Lab work

Tuesday was my first day working in the lab with Dr. Dowling. What I did was PCR, which stands for Polymerase Chain Reaction. Basically, the DNA sample is denatured by a high temperature (for example) and due to this, the DNA splits into two strands. Then, on each strand, PCR basically rebuilds a new base pairing strand to complement the existing strand. So, each time you run the reaction, you get double the amount of DNA which you started with. (Started with one DNA, split it into two strands, and built upon each of those strands for each of them to become a full DNA double helix form again. Thus, you get two identical strands of DNA from one DNA. So, as you can see, the number of DNA grows exponentially. Anyway, specifically what I did in lab on Tuesday was pipetting different primers, buffers, Taq, and DNA, to form a concoction. This concoction was then pipetted in 25 microliter volumes into tiny tiny test tubes. This process took a while, but is not difficult. It requires attention to detail, steady hands, and meticulousness. You have to be sure not to introduce any foreign agents to the mixture, and must maintain a clean environment. If the tip of the pipeter touches anything save for the mixture or the inside of the test tube, then you must discard that pipetor tip and begin again. Cross contamination must also be avoided. I had to discard the tip a few times because I accidentally touched it to the outside of the test tube. Other than that, it went smoothly. Dr. Dowling is very good at explaining what he wants me to do, and is very clear with his instructions. The only thing that I did not like was the pressure I felt due to the fact that he was watching what I was doing. Of course, he was doing this to assure that I knew what I was doing and that I was doing it correctly, but it still made me a bit nervous.

I'm going to the lab today, also.