DIYBio brand petri dishes!

We had our first DIYBio workshop in Broad Hall on the UCLA Campus over the weekend. The student community from both north and south campus were involved, which included art and science/math majors.

Romie Littrell started things off with a short presentation on the concept and history of DIYBio. His talk kicked off discussion focusing on the safety and security of biotechnology that is open to the public.

Romie (middle, blue) presents to DIYBio attendees.

Big discussion on safety and terrorism issues of biotechnology

The highlight of the workshop included an extraction of DNA from everyday food products, akin to the extraction of DNA from strawberries.

DNA from a cup of green tea!?

lysing cells through a syringe

Everyone is in awe

Looking for the nucleic acid precipitate

Homemade centrifuge

Other demos at the workshop included a sampling of a biological polymer made from cornstarch and other products found in every kitchen.  The red color and taste reminded me of Twizzlers.

Tor Nowlan and Max Belasco explain to us the elegance behind this!

DIY bio Los Angeles Workshop at UCLA! February 27th, 2010 from Kenneth Wei on Vimeo.

We had a diverse group of visitors throughout the workshop over 4 hrs.  Other than science and art professionals,  a lawyer and stay-at-home mother with toddler came to participate.

Check out our Flickr page for more pictures from this specific event.  Stay tuned for an exciting announcement in the coming weeks on the next workshop and the start of our long term project!

Yummy strawberries have lots of DNA

Syndicated from thetech.org “Do-it-yourself Strawberry DNA”

Strawberries, bacteria, humans—all living things have genes, and all of these genes are made of DNA. That’s why scientists can take a gene from one living thing and put it into another. For example, they can put human genes into bacteria to make new medicines.

How do scientists take DNA out of a living thing? It’s not that hard—there are lots of ways to do it! You can follow the directions in the video below to get DNA out of a strawberry. Or you can follow the steps after that. Either way you’ll have strawberry DNA at the end!

What you need:

• measuring cup
• measuring spoons
• rubbing alcohol

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoon Dawn dishwashing detergent
• glass or small bowl

• cheesecloth
• funnel
• tall drinking glass
• 3 strawberries (green tops removed)
• reclosable plastic sandwich bags
• test tube or small glass jar (like the kind spices come in)
• bamboo skewer or kabob sticks  (find them at the grocery store)

What to do:

1. Chill the rubbing alcohol in the freezer. (You’ll need it later.)
2. Mix the salt, water, and Dawn detergent in a glass or small bowl. Set the mixture aside. This is your extraction liquid.
3. Line the funnel with the cheesecloth, and put the funnel’s tube into the glass.
4. Put the strawberries in the plastic bag and push out all the extra air. Seal it tightly.
5. With your fingers, squeeze and smash the strawberry mixture for 2 minutes.
6. Add 3 tablespoons of the extraction liquid you made in Step 2 to the strawberries in the bag. Push out all the extra air and reseal the bag.
7. Squeeze the strawberry mixture with your fingers for 1 minute.
8. Pour the strawberry mixture from the bag into the funnel. Let it drip into the glass until there is no liquid left in the funnel.
9. Throw away the cheesecloth and the strawberry pulp inside. Pour the contents of the glass into the test tube or small glass jar so it is 1/4 full.
10. Tilt the test tube or jar and very slowly pour the cold rubbing alcohol down the side. The alcohol should form a layer on top of the strawberry liquid. (Don’t let the alcohol and strawberry liquid mix. The DNA collects between the two layers!)
11. Dip the bamboo skewer into the test tube where the alcohol and strawberry layers meet. Pull up the skewer. The whitish, stringy stuff is DNA containing strawberry genes!

You can try these steps to purify DNA from lots of other living things. Grab some oatmeal or kiwis from the kitchen and try it again! Which foods give you the most DNA?

Here is a link to troubleshooting tips and FAQ list from the “Extract DNA from Anything Living” experiment: 20 Most Frequently Asked Questions