In this lab we asked the question, how can DNA be separated from cheek cells in order to study it? We found that DNA can be separated by using three steps which were homogenization which breaks down the cell membranes and nuclear material, lysis which disintegrates the cell by ruptures of the membrane, and precipitation which deposits a substance in solid form from a liquid. After we added salt, detergent, pineapple juice, and isopropanol alcohol into the saliva and gatorade solution, pieces of DNA started to come up into the alcohol because the alcohol was nonpolar and the DNA was polar. In one of our previous units, we had a vodcast about the four macromolecules which included phospholipids which had a polar head and a nonpolar tail which is similar to this lab but instead the DNA is polar and the alcohol was nonpolar. This data supports our claim because it shows how using the three steps can make DNA separate from cheek cells.
While our hypothesis was supported by our data, there could have been errors due to having to much of the gatorade solution in the test tube and not properly adding the alcohol into the test tube. These errors could've affected the results, because if the alcohol mixed into the gatorade solution the DNA wouldn't appear and having too much gatorade solution wouldn't allow the amount of alcohol that was needed for it. Due to these errors, in future experiments I would recommend to measure the solution more accurately and do things more carefully and take more time on it.
This lab was done to demonstrate about DNA which we learned about in the first vodcast of this unit. From this lab I learned more about the steps for extracting DNA and how DNA is polar, which helps me understand the concept of DNA. Based on my experience from this lab, I now know how to extract DNA from cells and it could help me later when I have to do something similar to this lab.
No comments:
Post a Comment