Join us April 20 for National DNA Day!

By Omar McCrimmon
Assistant Public Affairs Specialist

DNA Day 2012
Are you ready to celebrate the discovery of DNA's double helix? The National Human Genome Research Institute is excited to remind everyone about National DNA Day taking place Friday, April 20! Join us as we host our live, online chatroom, which brings together scientists, clinical researchers and other experts in the field with students, teachers and the public to answer questions about genetics and genomics. Last year, we received hundreds of great questions from all over the United States, which you can read at: www.genome.gov/27544125

What better way to celebrate than by extracting DNA from strawberries? You can find instructions for this super-fun activity at www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOpu4iN5Bh4 [youtube.com]. Eric D. Green, M.D., Ph.D., director of NHGRI, and Carla Easter, Ph.D., deputy chief in NHGRI's education and community involvement branch, will show you exactly how it's done. With more than 20,000 video views on our YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/GenomeTV), strawberry DNA extraction is a fan favorite!

For more hands-on activities, including crafting a DNA bracelet and growing a Tree of Genetic Traits, go to www.genome.gov/activities. For educational tools such as webcasts, podcasts, an online multimedia education kit called Understanding The Human Genome Project and the Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms, see our Education pages at www.genome.gov/Education

Find the latest news on National DNA Day at www.genome.gov/DNADay, and on Facebook and Twitter at www.facebook.com/DNAday and www.twitter.com/DNAday.

NHGRI's partners for National DNA Day 2012 include: The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) [ashg.org], The Genetic Alliance [geneticalliance.org], American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) [acmg.net], The International Society of Nurses in Genetics (ISONG) [isong.org] and The National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) [nsgc.org]

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Posted: April 16, 2012