Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi, my friend and I are looking into the field of genomics, and the topic we are especially interested in is "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_DNA."

Is it possible to get help from a professor and design a controlled experiment concerning this topic all in the time span of two months?

If not, could you suggest a new topic or show where we could find another possible topic idea that we could contact a professor and design a controlled experiment all in the time span of 2 months?

Thanks!

~Matt

Hi!

I'm not really sure about what you want. Please state your proposed question, so that the experts know how to help you!

Thanks

Well, I don't understand why they don't allow you to edit posts in this forum.

Well, my friend and I were thinking and we decided to propose the question, "What makes junk DNA differ from "significant" DNA?"

We wanted to know where we could gain access to the materials for the proposed question and if it could be done in the time span of two months.

Hi Matt,

This is a really cool project to work on. Going into a genomics project is very tedious and requires months of work.

Some things you should consider before venturing into this project are:
1. What science classes have you taken that might help you understand DNA? - Biology is essential and Chemistry would also help.
2. What resources do you have around you? - where are you going to conduct your experiment? How are you to find the materials you need to test your hypothesis? - A segway to the next question...
3. How are you going to test your hypothesis?

If you are having trouble answering these questions, I would think that two months is not enough time to do a complete science project.

Hope this helps!

Good luck,
Sareena

1. Biology, Biochem, and chemistry.

2. I live on Long Island so locally we have Cold Spring Harbor, Stonybrook, and Brookhaven labs.

3. Not quite sure yet...

Hi Matt,

I would suggest looking at some of the articles that are links at the bottom of the link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_DNA) that you provided. They are very interesting and informative to read and will give you some idea of the complexity of the question you are asking. In my opinion, 2 months is probably not long enough to answer the question ("What makes junk DNA differ from "significant" DNA?") you are proposing. Maybe by reading some more background articles you could come up with a more focused or specific question that may be testable in a 2 month period. Have a look!

Also, you may want to look up the research being conducted by professors in your area. Go to the websites of the various institutions and have a look at the various research projects that are ongoing. This may give you some ideas of how to focus your question based on what resources are available nearby.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Mary

Hi Matt,

I agree with Mary. Look up papers published by scientists on junk DNA. A good website to find these publications is:

http://www.scholar.google.com.

Type in the search bar: Junk DNA, and it will give you different works of this topic.

Hope this helps,
Sareena