Brooke Leidholt

This project is flying by! I can't believe we are already six weeks in. My goal for the week was to learn how the embryos are evaluated after they are flushed. This turned out to be a lot less extensive than I had originally thought. My biggest struggle this week was fighting the urge to nap instead of working on my project. I'm blaming it on the Thanksgiving food.  Through my research I found that each embryo is evaluated to determine the quality and level of development after they are flushed from the donor cow. Under a microscope the size, color, and texture of the embryo is examined. They are also looked at on the cellular level. Compactness and regularity are two of the main components evaluated. Based on these observations, the embryos are graded 1-4. One is excellent and four is dead or unviable. Grade one embryos are the prime candidates for freezing, but grade twos are sometimes also used. However, the pregnancy rates are usually lowered if grade two embryos are used....

Well, there seems to be a recurring theme present when it comes to my genius hour. Procrastinating is definitely my weakness. I knew we were going to be in Bozeman this week, so what did I plan to do? Not my blog! So, here I am writing it between competitions. This week I learned about the actual flushing of the embryos. This takes place seven days after the donor cow comes into heat. For ease of understandimg I'm going to simplify things a little. A catheter is inserted just past the opening of the cervix and into the uterus. The end of the catheter outside of the cow has a Y-connector so that there can be both an inflow and outflow. Normal saline solution is added to the uterus and is agitated rectally to stir up the embryos. The fluid is then emptied from the uterus, and the embryos are filtered out. This process is repeated five to ten times to ensure all the embryos have been collected. About one liter of fluid is needed for this process. After they are filtered out, the embr...

Well everyone, this week has been hectic to say the least! Apparently missing almost an entire week of school puts you a little ways behind. However, I managed to complete another week of my project. My goal this week was to learn how artificial insemination is used to breed the eggs that we superovulated the cow to obtain. While I mostly worked on this in bits and pieces, I still was able to get a good comparison between regular artificial insemination, and how it relates to an embryo transfer. The most important things to consider at this point in the process is what semen you want to use. The whole objective of this process is to get genetically superior offspring, so it would make sense to choose a bull that upholds the characteristics you desire. While other semen may be cheaper, a higher quality will yield better results for your operation. Artificial insemination is preformed after estrus or standing heat is observed. Because there will be more eggs to fertilize, the cow is u...