Hi all--
I would like to apologize for the misunderstanding that led me to
think that the Fire lab was no longer sending out the 1997 vector kit.
The Fire lab policy is reprinted below. I'm sorry if this duplicates info
already posted here; I haven't had time to read all my accumulated email
yet (I've been out of town), and wanted to correct this mistake as soon as
possible. Please accept my apology for any inconvenience I have caused.
I especially apologize to the Fire lab, for making you deal with concerned
email from other labs. You guys have been doing a lot of work for us,
which I guess is why it didn't strike me as odd that you might have
stopped distributing kits, and feel that we could share the kits already
distributed.
Anyway, anyone needing the 1997 kit, please refer to the Fire lab
policy below.
Liz Ryder
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Dept. of Biology and Biotechnology
Worcester, MA 01609
email: ryder at wpi.edu
phone: 508-831-6011
fax: 508-831-5936
Fire policy on vector kits:
1. We are committed to ensuring that all vector kits distributed by this lab
will be available to any academic researcher. Academic distribution of the
vectors to a specific lab is contingent only on compliance with the simple
materials transfer agreement that is distributed with the vectors.
2. In allowing access to >1000 C. elegans researchers, we need to avoid
straining our own limited resources. We have distributed over 50,000 vectors
in the last 2-1/2 years. We have no special equipment to assemble kits. All
labor for distribution has been manually carried out by two of us (SiQun Xu
and Andy Fire) pipetting vectors into individual microtiter wells.
3. Many of our requests are re-requests from labs or institutions that
already have been sent kits, or come from metropolitan areas where other labs
already have the vectors. We ask recipients to allow local users to take
samples of individual vectors or of the entire kit. "Kit duplication" is a
simple procedure involving transfer of small amounts of each vector to a new
microtiter rack.
4. When we recieve requests for vectors, we first check for other kits in the
local area. We then forward contact information for the nearest labs already
on our list. If these no longer exist, we should be informed.
5. Anyone moving with an "original" vector kit is expected to inform local
colleagues, allowing them to duplicate the kit before it disappears.
Likewise, if you are starting a new lab, we ask that you take a duplicate of
the kit from your original lab.
6. We still can provide some kits to areas where are they are not currently
available. The way to request them is to FAX us the materials transfer
agreement on the back page of the vector documentation (see our ftp site
"ciw1.ciwemb.edu"). Depending on availability, we can usually send kits out
within 4-8 weeks.
