Microscope Techniques

Provides invaluable, high-resolution information about white matter structure, including data on cellular identity, cellular and cell morphology, ultra-structural details of cellular constituents, and the consequences of pathology. This is a skill that has flourished throughout my undergrad career and was continuously used as I moved up in course levels. 

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Spectrometer

The basic function of a spectrometer is to take in light, break it into its spectral components, digitize the signal as a function of wavelength, and read it out and display it through a computer. The first step in this process is to direct light through a fiber optic cable into the spectrometer through a narrow aperture known as an entrance slit. The slit vignettes the light as it enters the spectrometer. In most spectrometers, the divergent light is then collimated by a concave mirror and directed onto a grating. The grating then disperses the spectral components of the light at slightly varying angles, which is then focused by a second concave mirror and imaged onto the detector. 

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Gel Electrophoresis

 A laboratory method used to separate mixtures of DNA, RNA, or Proteins according to molecular size. Gel electrophoresis, the molecules to be separated are pushed by an electrical field through a gel that contains small pores. The molecules travel through the pores in the gel at a speed that is inversely related to their lengths. This means that a small DNA molecule will travel a greater distance through the gel than will a larger DNA molecule.

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Differential Test

Isolation of bacteria is accomplished by growing them on the surface of solid nutrient media. Such a medium normally consists of a mixture of protein digests and inorganic salts, hardened by the addition of 1.5% agar. Selective media contain ingredients that inhibit the growth of some organisms but allow others to grow. Differential media contain compounds that allow groups of microorganisms to be visually distinguished by the appearance of the colony or the surrounding media, usually on the basis of some biochemical difference between the two groups.