Spend DNA Day with a strawberry
During the 4 minute video, Professor Turi King, Reader in Genetics and Archaeology takes you through a step-by-step guide, making the experiment easy and straightforward enough to replicate at home and celebrate the day with us.
Turi said “The public will have heard about how DNA is used and it’s very popular to have DNA analysed for ancestry testing or health. Few people have actually seen DNA, so I wanted to produce something that would actively engage audiences. DNA day is the perfect opportunity to release a video showcasing how easy it is for people to see DNA for themselves, and get involved in a fun way.”
National DNA Day is run by the National Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) with worldwide events and competitions for young people, students and the general public held every year to celebrate. This year celebrates the 15th anniversary of the completion of the Human Genome Project and will launch the '15 for 15' Celebration, commemorating genomic advances that have been made since 2003.
Professor Turi King is also guest speaking at DNA Week held in Slovakia, in partnership with the British Council. The week-long programme of activities coincides with National DNA Day and Turi will be delivering a guest lecture at the Comenius University. Presenting on her interdisciplinary research, she will highlight the success of ‘The Identification of Richard III’, a project led by the University of Leicester, receiving global recognition and deemed as one of the most ambitious forensic genetics project ever carried out.
“DNA Day is the anniversary of the day in 1953 when several famous papers by eminent geneticists Watson, Crick, Franklin and Gosling were published in famous journal ‘Nature’ which explores the discovery of the structure of DNA. I’m really looking forward to being part of the celebrations in Bratislava and enthusing the public to learn more about DNA and the breadth of research that goes on at the University of Leicester,” said Turi.