Facilities
The Department owns and operates the R.D. Allen Light Microscopy Laboratory
which houses a Zeiss Axiophot equipped for phase, fluorescence, DIC, video
enhanced contrast DIC (VEC-DIC), polarizing and reflection interference
microscopy. Also available is a Leica MZ12 stereomicroscope with Kramer
Scientific epifluorescence equipment. Digital imaging is possible with either
scope using a cooled RGB high resolution Optronics CCD camera. The Microscopy
Facility also houses a Leica TCS SP UV Confocal Microscope equipped with
three visible lasers, one UV laser and a software package that allows 3D
reconstruction. Additionally, the facility houses a Zeiss PALM
system. The PALM system is set up for laser micro- dissection, laser
pressure catapult and optical tweezing.
Our Gilman location houses the Murdough Greenhouses. This
fully-staffed facility provides space and support for teaching and
research.
At our Centerra Bio Labs location we have three new microscopes:
a Nikon C1 confocal microscope, a Nikon stereo microscope with fluorescence
capability, and a Nikon inverted microscope with a microinjection set
up.
Shared Equipment
Shared equipment housed in the Department includes several refrigerated
preparative centrifuges, a Beckman tabletop ultracentrifuge, two full-size
ultracentrifuges, a Packard liquid scintillation counter, two gel
documentation systems and a sonifier cell disrupter. In addition, the
Department has a Molecular Dynamics Typhoon 8600 Imaging system complete with
ImageQuant software for phosphor radioisotope imaging as well as gel and blot
analysis using fluorescence and chemiluminescence detection methods.
Our new Centerra Bio Labs location has been equipped with several
other pieces of new equipment including two Sorvall superspeed centrifuges, a
Beckman Optima L-90K ultracentrifuge, a Beckman Optima TLX tabletop
ultracentrifuge, a Beckman LS 6500 liquid scintillation counter, a Typhoon
9600, UVP gel documentation system and a Kodal x-ray film processor.
Temperature / Light Controlled Space
The Department is equipped with walk-in 30 degree C and 37 degree C rooms as
well as four walk-in cold rooms. Additional facilities include an 18 degree C
Drosophila microinjection facility and Drosophila media kitchen as well as 2
dark-rooms. Plant growth chambers are housed in several locations within the
building and include three walk-in temperature/light/humidity plant growth
chambers and several individual Percival incubators.
Ecological Studies
For ecological studies, the glaciated terrain of New Hampshire and Vermont
offers innumerable streams, ponds, bogs and extensive deciduous and coniferous
forests. Alpine tundra and coastal habitats are within a 1-2 hour drive.
Several areas owned by the college are available for teaching and research,
including the Dartmouth College Grant, a 26,000-acre tract in northern New
Hampshire. The nearby White Mountain National Forest and the Hubbard Brook
Experimental Forest are used extensively for teaching and research by Dartmouth
faculty and students.
Other Dartmouth Resources
Additional facilities associated with the Department include, the Rippel Electron Microscope Facility
equipped with both transmission and scanning electron microscopes, and the Center for Biological and Biomedical
Computing (CBBC) which includes an assortment of computer hardware and
software for molecular applications. The Molecular Biology Core facility on
campus provides oligonucleotide and oligopeptide synthesis as well as DNA and
peptide sequencing services at reagent-cost pricing.
Other resources available at Dartmouth include the Dana Biomedical
Library, the Koop Institute,
the Norris Cotton Cancer
Center, the Dartmouth Medical
School, and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical
Center.
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