You, too, can extract DNA using household ingredients!
You often hear about scientists using DNA to answer important questions, but have you ever wondered how they get it? DNA extraction is at the heart of Ocean Genome Legacy’s (OGL) mission, and it can be done with household ingredients! This past April, OGL staff taught high school girls the nuts and bolts of this protocol with our Snow Pea DNA Extraction Workshop.
Students make observations about the phenotype, or appearance, of their snow pea (left), grind their pea in an extraction buffer (center), and vortex their samples (right). Photo credit: Emily Duwan.
As part of the Evolution in Changing Seas Career Workshop for Girls co-hosted by the outreach team and Lotterhos Lab at the Marine Science Center, OGL staff led students through the entire process. Students began by documenting the phenotype, or appearance, of their snow peas. They then ground up a single pea in a solution of soap and salt, cleaned the DNA in 70% ethanol and suspended it in water for analysis.
OGL staff explain how researchers determine DNA quality and purity (left) and help students measure these variables using a spectrophotometer (right). Photo credit: Emily Duwan.
Prizes were awarded to the students who extracted the most and cleanest DNA. This is the second year that OGL has been a part of this workshop, which seeks to encourage high school girls to consider careers in evolutionary biology.
Interested in extracting DNA yourself? This workshop can be found here. If you’re interested in contributing to OGL’s mission of outreach, consider making a donation.
By Julia DiPinto and Dan Distel A specimen of American anglerfish Lophius americanus. (Credit: Mike Beauregard from Nunavut, Canada - pull my finger, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34612997) Sometimes the answers to challenges on land can...
By Julia DiPinto and Dan Distel Get ready for Halloween by learning about a spooky species that OGL has in our very own biorepository: the skeleton shrimp! These fascinating creatures are also known as “ghost shrimp” because of their ability to hide along...
By Julia DiPinto and Dan Distel In a new publication, researchers use paper waste to feed Teredinibacter turnerae bacteria strains that in turn produce high-value antibiotics and enzymes, such as Turnercyclamycin and Tartrolon E. (Image credit: Gerton et al. 2025)....
By Julia DiPinto, Hannah Appiah-Madson, Rosie Poulin, and Dan Distel Scientists generally consider cryopreservation—flash-freezing at extremely low temperatures—the gold standard for preserving DNA in tissues. However, there is an often-overlooked issue: tissues must...
By Julia DiPinto and Dan Distel Everyone loves sea stars—but did you know they are keystone predators that help shape and maintain the biodiversity of our coastal ecosystems? That is why Angela Jones, a dedicated PhD candidate, educator, and researcher at the Marine...
By Julia DiPinto, Hannah Appiah-Madson, and Dan Distel We all know that researchers use DNA to search for hidden answers in living organisms. To do that, researchers must first ensure that their DNA samples are high quality before use. But how do they do...
By Dan Distel Protection for endangered species means a great deal to the Ocean Genome Legacy Center—and to the U.S. Congress, if the text of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is any indication. Polls show that more than 80 percent of Americans also support the ESA....
By Syringa Barenti, Ainsley Derosier, Akancha Singh, Hannah Appiah-Madson, and Dan Distel Antarctica is undergoing some of the most rapid environmental changes on the planet, putting its unique species at risk of endangerment or extinction. To help preserve this...
By Lauren McDowell, Community Outreach Manager for SSC’s Marine Mammal Rescue; Hannah Appiah-Madson, Collections Manager; and Dan Distel, Director for Ocean Genome Legacy The Ocean Genome Legacy Center (OGL) of Northeastern University and The Seacoast Science Center...
December 9th, 2024 By: Akancha Singh, Hannah Appiah-Madson, and Dan Distel We are excited to invite you to the fall 2024 Marine Science Center (MSC) Undergraduate Research Symposium, a premier event showcasing the innovative work of our talented...
