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Published on 11/17/1999 All articles from this issue

DNA meets high school biology in cutting-edge lab partnership

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By Linda Taaffe

Town Crier Staff Writer

Equipped with top-of-the-line lab equipment, students at Los Altos High School recently cut and incubated DNA in a simulated experiment on paternity testing as part of their study of inclusivity and exclusivity.

If the DNA fingerprinting lab sounds cutting edge for a high school biology class, that's because it is.

The lab is part of the Santa Clara County Biotechnology Education Partnership that local educators formed in 1992 to enable teachers to bring contemporary, technology-based experiments into the classroom on a meager budget.

The fingerprinting lab described above would cost about $25,000 to set up and perform for one class.

Through the program, the experiment costs teachers only $50 per class.

The partnership provides teacher-training workshops in biotechnology and rotates the use of its professional equipment and eight lab kits among participating classes to use in a series of genetic experiments, including DNA fingerprinting, transformation, protein purification, DNA spooling and PCR - a technique often used in murder trials to amplify DNA samples.

Local companies supply the plasmids, enzymes and some supplies for the lab sessions.

Organizers say the nonprofit program operates on an annual budget of about $55,000, which comes from donations and grants.

Suzanne Williams, who teaches the advanced placement biology class at Los Altos High that participates in the partnership, said her students wouldn't have the opportunity to learn about biotechnology hands-on if it weren't for the program.

"This really excites kids," she said. "They can see how science is incorporated into the real world and catch on more than if they just read about it."

Williams said the labs can take as many as eight hours to set up.

"It's worth it when students walk in and say 'wow,'" she said.

Her class, which is the equivalent of a freshman college-level course, typically has a waiting list, she said.

The partnership operates collaboratively with the Santa Clara County Office of Education and school districts. About 80 teachers in 10 of the county's 11 districts are voluntarily taking part in the program this year.

Program director Victoria Walton said about 22,000 students have participated in the program since its founding in 1992.

Walton said organizers hope the program will excite students about genetic engineering and enable them to increase their scientific literacy.

"Students need to be able to relate to this kind of science in order to make informed decisions in their lives," Walton said about biotechnology education. "(Biotechnology) is actually infused in many aspects of our lives... its products can be found in laundry detergent, food products and medicines.

"They need to be educated in order to be informed consumers and policy makers."

Geri Horsma, a teacher who participates in the program at Gunn High School, said she believes the program's use of relevant experiments and professional equipment has turned many of her students on to science.

"It grabs kids, and they just raise to the level," Horsma said about the program.

The program is currently funded through grants and private donations. Organizers say the program could be discontinued next year when funds from its major contributor run out.

Organizers say the program needs more funds to pay for its operating costs and to sustain itself .

For more information about the Santa Clara County Biotechnology Education Partnership, call (408) 782-5037.