I.

Discussion
Isolation of RNA
After heating the 35g of yeast with 20ml of 1% NaOH soln in
100ml of water, we strained it using 3 layers of cheesecloth. We
noticed that it was very slow for filtrate to drip off the soln so we
reduced the number of cheesecloth from 3 layers to 1 layer. Still it
took time for the filtrate to drip off so we resorted to using the
aspirator vacuum pump. It was more convenient to use expect that it
uses filter paper which tears up easily and the pump backflows at
times, but luckily for us it did not backflow.
As we accomplished the isolation of our RNA sample we had a
mistake of storing it with its container sealed with filter paper instead
a watch glass that would prevent oxygen from entering the sample.
On the day that we needed the RNA sample, it had numerous
amounts of molds on the surface of the liquid. It was so bad that we
had to dispose our RNA sample so we did not have the RNA for the
succeeding experiments.
Isolation of DNA
After adding the homogenizing medium in the 50g chopped
onions, we used the blender as stated in the procedure. Since overblending may result to shearing of the DNA strands, we took extra
care. Instead of blending it continuously, we decided to pulse it for at
least 25 seconds to make sure that the DNA are not sheared. It was
difficult for us to have a cool atmosphere for our solution because ice
was not available, but we made room in the freezer to chill our
solution.
As we added cold ethanol to our filtrate, we observed that a lot
of slimy white precipitate formed between the filtrate and the ethanol.
The problem was removing the precipitate from the filtrate and
transferring it to the vial. Using the wooden stick was hard because
the precipitate a.k.a. the pure DNA was hardly attracted to it so it us
time to transfer it.

II.

Conclusion
The isolation of RNA was performed well. Following the
procedure did not really help us accomplish good results, but
improvising the use of aspirator vacuum pump gave us good results.
However, due to carelessness our isolated RNA was covered with
molds. The isolation of DNA was also performed well. Using the
freezer to cool out solutions instead of ice was better because it kept
it cooler.