[ee in biology] using human blood- ?

[cinnamonrita]

I have decided to write EE in biology. I have two options in mind, however, to do the one I would prefer to do I need some additional information which currently I cannot find anywhere.
Basically, I would do gel electrophoresis which means that I need DNA sample. This, however, means that I would have to use human blood.
The question is- does IB support using blood to gain DNA samples, if it is done with the approval of the person whose blood is used, blood is taken by a nurse and otherwise safety precautions are followed while working with the blood?
If it is ok, where can I find this information's official source?

Thank you in advance.
-rita

[Ib_slave]

Why don't you ask your teacher? They would be the go-to people for these kinds of questions.

[cinnamonrita]

[quote name='freelancer_girl' post='19063' date='Jun 30 2008, 05:33 PM']Why don't you ask your teacher? They would be the go-to people for these kinds of questions. [/quote]
I have done that, however, she is teaching biology ib only for few years and has not come across such issue.
Therefore, to make sure that my idea would be acceptable for the ib, I am seeking for this information elsewhere.

[IBSQUARED]

You can visit this site for the official guidelines for a Biology Essay (http://www.turnerfentonib.com/docs/ee/EE_Guide_NEW.pdf). As for reading it, the IBO states that "investigations that are based on experiments likely to inflict pain on, or cause unneccesary stress to, living organisms are not appropriate for submission....or those which may involve access to confidential medical information". Anyway, i'd say that if you're blood properly obtained and just seperating the particles with electrophoresis then it would be okay.

Edited July 1, 2008 by IBSQUARED

[CodeRed15]

Just to be clear, I asked an HL Bio teacher in my school about this and she said that you could not use blood. Hope that helps

[angeliqwings]

YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO USE ANY TYPE OF BODILY FLUIDS, this is stated in the IB hand book for Biology EE. you are also not allowed to use any forms of subjects for such an experiment, as there is a high chance of getting a blood born disease or virus.(also ethical issues)

( i was going to do EE using a bodily fluid, however i was not allowed)

i really would not suggest you to use blood samples, UNLESS you were strictly supervised by a student who is undertaking medical science in Uni and you are doing it in a uni. it is most likely that you would have to have your supervisor write a detailed report as to what why you needed to use blood samples and what kind of safety proceedures you undertook.

is there any other way that you could obtain DNA insted from blood samples??

[mania90]

As angeliqwings said you are not allowed to use human blood and any vertebrates. I remember my teachers reaction when we used my friend's blood for dna testing. you don't want to have such one, believe me. If you need DNA sample why don't you try to buy such a thing from company specialised in such stuff. it is possible, your school may possess such samples, ask your teacher.

I know that my bio teacher ordered such samples especially for our lab classes

If you don't need human's dna you can buy this [url="http://www.york-bio.com/phage_dna.htm"]http://www.york-bio.com/phage_dna.htm[/url]

or if u need human dna try to buy lambda kit for gel electrophoresis, i heard that it contains dna samples, or you can isolate dna from fruit also ordering a special kit for that, it also depends on how much money you'd like to spend on your ee

Edited August 1, 2008 by mania90