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By BIO-IT World
By Rabiya S. Tuma
Freelance Writer
ZOOM IN: Joe Gall, who has been studying frog oocytes since the '50s, was able to measure optical density of nucleoli by attaching a CCD camera to a scope. |
Joe Gall, a faculty member at the Carnegie Institute of Washington in Baltimore, has been studying chromosomes and nuclear structures in frog oocytes since the 1950s. During that time, he and others speculated on the density of various structures within the nucleus, including the nucleoli, which appear very dense and heavy using traditional light microscopic techniques. Last year, Gall hooked up a CCD camera to his 40-year-old Zeiss interferometer microscope. (Such microscopes are commonly used in materials science but are not frequently found in biology labs.) This enabled his team to measure the optical density of the nucleoli, coiled bodies, and the nucleoplasm that surrounds them. "I was quite surprised at how low-density everything was in the [nucleus]," Gall says. His group calculated that the nucleolus contains about 21.5 percent protein, whereas only 10.6 percent of the nucleoplasm is protein. The interferometer microscope measures the change in the optical path of two light beams — one that passes through the material of interest, and one that does not. It is exquisitely sensitive when viewed by eye, Gall says, but the addition of the CCD camera enables his group to move from examining qualitative differences to quantitative ones. Back to Blinded by the Light
|  Next-Generation Technologies Revolutionizing Oncology and Diagnostics
underwritten by Definiens
This “Briefing On” collection of Bio-IT World features, commentaries and analysis, presents some of the latest thinking on high-throughput technologies that are being applied to the fields of research and drug discovery, with particular emphasis on oncology, diagnostics and imaging technologies. Download now at no charge compliments of the underwriting sponsor, Definiens. Download This Free Paper
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This Bio•IT World Briefing On “Next-Generation Sequencing,” underwritten by GenomeQuest, Inc.,
presents a selection of feature stories, interviews,commentaries, conference reports, and editorials on the emergence, opportunities, and challenges posed by high-throughput sequencing. Covered in this collection: the launch of new platforms from Applied Biosystems and Helicos; new applications of nextgen sequencing; the rise of personal genomics; and informatics solutions to vexing problem of managing the vast volumes of next-gen data. Download now
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