Biotech Lab with Dr. Franklin
Today was day of tomato cloning =D... Dr. Franklin gave us a workshop so we can all have exposure and hands on work with DNA restriction digest (gel electrophoresis), Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), gene gun shooting into medium, and rooting your own plant (aka cloning). Pictures from Gwyneth's camera.
Steps are vague because we did them in separate groups and time was cut through pre-preparation of people in the lab. A DNA restriction digest is when you cut DNA with an enzyme at specific sites and then you check it by "running a gel" (aka restriction digest). We also did a PCR... it's a basic molecular biology technique used to copy DNA (we can copy them into lots and lots). PCR result can be run in a gel also. We then went into gene gun shooting. This little refrigerator looking thing that used helium to shoot DNA-gold-covered particle into the medium where the tomato seeds (? I didn't really get this part). We also rooted our own plant into a sterile environment (a little box free of bacteria...air...and any bad things).. We placed it in nutritious medium and it was ours to keep and cherish (we still need to get them after incubation).
Dr. Franklin demonstrating
Pipette
Pipette practice
Jasmin
Dr. Franklin explaining while I was trying to understand (my face is confused)
Part of the apparatus used for restriction
What we were around
Students at work
Gel under UV light
Us around and amazed at the UV light and Dr. Franklin using a pancake spatula to pick the gels and throw them away
Sterile little boxes of already grown tomato plants
Preparation of the gene gun
Preparing gene gun (notice the little door to the fridge looking apparatus)
Under a heater and cooler for PCR
Everyone around the PCR demo
Gwyneth took a picture while on stairs
REU students
Me on the phone while the others modeled after LAB
Fun Day. =)
Paper Writing Time.
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