[Histonet] Re: Superfrost slides-Histonet question

[I.B.]

Gayle, Stephen and Mari Ann,

Thanks again for the advice on sectioning.  This has diverged quite a bit
from my two original concerns (why my sections are falling off after
washing, and trying to find a decent water-stable counterstain to NBT/BCIP),
but this revives some issues and questions I had a few months ago that I
never satisfactorily resolved.  Gayle, I tried your advice on stopping just
before the section detaches and it works great (now if only I could
consistently catch that dang curl).  I also like your idea of holding onto
the wheel rather than the handle.  MUCH better control that way.  I was just
thinking that there is a generation of kids behind me that would be really
good at sectioning tissue -- it requires a great deal of coordination
between both hands and what you are seeing, and there are none better then
these kids who have mastered fast-paced first-person-shooter video games
using control pads with dual joysticks and eight or more buttons.  They are
also great at sitting in one spot for hours at a time doing the same thing
over and over and over.  A concerted effort should be made to get them into
labs . . .  I will head to a art supply store sometime and check out
brushes, too.  I bought a stiff brush months ago to replace the soft brushes
we had been using, but for a different reason:  the soft brushes tend to
build up static and getting the sections off of them is a nightmare, which
led to many not-so-private curses.  I did trim it at an angle after finding
Stephen's website, but I don't think it is quite as stiff.  Lastly, can you
send along both powerpoints?

Stephen, since you are in audience, can I ask about your technique of
dipping in 95% Ethanol after mounting a frozen section?  My main question is
whether or not this can be done to a slide that will have multiple sections
on it ( i.e., can I mount, dip, mount, dip, mount, etc.) or whether it is a
one time only deal.

Ion