Experiments on deck: Flow Cytometry

Oh hey everybody

 

We thought we'd explain a little more about the kinds of experiments we can do with additional funding!  We're going to start with a machine called the Flow Cytometer.

 

The sorts of experiments we'd like to do involve machines like the flow cytometer, which costs around $40 every time we use it.   Flow cytometers are really neat machines because you can send cells one at a time through a tiny tube and assess them.  Lights and lasers shine on the cells one at a time and the machine reads how the cell reacts based on the light.  There's a number of things you can learn from this.  You can tell roughly how large the cell is and how much opaque material is inside the cell(AKA granularity) by just shining normal light on the cell.  The really exciting thing you can do with these machines involves antibodies.  Cells all have proteins on their surfaces and the type of protein determines how the cell interacts with its surroundings, what roles it fulfills for the animal, etc.  When a cell is labeled with a flourescent antibody that binds to a certain type of protein, you can run it through a flow cytometer and only the cells with that protein you're interested in will shine back with flourescence.  From there you can sort the cells.  You can put the cells that have the interesting protein present in one tube, and ones without the protein into another, sort big cells from small cells, and so forth.  The applications of this technology are varied and far reaching, so it's great that we're going to have some funding to put it to good use!

Thank you again to everyone for your support the last couple weeks, our squid could just hug you.

 

-Sarah