Kiwi Fruit

Extracting DNA

Oh no, it's the Easter Holidays! That can only mean one thing. Dad's going to have a day off work and force me to do a stupid science experiment. So it's on with the science goggles.

This holiday we have decided to get DNA out of Kiwi fruit. To make the experiment more scientific we can either have a sensible reason for extracting DNA from the Kiwi fruit or we can start talking in a bizarre Bavarian accent. Dad says we had better take the second choice because that is the only way the scientific community will take us seriously as all scientists talk in a strange guttural Germanic way (like Heinz Woolf). This is a well known fact in scientific circles. You should also have a huge curly moustache (or a fat slug one like Lord Winston) and ridiculous neckwear (such as a bow tie) but instead we have gone for some important looking safety goggles. The goggles will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt how scientific we are. It is also essential to put your results on the Internet thus proving our results are right whatever they turn out to be.

A Kiwi Fruit

Ingredients

First of all we assembled all the ingredients together:


methylated spirits salt washing up liquid kiwi fruit ice hot water sharp knife chopping board scales measuring jug bowls fork sieve glasses boy (Ewan) dad (Torven) loud Bavarian accent

Step One

Eat a kiwi fruit. This is an important step to find out exactly what the DNA actually tastes like.

Step Two

First of all the methylated spirits needs to be packed with ice so that it becomes really cold. Apparently, if you stick it in the freezer it might explode. Dad wanted to try this but I wouldn't let him. Freezing the methylated spirits creates the recombobulation liquid.

Step Three

Salt

Mix together the salt and the very cheep washing up liquid. Dad says it must be cheep because it is made up of ground up chicken bones. Try not to make any bubbles as these are very irritating and do not look scientific enough for our purposes.
This process creates a decombobulation liquid.

Cheap washing up liquid

Step Four

Peel the Kiwi fruit with a knife.

Step Five

Make a silly moustache with the Kiwi peelings. This is not being silly but an important scientific procedure to see how distinguished we will look when we are finally recognised as important scientists. It is well known that to be an important scientist a very silly moustache is needed.

Step Six

Chop up the kiwi fruit. It is important to wear the goggles at this point in case any DNA squirts out and pokes you in the eye.

Put the chopped Kiwi fruit in a bowl and mash it with the fork.

Step Six

Pour the decombobulation liquid in to the Kiwi fruit mush and mix it all together. Take care not to create too many of those unscientific looking bubbles.

Put the decombobulating Kiwi fruit bowl in to a bigger bowl and fill the big bowl with hot water. Don't forget that hot water can be hot, hot, hot ~ so be careful.

Leave the bowls for 15 minutes.

Step Seven

Eat another kiwi fruit just to remind yourself what DNA should taste like.

Step Eight

After fifteen minutes the Kiwi mush will be 100% decombobulated and ready for use. Pour the decombobulated Kiwi fruit mush through the sieve. This leaves a green liquid which is poured in to a glass.

The Kiwi fruit juice looks and smells delicious but do not have a sip at this stage as drinking it wouldn't be very scientific. Also, we already know what DNA tastes like.

Step Nine - Recombobulation - the exciting bit

We are now ready to recombobulate the DNA using the freezing cold methylated spirits. Carefully pour the purple recombobulater so that it settles on top of the Kiwi mush.

Do not drink the experiment at ths point as this would also be unscientific. Unless, of course, you are doing experiments on how quickly you can poison yourself.

Now you just have to wait a short period for the DNA to start recombobulating itself in to white stringy bits.

Now is the time to take some fuzzy, slightly out of focus pictures to prove beyond doubt that we have discovered some Kiwi DNA.

Cheers, here's to Kiwi fruit DNA!

No, Ewan. Don't drink that Kiwi fruit DNA! Oh no, too late:

Well, at least we won't run out of kiwi fruit for a while.

The Important Science Bit

When Mum got back from work she also enjoyed the delicious Kiwi Cocktail we had made for her. However, she didn't believe we had created Kiwi DNA (even after having seen the effect on Ewan (or should we say... "EwanKiwi" or "KiwiEwan)). Mum thought that all we had created was just a bit of Kiwi goo.

There are, however, some important reasons how we could prove this was in fact not mere goo but bona fide DNA and we had undertaken 'good' scientific research.

Reason 1 - we had spent all afternoon speaking in Germanic accents and part of the afternoon wearing comedy 'taches. Both evidence of good science and eminent scientists.

Reason 2 - not only had we searched 'kiwi dna' on google but we have now put our results on the web thus proving beyond doubt our results aren't bogus. We all know that whatever you read or see on the web has got to be true.

Reason 3 - Ewan wore goggles all day. This more than makes up for the lack of white lab coats and that we forgot to use a clipboard at all.

Reason 4 - we have provided some fuzzy photos of our results. All the best science has fuzzy photos - eg Loch Ness monster, UFOs, Yetis etc.

A Fuzzy Photo

Reason 5 - we've included a graph that proves something or other and shows just how scientific we are.

Mum finally agreed, she enjoyed her Kiwi cocktail and felt no ill effects at all. Notice that we've peeled Ewan: