Ok, Ok.
It's Friday night and I just did a DNA extraction in my own kitchen.
I'm a true NERD!
I dissolved some sea salt to about saturation in a glass.
I dry brushed my teeth and tongue and cheeks.
I took a small mouthful of the salt water, and spit it into another glass.
I mixed two squirts of soap and some water from the faucet.
I did a 50% mix of soap water with the cell/salt mix. I swirled for a couple of minutes. I added 3 times alcohol to the soap/salt mix and gently swirled.
I see what I think is DNA (looks like a big wad of phlegm).
Is that DNA?
I'm used to commercial kits where cell debris is spun out as a pellet.
Did I do this right?
Thanks for laughing with me!
2007-05-11 16:00:00 · 8 answers · asked by dumbdumb 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
Yes, that is DNA. However, it is nowhere near as purified as what you have seen spun down to a pellet. THAT DNA has been stripped of all of the other cellular debris and histone proteins. YOUR DNA still has lots of that junk in there, and is almost certainly a blend of DNA from you and also the bacteria living in your mouth (and maybe even from the leftover food bits in your teeth).
I do a very similar experiment with my 9th grade biology students, They LOVE it.
2007-05-11 16:12:55 · answer #1 · answered by Gaines T 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That was probably DNA. If you want a higher yield, with more dramatic results, get some dry yeast, and pulverise it in a mortar and pestle until it becomes a smooth paste, and use that, instead of a mouth wash-out.
2007-05-11 16:31:59 · answer #2 · answered by Labsci 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes it would be right. DNA looks like a white, coagulated/stringy blob or phlegmy looking swriling in the solution...well done.
2007-05-11 16:16:38 · answer #3 · answered by mareeclara 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I dont think you can truly "see" DNA like that.
The thing is, DNA is part of the protein synthesis process...
First DNA is within the nucleotide of cells; which is transcripted to RNA and mRNA for the ribosomes to "read". THe ribosomes then sequence amino acids in its sequences to make proteins
So considering you can hardly see ribosomes with a light microscope; chances are you cant see DNA
2007-05-11 16:05:22 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋
When you specifically ask for only a certain part of the population to answer, you make the rest of us feel inferior and unwanted. If that is your intention, shame on you. If not, try to be more sensitive next time, not to exclude anyone who may want to answer however limited their knowledge may be. That is probably how nerds got their reputation as being socially awkward.
To answer your question, I think what you did was yucky and gross. Don't be spitting in glasses.
2007-05-11 16:08:12 · answer #5 · answered by butrcupps 6 · 0⤊ 5⤋
Yeah, it probably is. You'd get higher yield though if you used wheat germ or pea seeds. check this link.
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/units/activities/wheatgerm/
2007-05-11 19:34:26 · answer #6 · answered by shreya g 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
2 words: Maury Povich He needs to change the name of his show to "Who the Babby's Daddy Is?"
2016-04-01 07:32:21 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As a nerd, you know you did it right; crudely, but efficiently.
2007-05-11 17:45:42 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋