jaiswalp's blog

Twelve students (9th-12th grade) from local schools attended DNA Biology Summer Camp organized by Jaiswal laboratory at Oregon State University in July 2014. The activities in the camp included short introductory lectures and follow up exercises using models and laboratory experiments. The learning in a collaborative environment was encouraged to further enrich their camp experience. Dr. Laurel Cooper, a research associate in the Jaiswal laboratory, introduced the students to the basics of the plant cell, and genetic material.

"Did you know that there are millions of DNA building blocks encoded in the genome of a plant? How can scientists possibly study this vast amount of data? With computers! Come and explore the tools of modern biology used to examine the complexities of DNA. This camp will involve hands-on activities where you will extract genetic material from a plant, assemble DNA sequences, identify genes using computers, examine your plant’s genome with visualization software, and test and look at your results in the laboratory. No programming skills required!"