Sleep Lab-Lark or Owl

Our Programmes

miniPCR Sleep Lab™ - Lark or Owl

Are you sleep deprived? Singapore was ranked the 3rd most sleep deprived nation worldwide. But is it because our biological clock is determined by our DNA or conditioned by external factors? Find out more about yourself through this tinyLab lesson and experience how to run a scientific experiment with our portable lab equipment.

Price: $183.12 per group (including GST)

Prices with effect from 1 Jan 2024

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Program Details

The Circadian clock is an internal timekeeper that regulate the body’s physiology and behaviour on a cycle that repeats each day. This tinyLAB allows students to test their own genotypes at the circadian clock gene Per3 that has been associated with sleep behaviour preferences in humans. Students will be using PCR and gel electrophoresis to access their sleep phenotypes. Are we a morning lark or a night owl? The answer may be in our genes.

Learning Outcomes

  • Micropipetting, DNA extraction, PCR and Gel electrophoresis.
  • Explore the circadian regulation of behaviour and its role in sleep homeostasis.
  • Understand the concept of genetic association through data analysis.
  • Create hypothesis and predict results.

Total Estimated Time Period

180 mins

Difficulty Level

Advanced

Equipment Used

  • Micro-pipettes
  • miniPCR blueGel™ gel electrophoresis tank
  • miniPCR mini8 thermocycler