Research fellows from Baden Academy got a chance to meet with several researchers from the Center for Nucleic Acids Science and Technology (CNAST) and its outreach effort, DNA Zone. We witnessed Genoa Warner demonstrate TAML® hydrogen peroxide activators and Taylor Canady demonstrate DNA structure.
CNAST has united chemists, biologists, and physicists interested in DNA and brought them together for multidisciplinary research. What’s more, they provide a strategy for education and outreach. DNA Zone is one of their outreach efforts. DNA Zone provides training to teachers in the use of free hands-on, inquiry based kits and lesson plans on:
• Chemistry of Color: Pigments in Art
• Kitchen Chemistry: Edible Emulsions
• What is pH? Chemistry of Acids and Bases
• Where Does the Heat Go? Calorimetry and Thermodynamics
• Origami Geometry
• Atomic Force Microscopy
• Diffraction of Light & Discovery of the DNA Structure
• Seeing Math: An Introduction to Graphing
• Vortex Rings
Our two DNA Zone volunteers generously donated their time; time for Genoa Warner is usually committed to sustainability science in her work as a chemistry student with CMU’s Institute for Green Science; time for Taylor Canady is spent in research as a Ph.D. candidate in Carnegie Mellon’s Department of Chemistry. They were brought together for us by Hannah Diorio-Toth, the admin and editorial assistant for CNAST.
We learned watching the TAML® activator interact with dyes how chemists are building catalysts that oxidize pollutants, dyes, pesticides, even chemical warfare agents and persistent explosives residuals. Genoa’s demonstration brought to mind the pesticides that need to be rinsed off the vegetables Kate is writing about in her Vegetable ABC book. It will be in later discussions that Kate and the other fellows will be able to connect the pesticides going down the drain with the watersheds we learned about in our Virtual Worlds program.
Gavin told the story of his research into Galapagos Penguins and his efforts to raise money to help the conservation efforts. His research has uncovered the effects of tourists and humans on the penguins of the island; the pollution, plastics, fuel, and destroyed environment. Will the future include Gavin’s research into chemical catalysts that can neutralize some of the toxins?
Erin, also, shared stories of monarch’s plight and her efforts to plant and grow a way station of milkweeds and other flowers the monarchs need to survive. Future discussions with Erin will include how gardens are also being used to counter the devastation of pollution, including sunflowers in the Pittsburgh area drawing toxins from the soil of vacant land.
Taylor Canady then led the group in an activity with DNA kits. The students needed to find the right magnetic pairs to create a strand of DNA. He and Genoa actually created these kits to help students understand how chemical parts come together to form a DNA molecule. Ribbons represent the backbone of DNA, pairs of buttons and magnets represent the nucleobase pairs of DNA, and Velcro and magnets represent the chemical bonds that connect the nucleobases with the DNA backbone. Students wrote their own unique DNA sequences by attaching the buttons and magnets to the snaps and matched them to another ribbon. When the DNA molecule wasn’t assembled correctly, the students saw how mutations, that is unstable molecules, form. We ran out of time before we could attempt to learn about RNA and duplication, but the hands on demonstration was very memorable and will serve for later discussions.
Veronica shared with the CMU researchers her hamster project, a book about her hamsters’ adventurers and fun facts for any hamster lover. When the topic of DNA came up, she recalled that hamster’s share genetic similarities with human hearts and livers. The ethics of using animals in research will be an ongoing theme in future years in the media lab.
Finally, Miriam talked of her feral cat project. Understanding the genetics of eye color, aggressiveness, and coats will play a role in long term solutions to a growing problem in our communities.
It is amazing to think that I was only one when Crick and Watson received the Nobel Prize for their discovery of the DNA helix, and that the research fellows were only one when the human genome was mapped. The ability to look into the very building blocks of life allows us to look back at 60,000 years of human ancestry and begin to predict, prevent and manipulate the shape of life to come. The vision of Baden Academy, a vision that seeks to cultivate artistry, renaissance thought, and concern for the value of our humanity and our environment, is needed more than ever in the shadow of these great leaps of knowledge.