(November 15, 2012) — Students in Dominique Evans-Bye’s Marine Biology class had incredibly focused expressions as they extracted DNA from a variety of fish during a recent class. This DNA is going to be used to create barcodes which will help identify unknown species more quickly. This project ensures that all fish that are identified will have their own unique barcode, which can later be used to easily look up information about a certain species. In order to complete this project, Evans-Bye’s students placed tubes of tissues, protein and buffer into a shaking incubator and frequently vortexed the solution during class. The solution was then left in the shaking incubator overnight so the tissues could be digested. The next day, the students put the solution into a microcentrifuge in order to get rid of the enzymes and isolate the DNA. Then, the students used gel electrophoresis in order to spread out the DNA by running the solution through ethidium bromide. After, the class used a transilluminator that shone UV light upon the DNA, making the ethidium bromide look orange. This confirmed that the students had isolated genomic DNA. They amplified the DNA by using a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and once again, used a microcentrifuge to purify the amplicon. Using gel electrophoresis, the class was able to compare its results with the DNA ladder. “It gives students the chance to conduct experiments that can be replicated in various fields of science,” junior Andre Boodaghian said. “It was a great opportunity to learn new things that cannot be learned in other schools.” When Evans-Bye begins to speak about the project, her face lights up and a huge smile spreads across her face. She expresses her excitement and says, “Yay! We got DNA!” She then explains, “It’s our very first time doing it and I was very impressed with the professionalism of the students.” Evans-Bye explained how she would like to improve the experience next year and says, “Next time we do the project, I’d give students a lot more practice just to make them feel more confident.” Even though there is room for improvement, Evans-Bye and her students all agree that the project was a great experience.