether or not the current advertisements are accurate in addition to adding more security in the claims that are being made. In my research, I determined that there is a plausible correlation between increased metabolism and taking 7-Keto DHEA, meaning that throughout more research, this could eventually be applicable to humans. Overall, knowing that what you are purchasing is actually serving its purpose in critical in the overall reason that people purchase the product, and through further research, this could potentially be connected back to humans, as well as other various supplements in order to determine the overall accuracy of many of these claims. Despite the limitations that I faced in my research, such as time and the overall ability of what was available to me and the fact that I was unable to record the exact time that each of the flies died, I was able to develop an overall conclusion that did exemplify an overall increase in metabolism based on the consumption of 7-Keto DHEA in D. melanogaster. Because of the growing obesity epidemic and the vast amount of money that is currently being spent on weight loss supplements in the United States alone in one year, there is an overall need to determine whether or not what people are consuming is actually effective or if it is solely a placebo effect. Although my research does not directly connect to humans, it is one step in the direction to determine the accuracy of advertisements and how they are being used and the overall consumption based on these advertisements. If it is able to determine the overall accuracy of these claims, although they are not monitored by the FDA, it would be one step in the right direction in order to determine the overall effectiveness of these supplements based on their advertisements. It is also important to address the fact that while yes, it may increase metabolism, there is also the possibility that there will be a decrease in lifespan, potentially in humans as well as in fruit flies.
Reflection!
Reflection!
When beginning my research process, I reflected on many aspects of my life that interested me. Because of my passion to stay active, especially by working out, I am aware that there are many supplements that people take to enhance the effects of working out, whether it be muscle gain, or weight loss, or anything in between. Throughout my initial research, I learned that these supplements are not FDA monitored nor are they FDA approved, which then led me to question how accurate the claims of these supplements were. Initially, I wanted to look into creatine and hair loss, however, because of the lab equipment and time constraints that were in place, this would not have been a manageable project. Because creatine is so large in the fitness community, I began thinking about studying the effects of creatine on metabolism, however, there had already been research done on this. This led me to my path where I then thought about weight loss supplements and whether or not they were actually effective. When looking through a variety of natural supplements, 7-Keto DHEA caught my eye, and as I did further research, I began to become more intrigued. From going through this research project, I would love to look more into the effectiveness of these supplements, since they are not monitored by the FDA, and the fact that people are purchasing them without knowing their full effectiveness.
The research process was constantly changing and was definitely uncertain at more times than not. However, in order for me to be successful in my research and throughout the class, I needed to make sure that I continued to stay one step ahead. When I was planning my research process, I knew more likely than not, time would likely slip out of my hands, regardless of the work that I had initially planned. One way that I decided to be proactive about this was to make sure that I gave myself more than what I thought would be enough time, which ended up being the perfect amount of time, based on some of the setbacks that I faced throughout my process. In addition to this, I made sure that every day I had planned what I needed to do, and made sure to stick to it in order to ensure that I would stay as close to my initial schedule as possible. Although I did face setbacks based on weather, absences, or other abnormal school days, I was able to work through and stick on my schedule, helping me to work through the uncertainty of the research process.
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