Arduino is a popular, cheap (around 25 USD), and open source microcontroller platform. We use them all over the lab. Students can learn to program them very quickly, they’re versatile, and there is…
I use SolidWorks to design custom parts for my rigs. Many times, these parts mate with existing Thorlabs parts. Fortunately, Thorlabs offers SolidWorks files that can be directly…
Post by Darcy Peterka (Columbia University/Yuste lab):
We do a bunch of multiple imaging/uncaging experiments with 2+ lasers, and got tired of constantly taking apart the camera/laser ports to switch lenses and dichroics. …
The DiRisi Lab at UCSF shares their STL files for 3D printing some equipment. There’s a pipette holder, several gel combs, an objective case, and more. You can print your own…
Less than a year ago, the patent on 2-photon microscopy ran expired (Nov 14, 2009 pdf). So now anyone can sell a kit or system for two photon microscopy without having to pay a licensing fee.
If you don’t want to start from scratch, there are a lot of options.
Prairie Technologies
This is just a quick list of manufacturers/vendors of multielectrode recording hardware, and their roots. Unsurprisingly, they were almost all started by neurophysiologists. It’s interesting how diverse they are, they each seem to…
Coherent just sold its 1000th Chameleon system. That’s roughly how many of the similarly-priced Lamborghini Countach LP500s were sold. That was in the 1980s. Coherent has been selling Chameleons…
A friend of mine does a lot of molecular biology and keeps an incubator at home so she can run a reaction and stop it some time at night without having to make…
Several labs have set up their own workflows for imaging the same tissue using both fluorescence and electron microscopy (EM). Zeiss just released a product, called Shuttle-and-Find, to streamline this. It’s pretty simple,…
Structured illumination can be used to increase the resolution of wide field fluorescence imaging. The idea is best motivated by thinking about Moire fringes. In panel (a) below, if you stand away from…
We covered a simple lickometer circuit previously. Another useful interface is a capacitive touch sensor. In contrast to light gate sensors, there are no extra photons floating around that could disturb…
It seems like everyone is coming up with new open source PCR machines/thermocyclers. Here’s another project, this time from an outfit called Otyp. What’s unique about this iteration (besides the beautiful prototype…
Shapeways now has a sample pack you can order to help you pick a process and material for your 3D printed object. It’s $30, but comes with a $25 voucher for…
PVC plumbing pipe is often used for cheap and easy builds such as Faraday cages for electrophysiology rigs. However, the choice of sizes and fitings is rather limited. Enter FORMUFIT. They offer…
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