AMGEN - Bruce Wallace Biotechnology Lab Program

Barnhart middle school seventh graders have started their journey into the world of biotechnology.  Mrs. Montgomery's class and Mrs. Holman's class will alternate days in the science room as they proceed through a series of biotechnology labs.  These labs are sponsored by Amgen, in partnership with Amgen Foundation, Foundation for Pierce College, Los Angeles/Orange County Biotechnology Center, Bio-Bridge at UCSD, New England Biolabs, Fotodyne, Invitrogen, Rainin Pipettes, VWR and Bio-Rad.   

Amgen designed the labs to introduce middle school and high school students to the wonderful world of science, specifically biotechnology.  By starting early on, in a student's science experience, the odds are that many of these students will become interested in the sciences and go on to major and eventually work in the science field. 

For two weeks the students will walk in the footsteps of Nobel Scientists.  One lab has the classes actually doing more complicated work than what originally won several scientists their Nobel awards for work in restriction enzymes, and recombinant DNA molecules.

The classes will practice skills used by lab technicians, biotech engineers, genetic counselors, agricultural companies and forensic scientists. 

The class donned their lab coats and set to work doing science. 

Lab one has the students practicing their skills using digital micropipettes.  These micropipettes measure volumes in thousandths of a milliLiter (one microLiter).  That means that in order to fill a liter bottle of soda one microLiter at a time we would have to put one-million drops of liquid in the bottle. 

"I'm not sure I put anything in this tube.", "These tubes are so cute.", "WOW that is a small drop!!",  "Can we do it again?", "I think I messed up, there is nothing in my tip.", "I'm doing science!!".

These are just a few of the exclamations heard while the class progressed through the micropipetting lab. 

The class measured out miniscule amounts of colored dyes and combined several different dyes in three different microfuge tubes.  Each tube contained different combinations of the dyes.  The tubes were spun down in a microfuge and then separated using gel electrophoresis. 

But when the dyes were placed in the electrophoresis and started to separate, the students were really wowed.  How can these dyes separate?  They are all mixed together and all liquids. 

They had heard the explanation on what would happen and why, but just had not believed that the dyes would move at different rates through the agarose gel. 

Below you see two examples of the electrophoresis gels after being run about 15 minutes.  The colored dots are the three dyes that have moved through the gel.  This gel separates the dyes by their size, shape and electrical charge.