DNA from World's Oldest Human? WHAT?

Very exciting stuff! DNA was just found and sequenced from the world's oldest human! The DNA was taken from the nucleus of cells in the remains of a human leg bone.  Click on the link to read more from BBC News.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25193442

ATTTACK OF THE 80FT DNA

Today we spent the day coloring and cutting to create the worlds largest DNA sequence.  Look at all of those spiffy nucleotides all paired together.  Adenine and Thymine, Guanine and Cytosine together forever!  

The Wonderful World of Genetics...and strawberries

Coming back from our glorious Thanksgiving holiday we transitioned from learning about cells to genetics! Our first day on the job we performed a simple experiment to extract (pull out) DNA from strawberries.  Our goal was to determine if strawberries are alive! We know that all living things are made of cells, so if we are able to extract DNA then they are in fact living.  This is so simple you can do it at home with a few ingredients from around the house. Try some other fruits and veggies! Here's a look at the fun we had.

Mushed strawberry with soapy water and meat tenderizer! YUM

Take a look at our notebook and scientific observations

Is that spit? Is it snot? NO! Its strawberry DNA!

Extra Credit Review Packet

Just in case you accidentally wipe your mouth with their cell review packet instead of a napkin during Thanksgiving dinner (No I have never done anything like that before...... maybe that one time...). Here is the complete packet.  Remember your test on December 2 when we get back!

The Cell Museum

Students displayed their work yesterday in our second annual cell museum.  Here are some pictures of their finished work.  It was overall very impressive, getting rave reviews from teachers, administrators and other students from around campus who came to take a look.  Not included are our  multimedia projects which showed some beautiful student faces that should remain anonymous.  Enjoy a happy Thanksgiving break.  Be ready for our cell unit exam when we come back December 2!

Animal Cell Built From: Foam, Paint and Play Doh

Play Doh Animal Cell

Two Very Impressive Cell Cycle Projects

Student Taking In The Beauty That Is The Prokaryotic Bacteria Cell

More Students Pondering The Beauty Of Bacteria

Recording Information From A Model Of Photosynthesis

Watching Some Multimedia Projects

The Giant Plant Cell!

Some More Plant cell Models

Hard at Work

Sorry for the delay in posts but we have been hard at work cramming our minds with all there is to know about cells! Prokaryotic cells, Eukaryotic cells, organelles, mitochondria, chloroplasts, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, mitosis, binary fission... you get the idea.  Right now the students and I are putting together a museum to house all of the amazing artifacts they have created about these topics.  Here are some pictures of their work under construction.  The finished museum pics will follow shortly.  

Fun with Cells and Play Doh

Tutoring can be fun.  Today my trusty friends and I made models of the phases of the cell cycle out of Play Doh.  Check out our movie and study the phases at the same time.  It's a no brain-er