Team:Minnesota/Safety
Minnesota
Safety is a major priority for our group. Considering that it was not necessary to use pathogens or many toxic substances in our work, we focused on minimizing risk to both us and those around us. One step we took to ensure safety was using E. coli as a model organism as they are safe and well-understood. Waste contaminated with these organisms, whether they were modified by our experiments or not, was placed in a sealed bag and put through an autoclave so that it was sterilized.
Care was also taken that modified E. coli did not leave the lab. If they were to contaminate other populations of yeast, the genetic changes could change that population in unintended ways. Therefore, gloves were used when working with modified yeast, and disposed of in waste that was subsequently steam-sterilized. This waste did not leave the lab until it was sealed in order to ensure no contamination occurred.
Our work also made extensive use of ethidium bromide (EtBr) to view DNA in our gel electrophoresis experiments. As EtBr is mutagenic, strict precautions were taken when working with it. Namely, gloves were worn at all times when handling it, and those gloves were disposed of in a nearby receptacle, as this limits the chances of contamination. In addition, waste contaminated with EtBr was disposed of in hazardous materials waste, which was clearly marked.
In addition to EtBr, our work with gel electrophoresis involved the use of potentially dangerous UV radiation. To ensure safety, a mask was worn to protect the face and eyes from the UV light. A lab coat was worn to protect exposed skin from the UV radiation as well.
