Department of Biology at University of Bahrain Holds a Workshop For its Students on the Basics of Genetic Technology

Sakhir – University of Bahrain (Yasmeen Khalaf)

November 14, 2022

Fifteen male and female students from the Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Bahrain, have participated over two consecutive days in a workshop entitled, “Fundamentals of Genetic Technology” to help students acquire practical skills to make up for suspension thereof during the Coronavirus (Covid 19) pandemic.

Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics, Dr. Abdullah Abdul Rasool Abdullah, who conducted the workshop with the assistance of the technician at the Department of Biology, Aisha Abdul Razzaq Khonji, stated, “This workshop is in line with our belief in the necessity of enabling students through all available facilities to acquire basic practical skills parallel to the scientific information contained in the study programs, which some students were unable to practice due to suspension of practical training during the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Abdullah noted that the college took advantage of the mid-semester vacation to hold the workshop and emphasized the impact of practical training on the department’s outcomes.

During the workshop, the students learned about genetic vectors (plasmid), methods of transforming them to bacterial cells and methods of selecting genetically transformed cells. Students were also able to separate plasmids from cells and analyze their quantity and quality through spectral characteristics and electrophoresis.

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