June 22nd

Today we worked on obtaining actual DNA from our red blood cell samples. This process consists of several repetitions of filtering and putting the solutions in the centrifuge. This also required the use of several different solutions that we prepared, including Tris/HCl, PMSF, EDTA and micrococcal nuclease. After essentially causing the red blood cells to explode, we used the micrococcal nuclease to eat away at the remaining substance. We controlled this reaction by controlling the temperature (putting it on ice) and by introducing EDTA to remove the calcium from solution.