Glowing Bacteria, Caffeinated Onions and Other Ninth-Grade Accelerated Biology Projects Underway

On a recent afternoon in the Math and Science Center, 9th graders Isabelle Pilson and Allison P. Smith inserted a bioluminescent gene from a jellyfish into E. coli bacteria to examine the transformation process at work. The next day, the genetic rearrangement made the bacteria glow.

 

The technique is one that is normally not practiced until 12th Grade, but the students learned the procedure from biology teacher Jenn Szaroleta as part of their 9th Grade Accelerated Biology independent research project. All students in the class are tackling experiments of their own design after school to deepen their understanding of scientific experimentation and course concepts.

 

“The goal of these experiments is to transform biology students into biology researchers,” Szaroleta said. “Scientific inquiry reflects how scientists come to understand the natural world, and it is at the heart of how students learn.”

Pilson and Smith’s experiment tests whether the standard transformation lab method works at different temperatures. Another group’s project will see how caffeine, pesticides and lectin proteins affect cell division in onions. Others are exploring how stress alters memory, which cleaners best kill bacteria from Tower Hill bathroom sinks, and other topics.

“Scientific inquiry is a powerful way of understanding science content,” Szaroleta said. “My students learn how to ask questions and use evidence to answer them. In the process of learning the strategies of scientific inquiry, they learn to conduct an investigation and collect evidence from a variety of sources, develop an explanation from the data, and communicate and defend their conclusions.”

 

The students will present their results at a mini poster session open to the Tower Hill community on May 14.