Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

How can I prove that a strawberry's dna is actually being extracted using materials you suggested? It just appears to be an ordinary substance in between the strawberry mixture and alcohol.

Tiareck,

You won't be able to 'prove' that the substance is DNA using the supplies in that experiment. In order to prove that what you had was DNA, you would need either a very powerful microscope or you would need to be able to analyze the molecules present in the sample and show that they are the same molecules that make up DNA.

However, it sounds like you were able to extract the DNA. You might try some of the variations on the experiment (like changing detergents) to see if it affects the substance or the amount of substance that you find.