Week Eight: Continuing Data Collection and PCR

Hi! This week was pretty much the same as the last one. I continued collecting testing data from my participants. I’m super glad i’ve shortened the experimental groups because it’s much easier to manage and process 16 DNA samples rather than 40. 

This week I also went into the lab again and started processing the samples. This went pretty quickly because I had all of the measurements down from the previous lab day. Next week I’ll be continuing the PCR and hoping to see the bands show up on the gel. These were the measurements I used for the successful PCR. The total volume of the solution is 20 microliters. When mixing the solution and reagents into the PCR tubes, you always want to start with the least precious substance first. So in this case, it was the double distilled deionized water, then your primers, then the master mix solution that contains that Taq polymerase, and then finally your isolated DNA.

Today, I also began my participant interviews. The purpose of these interviews are to analyze how my participants view their academic performance, sense of self in the school environment, and how they think genetics plays a role in how they view themselves and their abilities. Thanks for reading!