Wednesday, March 7, 2012

At Home Experiment

How to Extract DNA
(An at home Experiment for the whole family)

Have you ever wanted to extract your DNA like the pros do?  Here is an easy to follow method.  I will also provide a link to a video at the end of this post.

What you will need:

-A bottle of water
-Dish soap (the clear kind)
-Table Salt
-Rubbing Alcohol

Directions:  Pour the water into a clean plastic cup (about 2 cups).  Measure out 1 Tbsp. of salt and add it to the water.  Mix thoroughly until salt is dissolved. Now comes the fun part.  You are going to gargle the dickens out of that salt water, for about a minute (no really, this is a vital step. The salt water extracts the cells from your mouth. It's not to make you look silly, honest).  Next spit the solution back into the cup and add a small drop of dish soap and stir (Don't you feel like a champ now?).  Now in a separate cup measure out about a 1/2 cup of the rubbing alcohol.  Add a few drops of food coloring.  This will help you see the DNA.  Your DNA cocktail is almost complete.  Tilt your salt water cup slightly and gently pour the rubbing alcohol on top.  It will sort of float and form a layer (You want about 1/2 an inch).  Wait about 2 1/2 minutes and you will start to see little clumps forming.  This is your DNA.

Yay! You did it.  You can now extract the DNA and use it for just about anything.
Like what? You ask.

-If you're a creepy stalker you can add it to someones smoothie. Then just after they drink it you can grin at them saying "You just drank my DNA, I'm inside of you now."
-Leave it around at a crime scene.
-Clone yourself. 
-Make a clone of yourself in the opposite sex and you've got yourself a life partner with things in common.  (Including organs.  Think about it, need another kidney?)

The possibilities are endless.  There you have it folks.  Have fun with your new found skills.  "Extracting DNA" Would also look great on a job Resume. 
But don't take my word for it.  Try it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaaRrR-ZHP4

References:
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/extract-your-dna.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaaRrR-ZHP4


1 comment:

  1. I'd consider trying this if I didn't have to gargle salt water. that stuff is NASTY! Looks like a good science experiment for High School Students!!

    ReplyDelete

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