OBL members Jenny Molloy, Aish and Ana Pascual Garrigos contributed to a hands-on biology session on “Detecting DNA 101” at Cambridge Makespace on 22 Nov 2021 which introduced techniques for detecting DNA and ways in which people have been working to make them more accessible.
Around 20 people joined in person and 30 joined online to listen to a lecture on different ways to detect DNA, drawing inspiration from the explosion of innovation in COVID testing since 2020. We showcased hands-on hacks and makes that are driving down the cost of molecular biology though open source and low-cost hardware, which is a research focus on the lab.
Other activities included extracting DNA from a strawberry (led by Aish), running a LAMP amplification reaction and observing a colour change and running DNA on an electrophoresis gel (led by Ana).
Slides and Resources
Hardware Information Sheets
DNA Extraction Protocol
Photo Gallery
Ana Pascual Garrigos explains LAMP Jenny Molloy on transilluminators Jenny Molloy on transilluminators 
FluoPi demo Gel electrophoresis of DNA fragments Success! Visualising the gel on a transilluminator Demonstrating LAMP and gel electrophoresis
