December 19, 2012

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Scientific American Goes Bananas on December 20

By Mariette DiChristina

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

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[caption id="attachment_876" align="alignright" width="300" caption="These bananas will give their all for science. Credit: Mariette DiChristina"]
[/caption] Editor's note: Join the Hangout by visiting Scientific American's Google Plus page at 1 p.m. Eastern on Thursday. That's right. Using ordinary household items and a humble piece of fruit, we're going to perform a seemingly magical feat of science while you watch on a Google Science FairHangout on December 20 at 1 p.m. EST: we will get strands of DNA out of a banana. (Scientific American is a partner in the Google Science Fair, and we sponsor the $50,000 Science in Action award.) Joining me for this special deSTEMber science activity is Sarah Ann Anderson, who is working on her M.D. and Ph.D. at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, and who is also a New York Academy of Sciences Fellow. Sarah Ann and I will not only show you our mad science skilz, we will also regale you with interesting facts about DNA and bananas--and answer your questions. We also have some questions for you! Can't wait? Well, you can check out the Find the DNA in a Banana activity on our site now. It has a list of ingredients, and the steps we'll be taking. Want more? You'll find dozens more activities at Bring Science Home. We also put a new activity up each week. They're a perfect way to spend some quality time with science on a weekend or a holiday break, too.

Mariette DiChristina, Steering Group chair, is dean and professor of the practice in journalism at the Boston University College of Communication. She was formerly editor in chief of Scientific American and executive vice president, Magazines, for Springer Nature.

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