Biotechnology Techniques Project Ideas

Sometimes science can be really messy or use pretty disgusting ingredients. That is what it takes to understand how the world works, even if the experiment isn't pretty. Do you like chemical reactions that stink and ooze foamy bubbles? Do you think it sounds fun to make a super gross liver smoothie? Then this is the experiment for you!   Read more...

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 primer that will stick to the piece of DNA you want to copy, called a template. In this experiment 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...

Ever used a pair of molecular scissors? Restriction enzymes are molecular scissors that cut DNA into pieces. Find out which enzymes will cut, and where by making a restriction map. Then you can figure out what will happen if you change the sequence of the DNA. Will the same enzymes still cut the new DNA sequence?   Read more...

Do you like solving mysteries? In this experiment, you can find out how a DNA fingerprint can help you figure out whodunit. The answer might just be in the "sequence" of events!   Read more...

In this project, you'll learn how to isolate DNA from onion cells, separating it from other cellular components in a manner that still preserves its structure and sequence. In the end, you'll have enough DNA to see with the unaided eye, and you'll be able to spool it to demonstrate its strand-like structure.   Read more...

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...

Enzymes speed up chemical reactions by factors of at least a million. Now that's acceleration! This project investigates some of the factors that affect how fast enzymatic reactions occur.   Read more...

When biologists want to separate different pieces of DNA, RNA, or proteins they use a technique called gel electrophoresis. In this science project you'll build a gel electrophoresis chamber and use it to discover how many components are in different colors of food coloring dye.   Read more...

Imagine seeing waves glowing a beautiful blue color. The marine dinoflagellate Pyrocystis lunula is responsible for this magnificent phenomenon. Pyrocystis lunula is a bioluminescent organism—bioluminescence is the production of light by living organisms. But does this organism always glow, no matter what the conditions, such as how much light there is? In this biotechnology science fair project, you will investigate how altering this dinoflagellate's exposure to light and dark affects its bioluminescence.   Read more...

Have you ever had to sort a jumble of objects into piles, based on their type? Maybe laundry, or a big load of dishes, or while organizing the garage or a closet? Scientists have to do something similar when they want to study or isolate just a single type of protein. For example, a botanist might discover an exotic plant that is poisonous when eaten, but that also has great antibiotic properties. To help develop a new antibiotic for human use, he or she would have to separate the different plant proteins, and research which ones are toxic and which ones help fight off infections. One way scientists do this is by sorting the proteins, based on their size, using a technique called size-exclusion chromatography. In this science fair project, you can try your hand at this biochemical sorting technique and use it to determine the relative size of the green fluorescent protein (GFP).   Read more...

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