Microscopically Speaking

I spent the majority of yesterday in what I’ve over the years dubbed as a “Microscope Cave”.  In order to get nice, clear images, most microscopes are kept in dark rooms. This is especially true of fluorescent microscopy, the type I was doing today.

microscope caves are a little differerent...
source

It definitely wasn’t my first Microscope Cave experience. Although microscopy has never been a formal interest of mine, by chance, many of the projects I’ve worked on and jobs I’ve held in the past have involved a lot of ‘scoping:

mouse cortex, summer 2008.

staining a particular neuron with a
micropipette, summer 2008.

microscope and micropipette, summer
2009.

stratum lucidum, late fall 2009.

And now I’m back at it again!

lovely blue-stained cells,  fall 2010.

These particular cells have been stained blue by a dye called DAPI, a molecule that binds super-duper tightly to DNA. When DAPI binds to a certain region of DNA (called the major groove) it fluoresces a bright blue light that can easily be seen by a microscope. Since all cells have DNA, it’s a really easy way to distinguish cells from other random debris- just look at what’s blue vs. what’s not blue.  However, since all cells have DNA, DAPI isn’t very good at distinguishing one type of cell from another- they all just look blue.

Although science is great fun (at least, I think it is!) Ben and I did manage to go on a wonderful day-trip today- photos and travel-talk are coming soon!

French words of the day: rouge, bleu, vert, jaune, purpe, orange: red, blue, green, yellow, purple, orange.