IE² members showed off the wonders of DNA at the 2010 University Day at the Science Factory, a local childrens’ science museum.

Paul Cziko (Doctoral Candidate, Thornton Lab) and Robin Brown (Undergraduate, Cresko Lab) provided the children (ages 4-12) with the opportunity to extract DNA from strawberries using non-toxic reagents available at grocery stores. After a hands-on, easy protocol which included lysing the cells (dish soap), releasing bound proteins (table salt), and filtering out the cellular debris (coffee filter), the children marveled as long strands of gooey DNA precipitated out of solution upon the addition of alcohol to the filtrate. Each of the budding scientists went home with a small tube of isolated strawberry DNA.

John Willis (Post-doctoral Research Associate, Phillips Lab) showed off examples of the nematode worm C.elegans whose DNA had been genetically modified for research purposes. He explained the power of manipulating DNA within organisms for biological research, and gave the children the opportunity to look at worms expressing the red fluorescent protein (RFP) from a jellyfish gene under an epi-illumination microscope. Children learned to discern males from females, and transformed from un-transformed worms as they slithered around on their bacterial lawn inside the petri dishes.

IE² members participate in University Day each year, held by the Science Factory once per year in the winter. Chemists, physicists, psychologists, and physiologists from the University of Oregon participate in the outreach event to help inspire the next generation of scientists.  This year’s event attracted over 250 visitors. Read more about the museum at http://www.sciencefactory.org/