Extracting DNA: What Went Wrong?

Don't worry, experiments don't always work—try it again.

If no DNA appeared in your glass it may be because the experiment took too long. Try doing it again but a bit more quickly.

Try a different combination of ingredients and you may get better results. Using a different brand of bottled water or detergent changed our results. Trying a different type of salt (eg table salt, cooking salt or iodised salt) may also help. Our most successful experiment used 'The Original Adams Ale' pure Australian water, 'Morning Fresh' detergent and 'Mermaid' iodised salt.

You might like to try extracting DNA from something else in your kitchen. Kiwi fruit, peas, yeast and wheat germ all work well.