Inquiry Laboratory Activity: Investigating the Effects of Mobile Phone on Yeast Viability

Abstract

Practical work as observation and experimentation are vital parts of science education. One way to accomplish this is by applying inquiry-based learning in laboratory activities. Inquiry enhances the development of scientific skills as well as the learning of the scientific concepts. In the present article, a laboratory activity was developed to evaluate the effect of ionizing waves emitted by different mobile phone types on viability of yeast cells. We got yeast cells as a cellular model, since yeast is a eukaryotic cell, as humans are, and many investigations are based on them. The procedure is simple and adaptable to school centers with low resources, using low-cost laboratory material. In the experimental part, we found a decrease in yeast cells ' viability exposed to radiations compared to control cells. Also, different viabilities were found depending on the phone trademark used. Further studies should be done in this line.