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| Pacific Island intermediate students prepare DNA from bananas in the Otago Department of Biochemistry. |
Last week, a group of Pacific Island children from local intermediate schools visited the Department of Biochemistry as part of Otago University's Intermediate Pacific Science Holiday Programme.
The year 7 and 8 Pacific Island youth enjoyed carrying out experiments on bananas, extracting DNA and enzymes from the fruit.
Senior teaching fellows Tony Zaharic and Gillian Mackay guided the experiments, providing the students with a taste of what goes on in a biochemistry or genetics research laboratory.
The programme aims to provide a positive science experience for years 7-8 Pacific youth, help them to gain confidence in exploring sciences, and help them to plan and prepare a project for the annual schools science fair.
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| The students extract enzymes from bananas. |