August 17, 2010

Report: PostNature in the Exploratorium

As guest blogger, I present to you an informal introduction to the postnatural, behind-the-scenes habitats of the beloved genetically modified organisms that we keep around the Exploratorium for our exhibits.  These are all versions of GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein), back from when folks were just starting to make GMOs and therefore the main goal was to SEE the transgene.  I’ll go into more detail regarding each of these organisms in the future, but for now, here’s a snapshot introduction.

GFP Drosophila - I've never even checked to see if these guys glow under UV light. Something to try soon!

X4 is one of my personal favorite tanks, there's a really showy Danio (zebrafish) in there.

Here’s the Z-mod (Zebrafish Module) where all the little tanks live. GFP all on the left, wildtype (WT) on the right.

These are our GFP C. elegans. We’re supposed to have 3 different kinds, with glowing throats, heads and nerve cords, but they’ve all become glowing throats at this point. We have to thaw out the other ones from our cryofreezer to get back on the C. elegans track!

Here's how we're prototyping growing Arabidopsis in a big tube so it will go "up" instead of "everywhere"

-LBA

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