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[Celegans] Counting alive and dead worms

Sarah Perkins sep18 at psu.edu
Thu Apr 6 09:26:47 EST 2006


Dear All

I am looking for a method by which I can count alive and dead worms on a 60mm
Petri dish. From posts on this list my method so far involves putting the dish
in the fridge for about an hour, then placing it under a dissecting scope and
counting the worms as quickly as I can before they start moving again (to avoid
double counting). However, I need to distinguish which worms are alive and
which are dead. A colleague suggested that I poke them and if they move they
are alive, if not they're dead. Is there an easier way to do this - I wondered
for example if there was a stain that would be taken up by alive worms only?
Any suggestions much appreciated. For info - I have to do these counts many
times over, so any methods that would expedite this work would be welcome. 

Best, Sarah




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