On Jan. 25, AP Biology students visited Iowa State University (ISU) to conduct laboratory experiments. To prepare for the visit in the days prior, students learned how to use various lab instrument, such as micropipettors, and familiarized themselves with the procedures. The experiments were conducted in a laboratory in the Molecular Biology building, with the help of ISU’s biotechnology outreach education coordinator Mike Zeller.

Students, such as Raegan Matthews ’20, conducted two experiments. The first allowed them to examine their DNA to test for the presence of a gene called TPA-25 (which is present in some individuals and not in others). In the second experiment, students worked with bacteria and transformed the bacteria to have different characteristics. “I’m glad we went because we got to do certain labs not available to our class,” Matthews said. “It was a good challenge for us.”