DNA’s wonders to be explored
Extract DNA from fruit. Fashion your own “gene jewelry.” Make a double helix out of candy — and eat it.
These are some of the family activities that will take place at the Adventure Science Center in Nashville from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 16, during a celebration of National DNA Day. The event is co-hosted by the Vanderbilt Center for Human Genetics Research.
Later this month, Jonathan Haines, Ph.D., director of the Center for Human Genetics Research, will discuss current issues in genetics at the Adventure Science Center's monthly Science Café at the Fido coffeehouse in Hillsboro Village.
The hour-long discussion will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 21. Fido is located at 1812 21st Ave. S.
April 25, 2003, was designated by Congress as National DNA Day to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the description of the double-helix structure of DNA, and the publication that month of the completed sequence of the human genome.
Each April, schools and museums nationwide sponsor programs to encourage people to explore “the foundation material of all living things.”
For more information, visit the Adventure Science Center at www.adventuresci.com or the Center for Human Genetics Research at http://chgr.mc.vanderbilt.edu/.