HONORS LIVING ENVIRONMENT
MS. ETRI
TOPIC 2: LAB TOOLS AND LAB SKILLS
PART 1: TOOLS OF THE BIOLOGIST
DATA, DATA, DATA
 The amount of data that is produced today is so huge, no individual can look at more than a tiny
fraction of it.
 Think about all of the data stored on your smartphone…
 Bernard Marr (Forbes Magazine)
o Data is growing faster than ever before and by the year 2020, about 1.7 megabytes of new
information will be created every second for every human being on the planet.
o Every second we create new data. For example, we perform _______________ search queries
every second (on Google alone).
o At the moment less than ___________________of all data is ever analyzed and used.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhancock/2016/09/19/the-future-of-robotic-surgery/#2526d6183c27
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So, how do scientists manage these large amounts of data?
COMPUTERS are often used to make sense of the data.
o Ex. can quickly search through DNA sequences, can gather data from a satellite and analyze
results to make predictions.
OTHER TOOLS OF A BIOLOGIST
 MICROSCOPES: devices that produce magnified images of structures that are too small to see with
the unaided eye.
o LIGHT MICROSCOPES: _______________________________________________________
 Can magnify up to _____________________________.
 Two types:
 COMPOUND MICROSCOPE
o Uses
_________________________________________
_________________________________________.
o
o
o
Uses _______________ lenses to form an image.
Can use light microscopes to study both living cells
and dead organisms.
Stains (dyes) are used to show specific structures in
a cell.
 Ex. Iodine
 Ex. Fluorescent dyes are combined with video
cameras to produce moving 3D images of cell
movement processes in real time!
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HONORS LIVING ENVIRONMENT
 DISSECTION (STEREO) MICROSCOPE
o Uses _________________ eye pieces.
o Provides a 3D view of the specimen.
o Ideal for examining surfaces, sorting and
dissecting.
o
MS. ETRI
ELECTRON MICROSCOPES:
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
 Can form sharp images of objects that are 1000 times _____________________ than
those visible under a light microscope.
 Cannot be used to study live specimens  Lives specimens would be killed in the
process!
 Can magnify up to ___________________________________.
 Two types:
 SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE (SEM)
o A pencil-like beam of electrons is run back and forth across
o
o
_________________________________________________________
Scans larger areas.
o
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________.
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TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE (TEM)
o Shines a beam of
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HONORS LIVING ENVIRONMENT
MS. ETRI
o
__________________________________________________________.
o
o
_________________________________________.
Forms a _______________ black and white image of
o
__________________________________________________________.
TECHNIQUES
 CELL CULTURES- samples taken and grown in a lab for study.
o Place a single cell into a dish containing a nutrient
solution.
o Cell reproduces so a cell culture (group of cells)
________________________________________
o
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Increases the sample size.
 Ex. Staphylococcus (left) vs. Streptococcus
(right)
CELL FRACTIONATION
o
____________________________________________________________________________.
o
Components are inserted into a
_____________________________
 CENTRIFUGE- a spinner used to separate
components into layers
______________________________________
(ex. blood)

Can spin the tube up to
_________________________________________________.

Most dense parts settle near the ________________________ of the tube.
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HONORS LIVING ENVIRONMENT
MS. ETRI
 Biologists can then remove a specific part of the cell to be studied by selecting the
appropriate layer.
 How to Use a Centrifuge
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GEL ELECTROPHORESIS
o Separates DNA, RNA or proteins according to
o
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____________________________________.
Molecules are separated by electricity that guides
the components through a gel which contains
small pores.
MICRODISSECTION—Removes really small components from inside a cell.
o Example: In vitro fertilization (IVF)
 Mature eggs are collected from ovaries and fertilized by sperm in a petri dish.
The Incredible Human Body -Micro-dissection Tools -Minute 7:00
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