Journal: News & Comment

Toys, CSI, and electrophoresis chambers

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Take yourself back a few years and try to imagine this sentence appearing anywhere other than in a science fiction novel:

My son is ten and has successfully mapped DNA, used the centrifuge, and performed a number of experiments with some assistance from me.

Yep, that's from an Amazon review of the Discovery DNA Explorer Kit, which includes its own centrifuge, magnetic mixer, and electrophoresis chamber.

After discovering the DNA Explorer Kit, it occurs to me that, whatever you think of shows like CSI, they have permitted the phrase electrophoresis chamber to appear, without further explanation, in toy catalogues. As someone with a biology degree, I don't think that's a bad thing.

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