22 Feb 2023
Last Wednesday 15 February, Year 12 Biology got an insight into the world of biotechnology through the AMGEN Biotech Experience.
Funded by California-based biopharmaceutical company AMGEN and run through the University of Sydney, the task challenged students to create a recombinant plasmid.
Recombinant plasmids are essential for creating several vital pharmaceuticals, such as insulin. In this case, a section of DNA from a sea anemone was isolated and introduced into bacteria to encourage it to produce a red fluorescent protein.
The students were expected to use micropipettes and electrophoresis to create the fluorescent bacteria. They were also expected to analyse plasmid configurations and understand the process of cutting and reconfiguring recombinant DNA.
“Because the AMGEN experience links to all four of the modules we’ve been studying,” explains Year 12 Biology student Ruby Brown, “I think it will be a good way to relate our theory back to practical experiments.”
“I just want to thank the Univerity of Sydney for getting this going,” adds Biology teacher Dylan Harmer, “They got us all the way out to Sydney where we did the training, lent us thousands of dollars worth of equipment and have even been on hand today if there were any issues.”
You can watch a short video about the activity below.
