12/8/2014 Day 8 Group 2

12/8/2014 Day 8 Group 2

 

 We had “Evolutionary Biology Part 2” and “Decision, Leadership, Negotiation” classes today.

 During the biology class, we did an interesting experiment on extracting DNA from strawberries! We did the experiment with simple household utensils, for example, dish washing soap and Ziploc bag.

 Here are the procedure of the experiment: First, crush the strawberry in the Ziploc bag and add in the extraction buffer. Then, pour the mixture to a coffee filter to filter it. After that, add in cold alcohol to the filtrate and observe. We saw some tiny transparent 'strings' inside the filtrate! These are the DNA of the strawberry.

Filtering process! :p

 We first thought that we may see a double helix structure of DNA, but it turns out to be some string-like substances. When using a stick to stir it, the DNA stuck together and formed a jelly-like substance!

DNA of strawberry! 

 This lesson was really fun and interesting! We had never conducted an experiment on extracting DNA before and this was an unforgettable experience for us. We hope we could do more experiments as they are really fun!

A squirrel we saw on the way to class :) 

 After the lesson of DNA, we had another lesson about decision making. At the beginning of the lesson, the professor gave us a video clip to watch and asked us to make a decision if we were in that situation. Decisions are always hard to make as whenever we choose to do something, we must give up something at the same time. He introduced 6 important elements that need to be considered when making decisions. He also taught us terms like “expected value” and “certain equivalent”.

 In order to make the lesson interactive, he also played two games with volunteers which involved with real money. One of our classmate got $10 because she kind of made a good decision. We all wished we had such a chance. Besides, we were taught that decision and outcome should be separated to look at. Therefore,  making a good decision does not mean that it must lead to a good outcome, it only makes it more likely. We really enjoyed today's lesson very much.

Beautiful sky :p

 We are looking forward to tomorrow’s visit to Silicon Valley! :)

P.S. Qianna’s feelings towards yesterday’s surprise

 Yesterday was my birthday and the counselors prepared a surprise for me and Claire, who is another birthday girl! It was so unexpected for us and the most important of all was that we got a huge birthday cake! Both of us felt so blessed and amazed as this is the first time for us to celebrate with so many friends. The celebration was really fabulous and unforgettable! And of course I have to thank all the counselors and it's definitely one of the best moments in Stanford for me!