Classroom Stories and Teacher Spotlights

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Page Contents
 
How a Student Biotechnology Project May Help Save the Redwoods
Ray Cinti

A study called Conservation Biology of Coastal Redwoods, Ray Cinti's ongoing research project at the Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in San Francisco, is generating a lot of excitement in both the school and the community. Using Bio-Rad's Cloning and Sequencing Explorer Series, students in the Conservation Biology Class are studying genetic diversity of redwoods in the Muir Woods National Monument.

Read the full story of the redwood study, learn how Ray came up with the idea and developed it, and find out how the data he and his students obtained may tell us how the redwoods can cope with climate change.

Cloning and Sequencing Explorer Series

Cloning and Sequencing Explorer Series

The Conservation Biology Class follows the complete workflow of the Cloning and Sequencing Explorer Series. The series follows the same workflow progression that is used in academic research laboratories during cloning: from DNA extraction to PCR and bioinformatics. The series allows students to do everything from start to finish, get their own results, and finally apply their data to a real-world research project.

The modules of the Cloning and Sequencing Explorer Series can be purchased separately and used independently for lab classes and projects, and refills are available for all the key components. Additionally, a comprehensive selection of general lab supplies and research-standard equipment is available.

 
pGLO™ in Space and Beyond
Dan Saldana

Students in the Applied Math, Science, and Engineering (AMSE) Institute at Valley Christian High School in San Jose, CA are already experimenting in the next frontier: space. In partnership with NASA, the International Space Station (ISS), NanoRacks (a private company that is involved in putting small payloads onto the ISS) and Bio-Rad, these students have developed a MicroLab chamber that contains bacteria transformed by the introduction of foreign DNA, Bio-Rad's pGLO plasmid. The next experiment, launching in May 2014, will investigate the growth and death of the bacteria in microgravity.

Read about mentor Dan Saldana, a retired aerospace engineer, and how the AMSE Institute was formed. Learn about the challenges and constraints of designing an experiment that can go into space, the details of the experiment, and what the students hypothesize will happen. The full article can be read in BioRadiations, Bio-Rad's monthly online magazine.

Cloning and Sequencing Explorer Series

pGLO™ Bacterial Transformation Kit

The students used the pGLO Plasmid kit to transform the bacterium E. coli. This kit allows students to introduce the GFP gene into the bacteria, and, by adjusting the growth medium, turn fluorescence on and off. This kit illustrates the basics of gene regulation. The pGLO Bacterial Transformation kit curriculum manual is available for free download in several languages.

The pGLO Plasmid kit is the first of a set of kits, the pGLO Plasmid and GFP kits. These kits combine fun hands-on experiences for students, exploration of the fundamentals of molecular biology, biotechnology, drug discovery and protein expression The kits also provide the starting point for teaching and discussion of a wide range of related topics.

 
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