Bio-Discovery

This programme is designed for students to learn about viruses and the concepts of disease and testing. They will discover the fundamentals of cell structure and DNA, what makes a virus unique and how we can utilise this knowledge for laboratory applications.

Cell Discovery
*Identifying the different cell structures – animal/plant/bacteria
*Using microscopes/slides to identify different cells – animal, plant and bacteria.
The students can make their own slides from cheek cells, onion cells and yogurt.
* Images of cell slides can be captured

DNA
*Understanding DNA structure and replication – distinction between animal and
virus

Extracting DNA from strawberries
*Using gel electrophoresis to characterise DNA – this can be done using the DNA
the students extracted.
Viruses
*What makes up virus structure?
*How viruses are unique and cause infection
*Explain how antibodies identify viruses
Equipment: plasticine and other craft materials
Pandemic
* What is a pandemic?
*How can we detect disease?
*What are the different ways to identify disease?

*Demonstrating different laboratory techniques involved in diagnostic testing
*Using results and presenting them appropriately and correctly analysing
them.

Test Kit Design
*How can we use what we know about viruses and antibodies to make a test?
*What parameters do we need to consider?
*Key terms – cross reactivity, specificity, sensitivity
 *Let’s Test!

This course is taught by Danielle Farquharson