Extracting DNA from a banana was good, but we wanted to see our own "molecule of life." To achieve that, we prepared salty water ...
... and four brave girls gargled the disgusting beverage for a long, full minute ...
... before spitting it in a communal glass, plus some on an unsuspecting teacher (no hard feelings), plus some on the floor.
The girls say it was not pleasant (and I believe them) but they did it! And we harvested a lot of human DNA.
Human DNA looks just like banana DNA. All DNA, be it from a bacterium, a plant, a fish, a fungus or a human, looks exactly the same. Because it is the same!
Model building
This went really fast so we had time to build a DNA molecule, just like old Watson and Crick, the team that officially figured out the DNA molecular structure in the 1950s.
This is James Watson and this is Francis Crick, Crick, Crick...
Each girl made up a short DNA sequence using the A, T, G, and C alphabet and built the corresponding molecule.
Then, they joined the four short molecules together and made this!
No, we didn't forget you, Rosalind Franklyn, the "Dark lady of DNA" or your DNA pic that was essential for Watson and Crick to solve the structure of DNA.
We actually watched and discussed this video on class one:
Next time we'll talk about DNA fingerprinting. Till then!
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