No DNA Undetected At Newtown High School

By Tanjua Damon

Biotechnology and forensics are everywhere — literally. And juniors and seniors at Newtown High School are a step ahead of the guessing game of DNA in a new science class being offered at the school.

With their lab coats and safety glasses on, 20 students in Nancy Contolini’s Biotechnology and Forensic Science class were working on an experiment Monday during the new science class offered at the high school.

 Students will be gaining knowledge in both biotechnology and forensic science, according to Ms Contolini, who also teaches biology. The hope is that students will not only learn skills they can use in other areas, but also to interest them in science.

“I want to encourage students to go into science as a career. Even if they don’t, a lot of what they do will be based on DNA,” she said. “It’s problem solving. They are also learning lab skills. They may use them in lab in the future. It’s performance based. They are actually doing things that are done in real labs. It’s authentic.”

Students will be exposed to both biotechnology and forensic science. The two go hand-in-hand with trying to solve the mystery of who did it, Ms Contolini said. The two are complex and contain a lot of information.

In the biotechnology part of the course students will be exposed to genetic engineering, transforming bacteria, how you can put genes from one organism into another, purifying proteins made by genetic engineering, PCR (polymerase change reaction), identifying, amplifying, and sequencing DNA.

“Even small damaged pieces of DNA can be analyzed and processed through DNA screening,” Ms Contolini said.

On the forensic side students will be real detectives and learn about the things that can help solve a crime scene including forgery, finger printing, foot print, hair, fiber, serology, blood typing, blood splatter prints, geology, sand/soil, glass fragments, toxicology, and looking at drugs using the Physicians Desk Reference.

“We will look at paintings to see if they are forged,” she said. “And students will look at samples of medicines and drugs trying to identifying the unknown. It will be problem solving. They will be given a lot of clues and have to figure out what they are.”

So far Ms Contolini said the students are interested in the class and are excited about the information they are gaining. Even she admits to enjoying the new class.

“They like it because they are manipulating and work in labs a lot,” Ms Contolini said. “They learn theory and actual skills. It’s fun for me too. I’m experimenting.”

Many of the juniors and seniors in the class are there not only to gain information about biotechnology and forensics, but to see what a career in the field would be like for the future.

“I want to be in the FBI and work with forensics,” senior Helena Baonagurio said. “You learn a lot about measuring. DNA is so in the future, I think a lot of jobs will deal with that.”

Emily Moran is also interested in forensic science and thought it would be a good idea to take the class in high school.

“I’m interested in forensics,” Emily said. “That’s what this class is based on. There is a lot of group work.”

Senior Mary McDow likes the hands-on technology she is experiencing in the Biotechnology and Forensic Science class.

“For a really long time I wanted to go into a field that deals with forensics,” Mary said. “We’re doing more hands on than I thought we were going to do. We’re in the lab more than I thought, which I think is better. I learn more that way.”

Junior James Kaechele enjoys the amount of time that the class spends in lab because he feels it will help him in the future.

“It’s great lab experiments,” he said. “I hope to teach science. This is good lab experience. I have to know what is going on if I plan to teach.”

The Career Center at the high school has arranged for the students to go to the Connecticut Crime Lab, Ms Contolini said. The students also hope to be able to meet Dr Henry Lee, the state’s most famous forensic scientist.