OLYMPUS TECHNOZONE Vol.62 2004-12
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INDEX
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With microscopes playing so many important
roles, they must be
assembled with the utmost care
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| *3––Real Clone by Michihiko Wakayama,
published by Shogakukan (2000) The author is Dr. Wakayama's older brother,
a former high school science teacher. Wakayama wrote a candid account
of the life and work of his brother, who succeeded in cloning mice and
in the process paved the way for the establishment of cloning technology.
That account won a prize for excellence in the sixth Shogakkan non-fiction
awards and was published as a book entitled Real Clone. |
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I hear that each of the researchers at your laboratory uses his/her
own microscope. That's surprising.
The first thing that strikes people when they visit my
lab is the number of microscopes that we have. As the person who
sets them all up, I'm the only one who has noticed the subtle differences
between individual microscopes. New researchers at the lab use
only
the microscope designated for their use, so they adjust their eyes
to that microscope. It means that they only know what things look
like under that particular microscope. A different microscope changes
the view of the cells: that is why I have each researcher use a
particular microscope.
In the book Real Clone (*3), the importance of equipment is
mentioned as one of several elements contributing to the success
of your experiments. As a manufacturer of microscopes, we are naturally
delighted to hear this. It makes us feel that we really are contributing
to research. I am sure that people at the frontline of manufacturing
would love to hear from users in this way more often.
Talking at conferences with people doing nucleus transplants
(*4), I find that everyone thinks he or she has the best technique.
I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a case of incompetent workmen
blaming their tools, but if people insist that microscopes should
be made better, to speed up the job for example, it means that
they
don't have the necessary skills. People with the ability to use
microscopes at their will don't complain. That goes for me, too,
now (laughs).
Is there a special knack to handling different microscopes
or manipulators?
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Equipment these days is of a very high quality, so you
don't need much of a knack to use it. Once you become accustomed to the equipment,
you find that your hands just start to move of their own accord. You don't
have to take your eye away from the eyepiece, and you will soon learn to
perform tasks such as changing the lenses easily. When it comes to taking
advantage of the advanced capabilities of the machine, practice is everything.
Just as microscopes are important in your research,
Dr. Wakayama, tools are important to me when I assemble those microscopes.
I've always been quite particular about the tools I use, for example
modifying my own screwdrivers to use with special machine screws.
There's no way that I would lend my tools to anybody. I have a
lock on my toolbox (laughs).
So I assume other people's tools are no good
for you either?
Can't use them. I even take my own tools when
sitting the technical proficiency exams.
What was the first microscope that you built?
When I came to the Ina Plant, first I worked
in lens grinding, then on microscope electric circuits. Then I
started assembling BX Series (*5) microscopes.
How long does it take to assemble a single
microscope?
About 16 hours I suppose: one every two days.
The completed microscopes are shipped with my name stamped inside
the main unit, and I say to each one as it leaves the plant, "Bye
now, and don't you dare come back!"
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| *4––Transplanting nuclei using a
micromanipulator (click on image to expand it) |
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*5––Power BX Series BX51 system microscope
One of the latest models in the BX Series of top-of-the-line system microscopes,
boasting high optical performance and flexible scalability for a variety
of applications from testing to research. |
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INDEX
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