Our close encounter with the Governor

The Students: Jessica Byrd, Ben Davidson, April Haskins, Donna Henderson, Katey Irwin, Roya Ougouag, Elizabeth Shotton, Joseph Shotton, Aaron Stanton,

The Teacher: Clinton A. Kennedy

The past two months, Betsy Shotton, Jessica Byrd, April Haskins, Ben Davidson, Aaron Stanton, Joey Shotton, Katey Irwin, and Cascade High School teacher Clint Kennedy have been working in conjunction with the Science Action Team program sponsored by the INEEL in Idaho Falls on a project that involves the culturing and genetic comparison of thermophilic (hot springs) bacteria . The project originated in Kennedy’s Advanced Biology class when the students wondered if perhaps the bacteria found in local hot springs was genetically unique. Because thermophiles have an enzyme that scientists use in genetic engineering, the isolation of a unique subspecies could have intriguing implications in the genetics field.
Throughout the school year, the students had been in contact with Dr. Frank Roberto, a biotechnology scientist at the INEEL, who had been assisting them. At the same time, Kennedy had been talking to Julene Messick of the INEEL, who wanted him to participate in the Science Action Team program with teachers and students from across the nation. One thing led to another, and thanks to the hard work of Julene Messick and the generosity of Dr. Roberto, Kennedy and several of his students were given the opportunity to spend a summer down at the INEEL working on their project with the Science Action Teams under the supervision of Dr. Roberto’s laboratory.
Since they’ve been down at the INEEL, the group has made a great deal of progress on their project, not only isolating and culturing Thermus Aquaticus, a thermophilic bacterium from Vulcan Hot Springs, but also extracting its DNA. They are currently in the process of sequencing its DNA and comparing it to a standard strain of T. Aquaticus DNA to determine, if, in fact, the bacteria growing in Vulcan is unique.
Kennedy and his students feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity to not only make such incredible progress on their project, but also to work in a professional laboratory environment with some of the biotechnology field’s front-runners. The students recently had the opportunity to present their project to Governor Dirk Kempthorne and may have the opportunity to give a presentation to a Nobel Prize Laureate.
When school starts again in the fall, the students hope to continue their work with thermophilic bacteria by isolating T. Aquaticus from other local hot springs and mapping each strain’s genetics. The group plans to continue its collaboration with Dr. Roberto’s biotechnology laboratories.

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