DNA Analysis

After following the directions I received visible DNA within my necklace. I did not get a lot of DNA to show up, and think this was due to shaking my tube too hard. I shook the tube twice because I was distracted and almost skipped a step. Other possible sources of error may have been cross contamination of the pipettes by other classes, or the cold day could have skewed the process some.

DNA procedure

In his lab we are extracting cheek cells from our mouth. We spit the salt solution with the cells into a cup and then put it into a a test tube. A lysis buffer is added to break apart the cell, and then protease is added to break up the protein. We incubate the protease, and then afterwards add cold alcohol so the DNA strands bunch up. A necklace is made and then we get to wear it!

DNA: Taking A Part of yourself

DNA is what life is made of. All organisms contain DNA and the different genes within DNA give them their individuals traits. DNA is in a double helix structure and the bases connect A to T and C to G. Each base is connected to a phosphate and a sugar. A nucleotide has all three. The four chemical letters make genes which contain information to make proteins. DNA is made into structures called chromosomes and every human has 2 pairs of 23. DNA is found within every cell except for red blood cells. DNA doesn't directly make proteins first messenger RNA copiesbthe genes needed and then carries them to the ribosomes within the cytoplasm. The ribosomes process the information and put together the needed amino acids to make needed prote ins.

Yogurt Discussion

In our data the first test tube contained only milk and came out as a ph of 6. I found this interesting because the second tube with yogurt and milk was also at a ph of 6. The yogurt tube was starting to smell like yogurt but the first tube didn't smell like much. I theorize that bacteria floating in the air changed the ph slightly. Tube 3 containing the yogurt and ampicillin came out with a ph of 7. This makes sense because the ampicilin added must have killed off the bacteria within the yogurt changing the acidity of the solution. Tube 6 containing the ecoli came out with a ph of 7 which surprised me. I believed the ecoli would devour the milk and begin to bring the ph down. I knew they wouldn't turn it to yogurt but I thought there would be more change. The control cup of fully formed yogurt contained a ph of 4 which easily made sense. Some possible sources of error for this lab would be maybe not tightening the cap enough, or the test tubes were not in the incubator for long enough.  

Yogurt; Milk, Bacteria, Science!