At the end of October, Mr. Ryan Knoblocks’s AP Biology class did a science experiment with jellyfish, testing how they glow in the dark. This is part of the biochemical processes unit they are currently learning about. This is one of the very few bacterial transformation labs that they will ever get to do simply because of the high cost. 

The interest rates and high participation have been substantial according to Knoblock and the students in his class. “This lab usually goes really well and is typically of high interest to students as it is cool to take genes that were isolated from one organism and incorporate them into another.  The end result of the lab (creation of glow-in-the-dark bacteria) are easily visualized as evidence of lab success and are exciting to see,” Knoblock stated. 

The students in this class were a little nervous at first, but soon learned how much they would come to love it. Sophomore Scarlette Howell said, “My initial reaction to this lab was it seemed like it was going to be interesting, but it sounded difficult. I thought it would be over my head, but  I quickly learned that it was not an overly difficult lab that needed all of this knowledge, you just needed to be able to follow directions.” 

Unfortunately experiments like this won’t happen again for this class due to it being so expensive. But the results and the students reactions are worth the expense. Sophomore Paul Hulac said, “This lab was very fun to do, its not everyday that you get to work with the biology and chemistry of a jellyfish and even though we won’t get to do another one, I’m really glad I got to experience this one.”