On Dec. 5 and 6, Stephen Murray’s Biology classes began a lab activity.

Students in Murray’s biology classes have been “learning an advanced biotech lab technique. How to use instruments, and how we can transform bacterial DNA by adding a plasmin or piece of DNA from another organism to it so that it can produce a protein,” Murray said.

As class began, Murray reviewed the instructions to the students. “Complications [included] poor micro pipetting technique, contamination by mixing the wrong solutions, contamination by allowing foreign bacteria in with the E. Coli that we were using and certainly breaking expensive tools that are not used properly,” Murray said.

If the student succeeded, the resulting E. Coli bacteria would glow in the dark

Out of all class work, the key is that the students are shown and taught to properly care for the equipment. “We try to do them once a week. There are three advanced biotech experiments in the entire year but we do many other experiments throughout biology and this is part of the STEM Biology Program,” Murray said.