PCR here, PCR there but which one to use? We've been slowly building up our community lab at DIYBIOMCR, and we want to run the first PCR Challenge! 

We will be amplifying plasmid DNA, from a few copies to several million in the space of a few hours. 

We have our humble MadLab version of a PCR  machine built by Alex from HacMan from some parts we had lying around at the Madlab, and the open-source OpenPCR kit which is being assembled at the build-a-lab day on February 29th (link here). Two is not enough to run a race, so we will also have MMU's commercial PCR to compete against as well. If you'd like to take part in this experiment, come along to MadLab and spend an evening putting these machines to the test. 

We will discuss what PCR is and why it's useful. Because it takes awhile to run the machines, we will amplify the samples before hand, and this day will be spent processing and visualising the results from the previous PCR-ing using gel electrophoresis, again using equipment built ourselves at the build-a-lab day. This will involve pouring the gels, running them and staining the gels.

There'll be pipetting! There'll be agar*! There'll be plasmids! And, as if that's not enough, there will also be DNA origami to fold, snails to look at and lots of tea, coffee and cakes.
* Okay not Agar (which is available in Chinatown), but the purer form Agarose which gives us the "gel" part of gel electrophoresis.