“Deep Woods PCR” presented by Vanouse
Symposium:
Session Title:
- BioARTCAMP: Laboratory Ecologies in the Wild West
Presentation Title:
- Deep Woods PCR
Presenter(s):
Venue(s):
Abstract:
Panel: BioARTCAMP: Laboratory Ecologies in the Wild West
Deep Woods PCR is an historical fiction of science, in which I source primary molecular biology chemicals from the remote encampment. The Banff region is famed for its natural hot springs, which are the habitat for bacteria named Thermus aquaticus. This bacteria produces the heat-activated Taq DNA Polymerase, one of the most important enzymes in molecular biology because of its use in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) DNA amplification/identification technique. In this project, I will harvest Taq Bacteria from the springs to use in each reaction and then perform PCR without electricity as I will thermo-cycle DNA reaction tubes by physically moving from one temperature region of a hotspring to another, and thus induce amplification. While acknowledging its history in the first great patent war of molecular biology, my retro-pioneering of this PCR identification technique will also hopefully invoke mythic narratives of (self) discovery.
Video:
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DWPCR-short-med-res from Paul Vanouse on Vimeo.
