Valley school's new DNA lab on cutting edge
By Marc Benjamin/The Fresno Bee
Most high school students only get to read about DNA. At the Center for Advanced Research and Technology in Clovis, they shake, separate and duplicate these complex molecules in a gleaming new laboratory. The $1.5 million lab, which opened last week, has cutting-edge equipment rarely found in high schools -- including polymerase chain-reaction machines, electrophoresis apparatus and a spectrometer. Only about a dozen California high schools have biomedical programs similar to the one at CART, where students research genetics and diseases. With the lab up and running, teachers have set their sights on a new challenge: finding enough money to run all the equipment. One machine alone costs $10,000 a year to operate. (more…)