Molecular Biology Experiments in the
S1 Teaching Lab
Teaching Lab

how to get here
experiments
protocols
photo gallery
links
longer courses
 
 
EMBO Sci & Soc

Following the example of the BelMonte Science Laboratory Center in Israel, we have established a teaching lab for 24 participants. This offers the posibility to do molecular biology experiments that cannot be done in the school class room. The lab is built with the latest quality and safety standards and experiments like the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), transfection of bacteria or the expression of protein molecules can be carried out.

 

Information and booking
Dr. Thomas Wendt        about me              
Telefon: 06221/421404  Fax: 06221/421410
Email: [email protected]

1. Symposia for pupils

of the

 Initiative Youth and Science

 on

  • green gene technolgy

  • initiatives in the Rhein Neckar Valley

June 7th 2005

at the

Communication Center ,

German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ)

for more information click here

  

Spotlight on teachers

4th international workshop for secondary school science teachers
 

13–14 May 2005, Heidelberg, Germany

 
Basic course on biotechnology for high school students
4 days of biotech practicals: from gene to protein
(course program)
 
Limited to 12 participants.
Course fee 80 €.
 
3.1 - 5.1 & 7.1.2005
 
registration with
Dr. Thomas Wendt
email: [email protected]
 
 
Teacher training course (1 day)
PCR,  plasmid isolation and gel elektrophoresis
(prerequisite for a visit of the teaching lab with the school class)
 
Sa., 22.01.05 (9:00 - 17:00)
 
Strictly limited to 12 participants.

 

Experiments:
Links:   

Experiments:

The courses are preferentially full day practicals. To visit the lab with the school class, the teacher should have done a teacher training course at the ExploHeidelberg teaching lab for successfull theoretical preparation in the school class room. 
In agreement with the german gene technology law, the course will start with a safety briefing. Exxperiments that are classified into safety level S1 are experiments that are not harmfull for human beings and environment. After the safety briefing, the theoretical and practical aspects are refreshed before starting with the practicals. During the practicals, the participants will be working in small teams of 2-4 persons, supervised by two assistants.

 

transformation of bacteria (only possible as part of a longer course)

Transformation is the uptake of DNA by bacteria.Transformation is used in molecular biology to introduce new DNA into the host bacteria. To do the experiment, the bacterial cells have to be made competent for the uptake. After successfull transformation, these bacteria can be cultured and used for the plasmid isolation or protein expression.

plasmid isolation

Plasmids are small circular DNA molecules that coexist with the bacterial genome. These plasmids serve as vectors in the biotechnology to introduce foreign genes into host cells. Plasmids are isolated from a bacterial culture in the practical. The detection of the purified plasmid DNA is done be agarose gel electrophoresis.

plasmid restriction analysis

Restriction endonucleases are enzymes that cut DNA molecules after recognizing a specific nucleotide sequence. They are used to produce recombinant DNA molecules by cutting the circular DNA strand of a plasmid vector. We are using three different restriction endonucleases in this experiment to digest isolated plasmid DNA. The resulting DNA fragments are analysed by agarose gel electrophoresis.

PCR

The polymerase chain reaction is a method to amplify DNA without usage of a living organism. PCR is used in biological and medical laboratories for a variety of different tasks, e.g. to identify hereditary deseases, for DNA finger printing, to clone genes and for the paternity test. We will amplify a given DNA template by the PCR and analyse the products by agarose gel electrophoresis.

Proteinexpression

Proteins determine form and function of the organism. They are responsible for many diverse activities like transport processes, enzym reactions, formation of the cytoskeleton or signal transduction. We will express GFP (green fluoresecent protein) and purify it by affinity chromatography. The protein will then be analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE).