DNA necklaces, cell cultures, antibiotics test

“Working in a laboratory is fun!” exclaimed one of the young Girls’ Day participants after having isolated he DNA from her cheek cells. The girls were invited to visit the Toolbox and the research groups of Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schamel and Prof. Dr. Wilfried Weber at the Signalhaus on Girls’ Day, the 28th of April 2016. The scientists showed the young researchers how to do several exciting experiments focusing on DNA.

What does human DNA look like? The Girls’ Day participants got to find out with the help of Dr. Nicole Gensch and Efthimia Yousefi at the Toolbox, BIOSS’s service department. The girls took cells from their cheeks and extracted their DNA in a series of steps, after which they filled their DNA in a pendant to wear as their very own special necklace!

Elke Wehinger, a researcher in Weber's lab, helped the girls conduct an instant food test based on synthetic biology methods. The girls tested milk for traces of antibiotics because, just like people, when milk cows get sick, they are given medications like antibiotics, and these can be transferred to their milk. 

Kerstin Fehrenbach, a researcher in Schamel’s lab, showed the girls what it’s like to work in a laboratory every day. She demonstrated what is important to look out for when working under sterile conditions with cell cultures. The participants observed immune cells under a microscope, and they learned how to determine the growth rate and “well-being” of a cell. They also observed how artificially injecting jellyfish DNA in immune cells make them produce a fluorescent jellyfish protein that glows under UV light.