Re: 10/31/01 - NH Register: Local kids test their DNA skills
Front Page
Local kids test their DNA skills
Peggy Schenk, Register Staff October 31, 2001
WESTBROOK — Students at Westbrook High School are working as forensic scientists this week as the BioBus makes a three-day visit here.
Their hypothesis: Police have three suspects in the unprecedented theft of crown jewels. The real thief was cut in the act, leaving behind some incriminating evidence, drops of blood found at the scene.
It is a perfect situation for DNA fingerprinting.
DNA, or dioxyribonueucleic acid, is a genetic material found in every human cell and is unique to every individual. Comparing the DNA from the blood found at the crime scene with samples from the three suspects would determine who committed the crime, BioBus scientists Caroline Traub and Tom Wolverton instructed the students Monday morning.
"Can you tell me why investigators in New York are asking for hair brushes and toothbrushes of those still missing from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center?" asked Traub.
To compare DNA samples from hair and mouth tissue left on the brushes, came the chorus of student response.
"That's right," Traub said. "There is DNA in the smallest hair and in cells from inside the cheeks left on tooth brushes," she said. "There's thousands of cheek cells on your toothbrushes at home."
With hands covered in blue latex gloves and eyes protected by lab glasses, students in teams of two set to work at lab stations, learning the techniques of loading and comparing DNA samples.
It is a process forensic scientists in Connecticut are using to help police solve cases such as the 1998 murder of Yale student Suzanne Jovin. Recent findings indicate that DNA from tissue found under Jovin's fingernails does not match that of the named suspect in the case, and police are expected to ask other friends and acquaintances of Jovin for DNA samples to compare.
The BioBus, which is bringing the world of forensic and other genetic science to youngsters throughout Connecticut, is a mobile science learning center. It is sponsored by CURE, an organization made up of 27 businesses, organizations and institutions of higher learning, including biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
The goal is to generate interest in the field among the young to develop a future workforce, Traub said.
In addition to DNA fingerprinting, students in other labs investigate "The Mystery of the Crooked Cell," looking for clues that lead to the diagnosis of sickle cell anemia, a disease of the red blood cells that affects one of eight African-Americans.
The $3.6 million BioBus program was launched in New Haven in September. The 40-foot bus is equipped with state-of-the-art laboratory equipment that can accommodate 24 students at 12 workstations and two instructors.
It provides youngsters with hands-on experience in scientific procedures as a supplement to the school's science curriculum. The program is free to school systems that request it. Visits last between two and five days.
In Westbrook, one of the first school systems to reserve the bus, students in biological science and chemistry classes are participating in the DNA exercise. Also, youngsters in science classes in the middle school tour the bus.
"It's a great addition to the curriculum," said Principal Robert Hale. "It has equipment that we would never be able to afford. It gives kids a sense of what it's really like to work in a science lab."
The BioBus will visit Platt Regional Vocational-Technical School in Milford on Nov. 13 and Amity regional schools on Jan. 28.
©New Haven Register 2001
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