1. Berry Full of DNA Lab
By Shahen Melkonian 2/8/12 Period 6
In science we always hear about DNA. We here about how DNA is the
building block of life, it is ours, and every other living things existence packed into tiny
strands. But other than in pictures, drawings, or videos, have you ever actually seen
DNA? What if I told you it was relatively simple, and all you needed was a few
ingredients… and a strawberry. It’s hard to believe, but not too hard to test. In order to
test this crazy experiment, the Berry Full of DNA Lab was born.
Every cell in a strawberry has eight copies of each of its chromosomes.
This results in a massive amount of DNA in a strawberry. Strawberry DNA is easy to
extract because enzymes that contribute to the breakdown of cell walls. This easy
breakdown of the cell walls allow for the DNA to be rather easily extracted, and easy to
see, making for a fascinating experiment!
If ethanol is poured on the strawberry extract solution then the DNA
should appear in a rope-like formation of bubbles.
The first step in the lab was to place a strawberry in a plastic bag. Then
press the air out of the bag and seal it carefully. Then it was to be mashed carefully for a
couple of minutes. Nextly, detergent solution was added to the bag and the bag was
sealed once more. The strawberry was mashed for another minute to get it ready for the
next step. Then, the strawberry and detergent solution was porn into a test tube through a
funnel that has cheese cloth over it. Finally, a small layer of ethanol was poured on the
liquid in the test tube, and the experiment had been completed.

2. The results turned out to be quite the sight to look at. The ethanol on top
of the strawberry extracted caused pink bubbles to form in the strawberry extract that
formed into a coil.
In conclusion, the results of the experiment went mostly as planned. The
preferable outcome of visible strawberry DNA was reached, but not exactly as planned.
The original hypothesis was that the DNA would be in a rope-like formation, however,
the DNA clumped together to form a coil shape instead of a rope. All in all, the
experiment worked as planned, showing the DNA with the use of the naked eye.
The lab itself went swimmingly, and was, as hard as it is to admit, quite
fun. The process was easy to follow and understand, and generally had more room for
error compared to other labs done in the past. There still are problems with the
experiment and room for improvement. The problem was the mashing of the strawberry.
The word mashing is very general, and Ms.Buckly (sorry if I spell your name wrong!)
had to point out that the strawberries had to be gently mashed in order to obtain the
correct results. And to improve the experiment more strawberries than just one could be
used in order to have a grander display of more DNA as a result.