Here’s a bit of science that you can perform in your kitchen. You’ll need some thawed strawberries, pineapple juice, and a bit of rum.
Recently, materials scientist Mark Miodownik appeared on Dara O Briain’s Science Club and showed the audience how to visibly extract DNA from human saliva by making a pineapple juice and vodka cocktail.
It’s a cool trick, but there’s one problem: you wouldn’t want to drink that cocktail. Even if you don’t mind chugging down a bit of cold saliva, Miodownik uses detergent to deal with the fat in human tissue. Blech.
Instead, try a Strawberry-Pineapple DNAquiri. This cocktail won Best in Show at Science Hack Day San Francisco 2011. It utilizes the freezing and thawing process to lyse the walls of the strawberry cells and results in a DNA cocktail that you can actually drink.
[Dara O Briain video via Geeks Are Sexy]
