Students learn about their own DNA in a science procedure at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis. Science Instructor Ninfa Matiase helps the students through the steps to learn about a specific trait associated with one gene.
Photos by JB Forbes, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Students from left: Amra Seferovic, 16; Kayla McCoy, 16; and Vicki Truong, 16 work together to transfer saline with DNA into a tube on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Science Instructor Ninfa Matiase puts on rubber gloves at the start of the class on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Science Instructor Ninfa Matiase looks to make sure the students’ cell suspension is correct for students Emaline Edson, 16, and Sofia Khattak, 16, on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Science Instructor Ninfa Matiase, second from left, shows students how to boil the cell suspension in a thermal cycler on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. The students are from left: Jahlah Baum, 17; Hakim Gibson, 17; and Kira Davis, 16. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Student Jahlah Baum, 17, at left, looks at the saline solution that contains some of her saliva on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. Next to her is Kira Davis, 16, and Science Instructor Ninfa Matiase. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Science Instructor Ninfa Matiase shows her students how to carefully transfer the cell suspension with a student’s DNA into a tube on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Student Yousif Al-Hamdani, 17, watches as Science Instructor Ninfa Matiase checks his cell suspension on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Amra Seferovic, 16, at left, reacts when teacher Ninfa Matiase explains what they were going to do with their saliva on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. The other students are: Kayla McCoy, 16; Vicki Truong, 16; and Christopher Murray, 17. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Science Instructor Ninfa Matiase talks to her class about the experiment they were about to perform on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Jahlah Baum, 17, checks to see if her saliva sample is successfully suspended in solution on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Science Instructor Ninfa Matiase looks to make sure the students’ saliva is separating out when an agent is added to it on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Students start an experiment by pouring saline water into their mouths on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. They are from left; Amra Seferovic, 16; Kayla McCoy, 16; Vicki Truong, 16; and Christopher Murray, 17. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Science Instructor Ninfa Matiase gives instructions to her class at the start of an experiment on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Students swish saline water in their mouths to capture some throat genes on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. They are from left; Amra Seferovic, 16; Kayla McCoy, 16; Vicki Truong, 16; and Christopher Murray, 17. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Hakim Gibson, 17, concentrates on transfering the saline solution with his DNA on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Student Jahlah Baum, 17, at left, looks at the solution of Nevaeh King, 17,on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. Science Instructor Ninfa Matiase, at center, looks to make sure the students’ saliva is separating out when an agent is added to it. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Yousif Al-Hamdani, 17, uses a pipette to transfer his cell suspension into a tube on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Different size pipettes are used for different experiments on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Students Amra Seferovic, 16, and Kayla McCoy, 16, ask their teacher, Ninfa Matiase, if they are using the right pipette on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were starting an experiment to analyze their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes
Collegiate students learn about their own DNA

Science Instructor Ninfa Matiase has a busy desk with signs and memorabilia on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, at the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis, where the students were analyzing their DNA to look for the “bitter food tasting” gene. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com
J.B. Forbes