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Gfp worms are fun, too, especially of still alive.    Definitely common insects, such as ants and bees are neat to see.    Other faves include brine shrimp (autofl), elodea (moving chloropl), dollar bills, hair, salt crystals, sand, sponge spicules, cheerios, peoples lunches!   A lot of food fluoresces since it has plant matter. Also, if you have H&E stained slides, they'll fluoresce.      Gisele

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On Jan 30, 2011, at 10:03 PM, CONFOCALMICROSCOPY automatic digest system <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> There are 3 messages totalling 168 lines in this issue.
> 
> Topics of the day:
> 
>  1. Simple animal demo specimen ideas (3)
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Date:    Mon, 31 Jan 2011 09:05:47 +1100
> From:    Rosemary White <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Simple animal demo specimen ideas
> 
> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> *****
> 
> Hi John,
> 
> What about some small pond creatures slowed down in the usual goop - I've
> forgotten what it's called, probably based on glycerol.  Something
> recognisable as an organism - pollen is good, too, as suggested, and doesn't
> need to be slowed down.  Pond life usually has some autofluorescence, or can
> be stained lightly, and people can compare the dissector image (often a
> small swimming dot) with details on the confocal.
> 
> Cleared and stained insect heads are pretty good on the confocal too.  Some
> spectacular images from groups here are the nervous systems of various
> creatures - even the nematode nervous system is beautiful.  These have
> various FP-expression to highlight different systems, mostly olfactory,
> given the interests of our colleagues in entomology.
> 
> I've found that people are interested that chlorophyll fluoresces red - and
> if you also have a GFP torch and yellow glasses and can show them red (and
> GFP-green) fluorescing plants in a dark alcove, that's usually pretty
> interesting.  You do sometimes get the anti-GM questions, though, and if
> your regulatory environment is anything like it is here, you'd have to do it
> in a PC2 facility....  Alternatively, you can show the brighter red patches
> in green and white variegated leaves.
> 
> cheers,
> Rosemary
> 
> Dr Rosemary White
> CSIRO Plant Industry
> GPO Box 1600
> Canberra, ACT 2601
> Australia
> 
> T 61 2 6246 5475
> F 61 2 6246 5334
> E [log in to unmask]
> 
> 
> On 29/01/11 4:10 AM, "John Runions" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
>> *****
>> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
>> *****
>> 
>> Dear microscopists,
>> 
>> Each year at our university Science Bazaar we demonstrate our imaging
>> 'prowess' and equipment to the community at large (adults and kids).  This
>> event is always well received and the biggest attraction of all is usually
>> the dissecting microscopes because we let the kids look at their disgusting
>> fingernails and they like that.  SEMs work well because we can show head
>> lice and rats tongue and... well you are probably starting to see a theme.
>> 
>> The problem is giving a really good demo with the confocal microscopes - we
>> show GFP labelled organelles moving around inside living cells and demos of
>> 3D reconstruction but this doesn't really seem to capture the kids
>> imaginations.
>> 
>> Does anybody have a favorite organism or staining technique that is simple
>> and effective as a demo in a situation where lots of people are moving
>> through fairly quickly.
>> 
>> I appreciate your suggestions.
>> 
>> John
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Date:    Sun, 30 Jan 2011 15:32:07 -0800
> From:    Christian <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Simple animal demo specimen ideas
> 
> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=3Dconfocalmicroscopy
> *****
> 
> A three or four channel z series through a fruit fly often gives some great=
> stuff to work with and without any staining.=A0 Most insects heads, eyes a=
> nd antennae have enough autofluorescence to wow them, and you can see the o=
> rganism with the naked eye.=20
> 
> If you wanted to use dissecting, compound, confocal and SEM you could simpl=
> y use eye lashes.=A0 A little DAPI or PI for the confocal and nothing speci=
> al for the other 'scopes might work.=A0 I prefer to take something they've =
> seen thousands of time and really show them what those things look like.=A0=
> It makes it more real, in my opinion.
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Date:    Sun, 30 Jan 2011 23:46:11 +0000
> From:    Caroline Bass <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Simple animal demo specimen ideas
> 
> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=3Dconfocalmicroscopy
> *****
> 
> Do let us know what you decide upon and how it goes with the kids. I've
> been following the discussion with great interest.
> 
> 
> 
> On 1/28/11 12:10 PM, "John Runions" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
>> *****
>> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=3Dconfocalmicroscopy
>> *****
>> 
>> Dear microscopists,
>> 
>> Each year at our university Science Bazaar we demonstrate our imaging
>> 'prowess' and equipment to the community at large (adults and kids).  This
>> event is always well received and the biggest attraction of all is usually
>> the dissecting microscopes because we let the kids look at their
>> disgusting
>> fingernails and they like that.  SEMs work well because we can show head
>> lice and rats tongue and... well you are probably starting to see a theme.
>> 
>> The problem is giving a really good demo with the confocal microscopes -
>> we
>> show GFP labelled organelles moving around inside living cells and demos
>> of
>> 3D reconstruction but this doesn't really seem to capture the kids
>> imaginations.
>> 
>> Does anybody have a favorite organism or staining technique that is simple
>> and effective as a demo in a situation where lots of people are moving
>> through fairly quickly.
>> 
>> I appreciate your suggestions.
>> 
>> John
>> 
>> --=20
>> John Runions, PhD
>> Senior Lecturer in Cell Biology
>> Oxford Brookes University
>> School of Life Sciences
>> Gipsy Lane, Oxford
>> OX3 0BP
>> UK
>> 
>> 01865 483 964
>> http://www.brookes.ac.uk/lifesci/runions/HTMLpages/index.html!
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> End of CONFOCALMICROSCOPY Digest - 29 Jan 2011 to 30 Jan 2011 (#2011-30)
> ************************************************************************