On Wednesday the U6^th Form Biologists travelled to the University of Bristol where they took part in a Molecular Biology Workshop.

The workshop took place in the newly built Life Sciences Building, which contained state of the art equipment and laboratories. Pupils were asked to taste a strip of filter paper which contained the chemical PTC and work out if they could detect a bitter taste or not - the natural version of PTC is found in many plants, in particular the brassica family. Pupils then went through a series of processes to extract their DNA, isolate the gene that coded for whether they could taste bitterness or not, amplify their DNA and then separate out their DNA strands using gel electrophoresis. The results were brilliant and the biologists could clearly identify what genotype they have and whether it matches their phenotype. It helped the pupils get to grips with the processes involved in DNA technology and familiarise them with the expensive equipment used. The workshop was run by Dr Rose Murray and Dr Emily Bell, who taught the pupils excellently – really stretching them to follow undergraduate procedures. An extremely valuable and informative day for all involved - all the pupils did brilliantly.

Kate Flavell - Head of Biology