DNA Extraction Lab

DNA is a vital building block of all life. It is necessary for reproduction, and contains the genetic information that is passed on between generations. The lab that we are presented with today calls for us to extract the DNA from a strawberry fruit and report on each of the steps and tell why they are necessary.

  1. The first step was to create a DNA extraction buffer with our groups. This buffer consists of detergent, salt, and water as shown below. The detergent in the buffer is a strong ase and breaks down the membranes of the cells, dissolves the nuclear membrane, and releases DNA. The water provides a solute for the creation of a solution that dissolves the membranes and cytoplasm of the cells. The salt separates DNA from enzymes within the nuclear membrane of the cell and causes the DNa to clump together.

<The ingredients for the buffer before mixing. Salt, liquid detergent, and water.
















   2. Next we poured 10 mL of the solution into a tightly sealed ziploc bag along with the strawberry. Then we would massage the strawberry until it became a paste that was mixed in with the extraction buffer as shown in the picture below. By crushing the strawberry the cells break open allowing the ingredients of the buffer to break apart the membranes of the cells and nuclei.

3. The next step was to place a lining of gauze into a funnel, and to pour the mixture into the funnel as shown below. The gauze separates the DNA and extraction buffer from the solid strawberry debris.

4. Finally, we used our pipette to put a layer of ethanol on top of the strawberry DNA solution. The strawberry DNA cannot be dissolved by the alcohol ad since its density is very low it floats to the top of the solution. The light pink threadlike solution is the strawberry DNA that has floated to the top of the solution. The picture below shows the DNA that has risen into the clear ethanol above the strawberry and buffer solution.

What I learned from this lab is that the DNA in plants and animals can be extracted through relatively simple means. It helped me understand the structure of DNA. Most importantly, I learned that DNA is contained in all living things and is a necessity of life.

Inherit the Wind Reactions

    Inherit the Wind was a particularly thought‐provoking film about the monkey  trial of 1939.  The main themes of this film were freedom of thought and the  necessity of religion.  During the trial Henry Drummond kept making it seem as if  religion was preventing the citizens of Hillsboro from thinking clearly and freely.   They were so wrapped up in God’s interpretation of the world that they failed to  find what they believed there purpose on Earth was.  When the ideas of evolution  shook their town they were so trapped in their philosophies of God that they would  never hear of someone speaking against His word.  One question that I asked myself  as I watched is if religion and firm belief in their God led them to being over‐  exuberant zealots, then why is religion something we need to believe in.  The  character of E.T. Hornbeck proves that religion can save a man.  Henry Drummond  points out that Hornbeck is a lonely, sad shell of a man.  Hornbeck does not bat an  eyelash, but rather walks away with a smile on his face.  I believe always feeling as if you have somebody greater there to help you, and that you are never numb to the  feelings of yourself and others epitomizes the necessity of religion.   Inherit the wind caused me to question many things but I realized that because religion can change people it doesn’t mean I have to be changed.