Biotechnology Science Projects (31 results)

Yogurt, biofuel, biodegradable plastics, and antibiotics are all examples of products based on biotechnology research and manufacturing techniques. What else will we be able to create as we use biotechnology in new ways?

Genetically Modified Organisms: Create Glowing Bacteria!

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever heard or read about GMO? GMO stands for genetically modified organisms. Scientists can deliberately modify the DNA of organisms, such as bacteria or plants, to change their properties for a specific purpose. For example, crops can be modified to become more drought- or pest-resistant. Genetic engineering is a very powerful tool in biotechnology that has already found many different applications in agriculture, medicine, and industry. In this project, you will engineer a… Read more

Build Your Own Microfluidic Device

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Microfluidic devices are small tools used in different fields like engineering and biomedicine. Scientists and engineers use these devices to work with very tiny amounts of fluids for various experiments. These experiments can include things like biomedical research, creating new medicines, and even applications in the car industry. In this project, you will create and test your own microfluidic device design and compare it to other designs. Read more

CRISPR Gene Editing of Escherichia coli

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Many scientists are currently very excited about CRISPR, as it has the potential to revolutionize gene editing. But what exactly is CRISPR and what does it do? CRISPR is a novel tool in gene editing that allows the modification of genetic DNA at specific target sites in many different organisms. Researchers have high hopes that this technology can, one day, cure genetic diseases, as mutated DNA sequences can easily be corrected. In this project, you will use CRISPR to mutate a DNA sequence… Read more

Genetically Engineer Yeast to be Fluorescent

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Can you imagine a glowing loaf of bread? You might not be able to make the whole loaf glow, but you can get baker's yeast to fluoresce! The way to do this is to modify the genetic information of the yeast organism. The technology that is used to do this is called genetic engineering. With genetic engineering, you can insert a fluorescent protein gene from a jellyfish into yeast cells, so they start glowing under blue light! Do this project to see for yourself! Read more

A Juicy Project: Extracting Apple Juice with Pectinase

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do you know why enzymes are oftentimes called the workhorses of biochemistry? It's because they can speed up a wide variety of chemical reactions, and chemists and biologists use enzymes to do all kinds of jobs. In this project, pectinase, an enzyme frequently used in the food industry, will be used to extract juice from apples. Read more

A Magnetic Primer Designer

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

How do scientists "copy" DNA? They use a process called the Polymerase Chain Reaction, or PCR. The key to making this process work is having a short piece of DNA, called a primer, that will stick to the larger piece of DNA you want to copy, called a template. In this science project, you will test how the number of matches and mismatches in a primer will affect its ability to stick, or anneal, to the DNA template during PCR. Read more

Catalytic RNA and Structure

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Some sequences of RNA can catalyze biochemical reactions, much like protein enzymes. These catalytic RNA sequences are called ribozymes. The function of a ribozyme depends upon the primary sequence of the RNA which folds into a 3-D structure. How do different ribozyme sequences fold? You can search for ribozyme sequences using Entrez BLAST (NCBI, 2006). Then you can use a program like MFOLD (http://bioweb.pasteur.fr/seqanal/interfaces/mfold-simple.html) to submit your sequence for an… Read more

Column Chromatography: Can you Separate the Dyes in Grape Soda Using Space Sand™?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

What color is grape soda? If you pour it into a clear glass you can easily see it is purple, but that is usually not its natural color. Manufacturers add red and blue dye to the soda. The dyes mix together and you get purple soda. What if you wanted to un-mix the dyes, could you? Yes! In a chemistry laboratory, using a technique called column chromatography, you could separate the two dyes again. But what about at home, can you use low-tech supplies to do the same thing? In this science project… Read more

DNA Fingerprinting

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Are you interested in the technical and ethical aspects of genetic screening, forensic science, and DNA fingerprinting? Scientists use different forms of a gene, called alleles, to differentiate between two fingerprints. One such sequence used in human DNA fingerprinting is the Alu repeat (a 300 base pair repetitive sequence of DNA) on chromosome 16. During evolutionary time, up to 1 million copies of the Alu repeat have become randomly inserted throughout the human genome. Within a specific… Read more

Do-It-Yourself DNA

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

All living things have DNA inside their cells. How do scientists extract the DNA from cells in order to study it? In this science experiment you can make your own DNA extraction kit from household chemicals and use it to extract DNA from strawberries. Read more

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