Pakistani school students set a new record of DNA extraction at Swat Science Festival

Over 1,000 students of Swat along with 16 scientists set a new national record by successfully conducting the experiment to isolate strawberry DNA and then formulating DNA model, on the first day of Swat Science Festival on Tuesday.

This experiment was organized by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ilyas of Hazara University in collaboration with National Academy of Young Scientists (NAYS) at Swat Science Festival which was held from 17th to 18th April 2018. Around 1036 students from elementary schools took part in the experiment, while the event itself attracted about 6,500 students including 1,500 girls and 5,000 boys from various public and private schools of Swat. Dr. Muhammad Ilyas said:

“We attempted to make the world record of DNA extraction and invited over 3,000 students but we could not break the world record due to the shortage of space. However, we managed to make a national record of DNA extraction by involving over 1,000 students.”

Boys and girls from various schools set up more than 100 stalls and perform live experiments some of which involved robotics, hydraulics, electrical circuits and easy-to-understand mathematic guides, The six organizations including Learn-o-Bots, Stemmers, Numerica, Pakistan Science Club, AZ Corps and Sabaq also took part in the festival.

Abdul Basit Khan, a medical science student said:

“It was not only a DNA extraction experiment but a multi-beneficial opportunity for me as I practically did the experiment of DNA extraction on strawberry, met talented students and learned many complicated things from scientists, who guided us.”

Visitors appreciated the event and expected that the government and other related organizations would organize such events on regular basis.