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Extract DNA in the science classroom

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No, it’s not a stawberry cocktail! Did you know that you can extract DNA using simple kitchen equipment and readily available materials? The CSIRO has some great biology experiments, including this one to extract DNA from onions. You could also use kiwi fruit, dried peas, banana, liver or strawberries.

You can see the fine, white strands of DNA on the toothpick. During mitosis, these strands condense and become more visible in the cell (especially when a stain is used like in the image below). The amount of chromatin (DNA or nuclear material) varies between species.