Our "Mini" Accident

This last weekend on the ranch was perhaps the most exciting one yet, but for all the wrong reasons. Don't worry I'll get into that later on in the post. Our duties for the day were pretty simple: Clean out the stalls and bathe all the horses. The first part was pretty simple. When we arrived at the ranch, all the horses were already put out to pasture. All we had to do was clean out all their droppings from the stall and put down new floor shavings. After that, we had to go bring them in for their baths. This is where things got difficult. The two minis were in a pasture adjacent to the regular sized horse, and we decided to go wash the minis first. Since they're so small we usually wash both of them at the same time. So all of us went to go bring in the two of them. However, there was one problem, no one shut the gate. One of the first rules Mr. Ames taught us was always shut the gate behind you when you enter the pasture. We all forgot this one simple rule, thinking "The person behind us will shut the gate." Well, everyone thought that and no one ended up actually shutting the gate. When we went into the pastures the minis were already running around trying to avoid us. Then they saw that the gate was open and made a dash for it. Unfortunately, the main gate to the street wasn't closed either and the horses escaped onto the road. Mr. Ames wasn't on the ranch at the moment either so it was just up to the interns to get the horses back. VIjeeth and I tried running down the horses but realized even with their short legs and swollen stomachs they were still much faster than us. We were just hoping and praying that they didn't keep running out to the main road because there was no way any car would stop in time to not hit them. Eventually, they got distracted by some bigger horses and went to go "talk" with them. Seizing our opportunity Irene and Sarah (the other ranch hand) coaxed the minis back to the pasture with watermelon and disaster was avoided. Unfortunately for us, Mr. Ames did see us running down the street after the minis, however, he wasn't mad at all (thankfully). In the end, we were all just glad neither of the minis were hurt. 

We received a surprise later on in the week that Treasure, one of the minis, gave birth. She wasn't showing any telltale signs of impending birth when we were on the ranch. e could only conclude that all her running loosened her up to give birth!

Minis exploring their new stall

Minis grazing

Treasure with her foal

Look at how small the foal is!

Live Birth!

Hey, everyone!

In this post, I wanted to talk about the first birth on the ranch that I got to witness.

Vijeeth and I were doing our regularly scheduled night-watch duties. I got there a little earlier than usual at about 10 PM and he arrived at around 12:30. When we're on night-watch Mr. Ames usually sets up a live video feed on a laptop showing footage of the stables. We usually keep an eye on this while we do other things throughout the night. This night was no different. Things started getting weird shortly before 1 AM though. We noticed Mystic (the horse that was on high alert of giving birth) urinating an unusually large amount of times. This got our attention first but didn't raise any immediate red flags. Then suddenly when she turned around we saw a sack hanging out of her. At this moment we rushed to wake up Mr. Ames and his wife to tell them her water had broken. When we went out to the stables we could already see one of the foal's hooves sticking out within the amniotic membrane. We had to wait for more of the body to be sticking out before we could do any collection. As more of the body passed out Mr. Ames sliced open the amniotic membrane and vacuumed the amniotic fluid into a container. Then he had to make sure to collect the membrane as the foal's body came out. If he waited too long and the membrane fell to the floor, then the membrane would have been contaminated by the floor shavings and would be useless. However, the collection was a success and we were able to collect everything we needed cleanly and safely. One weird thing about this birth was that Mystic never laid down. Most mares prefer to give birth while laying on their side as it widens their birthing canal and makes passage of the foal easier. We stayed a while after the birth to watch the foals first steps, see it drink milk, stretch out the placenta, and wash the amnion. In the end, both mare and foal were healthy and that's what matters.

First sight of the foal

But wait. there's more!

Mother sees foal for the first time

Foal's first steps

Fully stretched out placenta.

Arizona Lumberjack?

Hey, everyone!
In this post, I wanted to talk about my experience being a lumberjack for a day. 
All the way in the back of the Ames Ranch is a massively overgrown mesquite tree. The tree is in a corner of the largest pasture and because of its size makes a portion of the pasture inaccessible to the horses. Our solution to this? Just cut down some of the tree. Easier said than done. For those of you unfamiliar with what a mesquite tree is, let me explain. They are native to the Southwestern United States and can grow up to 26 feet tall. Oh, and they also have thorns that are up to 3 inches long. Mr. Ames provided us with gloves which kind of helped except some of the thorns pierced right through them. Our foam bottom shoes also stood no match to the thorns. In the end, Vijeeth and I had to tough out the pain and just do our job. Mr. Ames went in with the chain saw, and we dragged the chopped up pieces and formed a pile. After a while of cutting, Mr. Ames finally was able to get to the heart of the tree, which is when he realized there were actually two separate trees growing from the same spot. It would have taken too long to chop down both trees completely, so he called an audible and decided to just trim both of them instead. The idea was to clear out most of the undergrowth, so the horses could come in and lay down in the shade from the tree during the sweltering summer months. Towards the end of our project, Mr. Ames even let me use the chainsaw! All in all, it was a painful day on the ranch, but getting to use the chainsaw and other tools was a pretty cool experience!

Thorns or Road Spikes?

Our enemy

The Heart of the Tree

The Pile

Getting Ready for the Minis!

Hey, everyone! Mr. Ames recently found out we would be getting miniature horses, which sounded pretty cool at first. Then we thought "Since the horses are gonna be so small, what's the chance they'll be able to fit through the bars in the stables?" We quickly realized this could be a major problem and got to work mini horse-proofing a stable. Being on a ranch Mr. Ames, of course, had plenty of unused wooden boards laying around. The plan was simple. Sand, paint, and install the boards on the inside of the stable so the minis can't escape. Easier said than done. One of the immediate challenges we faced was the sweltering Arizona sun. We had to prepare all of the boards outside of the shade of the stables, which meant we had to take turns prepping so none of us would get overly exhausted. The hardest part of the whole process was the actual installation of the boards. None of us had any experience using power tools, so it was new to all of us. Thankfully, Mr. Ames was extremely patient and showed us all how to properly and safely handle the tools. In the end, we were just hoping that the boards would properly serve their purpose and the minis would be happy with our work.

Making sure the boards are big enough

One of the tools we used to cut screws 

Using a table saw to halve the boards

Finished product!

We Won!

Hey everyone, in this post I wanted to touch on a little bit of the business side of Anicell. We recently competed in the Invest Southwest's Venture Madness tournament against other startup companies. Invest Southwest was originally founded in 1992 to help startups in the Southwestern United States by connecting willing investors with the bright minds behind the companies. This year's competition was held in the Valley Ho hotel in Scottsdale. The structure of the tournament itself is very similar to March Madness college basketball tournament (that's why it's called Venture Madness). The tournament pool originally consisted of 64 startups. This group is whittled down to just 16 companies after two online elimination rounds. Companies that advance were chosen by a selection panel because of their innovativeness. The final 16 square off in a live-demo contest where they pitch their company's idea to a panel of investors. We were all invited to watch as Mr. Ames, Anicell's president and CEO, gave a rundown to the panel on why they should invest in Anicell. In the end, we placed second and won $5000, and were all pretty overjoyed. One of the first things I asked Mr. Ames after congratulating him was "So, how much of that is for paying the unpaid interns?" The winning company was Clean Router. They specialize in making wifi routers that help make the internet safer for kids (a good idea in today's online world).

The check

The bracket with all 64 entrants

Cheyenne's New Addition

Normally, we work on the ranch on Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. However, this time we had to go to the ranch earlier, due to Cheyenne showing signs of possibly having her baby. There are a few main signs that let us know a horse is nearing its due date. Some minor ones are restlessness, nipping at the flank, and lots of tail flicking. A few major signs are when their teats get waxed over, or if milk is actually dripping from their udder. The latter of the two usually means the baby is due in the next 24 to 48 hours. Cheyenne started experiencing all of these signs Friday during the day. This is fine because the ranch owner, Mr. Ames, is there to keep an eye on the horse. However, someone else needs to watch over the horse between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. That's where the interns come in. We split up the six hours into shifts for each of us. If we take the latter of the two shifts we spend the night at Mr. Ames house. During the first night, I was scheduled for the 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. shift! Vijeeth had the shift before me, and since it was too late for him to go back home he stayed up with me. Each of the stables is outfitted with a camera. We can watch the camera from inside the house on a laptop, saving us the trouble of having to sit outside in the chilly night air. The main signs we are looking for are if the mare either lays down or her water breaks. Mares usually lay down to give birth, because it widens their birth canal, and thus makes it easier for the foal to come out. However, some first-time mares do not know this, so they may even deliver their baby standing up! 

    

Unfortunately, Cheyenne did not give birth the next night. It was Saturday and that meant ranch duty. Our tasks for the day consisted of cleaning the stalls, spraying weeds and washing the horses. Mr. Ames crafted a pesticide cocktail and put it in a huge tank on the back of a John Deere tractor. Vijeeth and I would take turns driving the tractor, while the other person followed behind spraying any weeds. Cleaning the horses is a three step process. First, we brush them down to remove any loose dirt and hair. Next, we rinse them down. Finally, we lather them up using regular Pantene shampoo and rinse them off. During the process, we make sure to clean their tail and their mane. Lastly, we clean out the underside of their hooves. It is important to remember, when placing a horse's hoof down, make sure your feet are clear of the landing site. I had to learn this lesson the hard way.

   

Since Cheyenne had yet to give birth that meant we had to come back later that night for horse watch. Once again I was scheduled to do the 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. shift. Luckily, Cheyenne had her baby at around 9:30 p.m. that night. Unfortunately for me, that meant I missed out on seeing the colt being born. 

A few interesting facts about foals:

• When a foal is born its legs are already almost as long as they will be when it has fully matured. This is why they look so awkward on their feet at first. It takes some time for them to get used to walking around on their long legs.
• Almost all foals are born with an extra long patch of chin hair (a horse goatee basically) regardless of their gender. Usually, the owner cuts the hair off so it doesn't get too messy, or they can let the hair fall out over time as the foal rubs it on different objects.

                                         

Cheyenne's shampoo of choice

                             

Lansdowne, Cheyenne's new friend, and stablemate.

               Cheyenne and her colt

Amnion processing

Our next week in the lab was spent processing Lil's amnion. This was a tedious process as it involved stretching and cleaning the amnion. Normally, this would not take very long, however, the collected amnion was quite dirty so we had to spend extra time cleaning it and making sure there were no external particles lodged in it. The amniotic sac itself is pretty big as it has to contain the entire foal. This means we have to stretch out the amnion and cut out smaller portion to use in the product. This is further complicated because some parts of the amnion have holes, which we have to cut around. Once we do that we set out the amnion to dry overnight. That is as far as we have gotten with processing the amnion. Thanks for reading!

Dr. Barcelo showing us how to clean the amnion.

Diagram showing where the amnion is in respect to the fetus.

Lab Work

This past week in the lab we helped Dr. Barcelo process Lil's amniotic fluid. Some of the things we learned from him included pipetting, culturing cells, and how to use filters. Dr. Barcelo also taught us the three stages of parturition. Before we could begin any lab work, we had to ensure the lab was spick and span, this meant mopping and spraying all counters. The reason behind this is because a dirty lab could contaminate the product. If the tainted product is used on a patient, then they might develop infections. So it is best to keep the lab clean before any work begins. We also helped package some of the product to be shipped out to veterinarians all across the country.

Lil's Amnion

Cell Incubator

Cell Culture Plates

Filtering amniotic fluid

The Ames Ranch

Lil and her Foal

On the Ames Ranch, we currently have three horses, Lil, Lil's filly, and Cheyenne. Lil gave birth during the afternoon on Friday, February 23. She gave birth a whopping 15 days late! Cheyenne is next up and we are hoping she will give birth sometime within the next few days.

Cheyenne

The next day our tasks at the ranch included washing the new mother and her baby before we sent them back home with their owner. Lil normally is a very calm horse and gets spooked by nothing. However, when we tried bathing her, she would just not stand still. She was very alert and kept moving around, always making sure to keep her daughter insight. It must have been her new maternal instincts taking over!

Cheyenne says "Hi!"

Cheyenne was extremely upset to see her friend leave. Horses are known to be social animals and form close bonds with other horses that they are kept in proximity with. After Lil left, Cheyenne started bucking, neighing, and banging her gate trying to figure out where her friend went. However, Cheyenne would not be alone very long. A new mare came in later that day. I will take a photo of her, and tell you all more about her after Saturday!

First Post - Abstract

The use of stem cells for regenerative therapy is still a developing scientific field. Currently, stem cells can be used to treat a variety of injuries. Anicell Biotech is also interested in healing injuries; however, they are going a different route. Rather than using everyday bone marrow stem cells, Anicell uses amniotic components (amnion is the innermost membrane that encloses the embryo of a mammal and contains a high number of stem cells). Amnion is being used to help dogs and horses recover from what once used to be considered debilitating injuries.
Anicell is one of the few companies using amniotic stem cells for regenerative purposes. I am interested in finding out whether amniotic stem cells are more efficient at wound healing than their bone marrow counterparts.
If equine amniotic cells prove to be more effective than stem cells, then veterinarians will switch to only using equine amniotic stem cells and thus can improve the quality of their patients’ lives by being better able to treat them.