Giving Tuesday - Your donation is most welcome

 Today is Giving Tuesday.  We're making a request to anyone who supports what we are doing (please see the entries in this blog) towards global health and well being.  Please donate to Project GRFT.  We have an increasing need for funding as we move forward with our work.  Any donation large or small is welcome.  As part of Counter Culture Labs we have 501c non-profit status so if you pay taxes in the US, your donation is deductible.   

Here's how to donate.  Go to https://www.counterculturelabs.org/ and scroll down to the donate button.  There is also Venmo on the page.  Please specify that the donation is for Project GRFT.  Then it will be directed to the project, rather than the general CCL fund.  

You can also identify your donation by emailing nenufarmoleculesforlife@gmail.com with your name and the date of your donation.  We'll forward this to our treasurer who will make sure that your donation is channeled to Project GRFT.

Thanks from the Project GRFT crew!

Project GRFT gene gun at Counter Culture labs

 

At Counter Culture labs, we have set up our first gene gun.  It was designed and built by physicist and inventor David Johnson PhD.  In the video he fires the first shot from the gene gun in the new lab environment.  DNA plasmid coated Au microparticles are shot into a rice callus which will then be incubated at 25C.  Compressed Helium gas provides the force to propel the particles into the plant cells.  

project GRFT at CCL

 Project GRFT, after relocating and setting up our gene gun inside CCL is back to shooting DNA coated microparticles into rice calluses.

Two of our volunteers, Kat and Patrick, in the hood and washing the Au microparticles with ethanol.

They are using molecular biology grade ethanol and we do 3 washes

after adding the ethanol -

time to vortex!

2018 article on GRFT/Rice

https://share.america.gov/how-rice-could-ward-off-hiv-infections/