Year 10 Biotech Incursion

In week 6, year 10 students participated in a whole day incursion to explore the use of Biotechnology. We spent the day exploring genetic technologies and its applications. Students got to use equipment on loan from USYD and AMGEN, that allowed them to work like real geneticists. We used finn pipettes to explore very small volumes and learned about accurate techniques for measurement. With these skills, students then performed a DNA gel electrophoresis to separate out DNA according to its size, and then visualised it under black light. Other sessions involved performing a DNA extraction using kiwifruit, and problem solving to interpret DNA fingerprinting results. Overall students enjoyed the day, and found it to be a valuable hands on experience.