ZMBH J.Bericht 2000 - Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie der ...

Biocomputing
Computing and communication via the internet are
absolutely essential for the modern biological Sciences.
Accordingly, the ZMBH is equipped with a
powerful computer network that comprises by now
three central Macintosh Servers, ≈180 Macintoshs for
endusers, two Sun workstations, 20 Windows com–
puters and 20 printers that are connected with each
other through an Ethernet and a Local talk system.
A considerable amount of computer-controlled equipment,
such as microscopes, fluor- and phosphoimagers,
oligonucleotide- and polypeptide synthesisers, as
well as DNA-sequencing machines, are also integrated
into the network.
The ZMBH employs a team of three computer specialists,
complemented by one or more students,
who maintain and up-date the hardware and software
and give a comprehensive support to all users. This
includes, for example, administration of the network
and servers, set up of computers according to the
individual user‘s requirements and the creation of
customised databases for sophisticated, user-specific
sequence analysis with UNIX-based software. In addition,
the computer group provides software training
in small groups or on an individual basis for a broad
range of applications.
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Raphael Mosbach
Animal House and Transgene Lab 1
The ZMBH animal house is a central division of the
institute that provides research groups with the opportunity
to breed experimental animals and perform
animal experiments. For this purpose, the animal house
maintains quantities of mice, rats, rabbits and African
clawed toads (Xenopus laevis).
Covering a total area of 560 m 2 there are rooms for
housing the animals, preparation rooms, storage areas
and a large enclosure with cage-washing facilities and
autoclave. The animal house is run as a SPF-unit. That
is to say, the animals are kept under conditions that are
strictly isolated from the outside environment. Careful
controls ensure that animals introduced into the facility
are free of any of the pathogens typically found in
the species.
Experimental protocols indicating immunizations,
blood samplings etc. are performed by the animal
house staff as a service to the research groups. Methods
employed, for example, for treatment applications,
body fluid samplings and surgery, adhere to contemporary
standards in experimental animal science. Moreover
the methods used are under continuous assessment
and improved techniques are introduced whenever
possible.
The Transgene-Laboratory offers the generation of
transgenic mice and rats and mouse-chimeras, as well
as offering in-vitro-fertilization, ovary-transfer and
cryopreservation of embryos of both species. During
1998/99 224 pronucleus- and ES-cell-injections were
performed with mice, which delivered a total of over
1.300 founders and chimeras respectively - an average
of 6 positive animals per experiment. Also, 49
transgenic mouse lines were cryopreserved, and 2 lines
were revitalized. Finally, 2 invitro-fertilizations were
performed and 11 microbilogically contaminated lines
from other facilities were rederived by embryotransfer.
Moreover, courses on transgenic techniques and reproductive
biology were held for graduate students, and
special training programs were offered for transgene
technicians.
1 For more information use the link „Biogroup“ of the ZMBH-homepage
Jürgen Weiß
Teaching Facilities
The ZMBH has invested considerable funds and effort
in building and maintaining adequate facilities for
student laboratory courses in molecular biology, cell
biology, biochemistry and microbiology. This teaching
facility is organized as an independent unit consisting
of a laboratory providing space for 14 students,
with labs for special equipment, a darkroom and a
kitchen for cleaning glassware and for media preparation.
Major equipment includes: scintillation counters,
spectrophotometers, ultracentrifuges and computers.
In addition, there is all the equipment required
for work with radioactive compounds and biological
materials at the S1 safety level. The facilities are
scheduled each year for the 10 months of the regular
curriculum of the Faculty of Biology. For the remaining
time, the laboratory is used for postgraduate training.
Our teaching secretariat provides administrative support
to all the teaching activities and to the development
of curricula. It also keeps records of all ZMBH
students.
In the academic year 1998/99 we had some 80 graduates
and around 300 undergraduates participating in
the institute‘s programs in molecular biology and cell
biology. These two programs have been chosen by
70% of the biology students after their „Vordiplom“ in
1998/1999.
Hans Peter Blaschkowski
Richard Herrmann
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