Live Mitosis

Do you have any microscopy questions, which you are afraid to ask? This is your place.
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Hans2004
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Joined: Tue Nov 07, 2017 4:43 pm

Live Mitosis

#1 Post by Hans2004 » Tue Nov 07, 2017 4:48 pm

I want to view a living cell divide under the microscope (childhood dream, now 50 years old). I have recently purchased a microscope with a phase contrast kit. Does anyone know if this is possible? If so, how would I prepare a slide for viewing? Should I use plant seedlings, and scrape off a thin section?

I can only find guides for staining cells for viewing mitosis. But this would kill the cells, and make it impossible to actually view the whole process with my own eyes.

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zzffnn
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Re: Live Mitosis

#2 Post by zzffnn » Tue Nov 07, 2017 6:18 pm

Welcome to the forum.

The process of living cell diving may be very slow, it should take hours if not days. You may have to shoot time lapse photos every 0.5-1 hr.

And without a professional cell culture incubator or growth media, maintaining living cells may be difficult. I don't know how to do it or if it is possible to do. In a professional lab, such project is easy.

Maybe get a plant root thin section and observe mitosis in different fixed stages?

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