Lab 1: (Cheek cell DNA)

Lab 2: (Stained cheek cells)

Lab 3: (Disrupted cheek cells – Dish soap water solution)

 

Question 1: Which of the above solutions do you believe would be useful in the process of breaking apart all membranes inside of a cell without destroying the strands of DNA?

I believe the first method (first photo) is the useful way to effectively break cell membranes without destroying DNA. I was able to see strands of DNA with my naked eyes without using a microscope. Salt water was used to make cheek cells less soluble in water, which helped the extraction to be proceeded easily. Like it happened in third method (third photo), adding soap water to cheek cells in salt water dissolved cell membranes and nucleus of the cells. This freed the content of the cell including DNA. I was able to extract DNA with a glass rod and store it in a test tube.

Question 2: What did you find interesting/new?

1. The first lab was interesting because we were able to extract and see our DNA. It looked like a limp white fibers. I was surprised because it looked similar to strawberry DNA. I have seen a video about strawberry extraction, but its DNA seemed more stickier and slimier than human DNA.
2. I was surprised that the cells were dyed in blue in the second lab. I was able to see cytoplasm, cell membrane, and nucleus. It was fascinated to see my own cheek cells. They seemed to have bacteria which looked like tiny blue dots around the cells.
3. It was interesting to see cell membranes and nucleus breaking down after adding soap water. They were translucent and looked like empty air bubbles.