Science Days: The Cell
Saturday & Sunday, February 2-3, 2013, 10 AM-6 PM / Ars Electronica Center
(Linz, January 31, 2013) During Science Days at the Ars Electronica Center on the weekend of February 2-3, 2013, the focus will be on the cell, the tiniest unit of living organisms. At the AEC’s in-house BioLab, visitors will get to use microscopes to explore some of the fascinating things that go inside cells, learn how to stain cells, and find out about the Ars Electronica Center’s joint project with Linz’s Central Blood Bank that’s using a scanning electron microscope to analyze the aging process of red blood cells.
THE CELL: ATOM OF LIFE?
Saturday & Sunday / 10 AM-1 PM and 2-5 PM in the Lobby (Level 0)
Workshop participants can use transmitted light microscopes to explore the fascinating structures of cells and, in doing so, behold the smallest integrated unit of life.
WORKSHOP: CYTOCOSM
Saturday & Sunday / 10 AM-1 PM in the BioLab (Level -3)
The CYTOCOSM workshop is an intensive encounter with various forms of cell staining. Participants will learn classic methods, work with modern immunofluorescent dyes, and get acquainted with methods and procedures for using a microscope to observe and analyze cells.
THE EXPIRATION DATE OF BLOOD
Saturday & Sunday / 2 PM in the BioLab (Level -3), Duration: about 30 minutes
Since April 2011, the Ars Electronica Center and Linz’s Central Blood Bank have been conducting a joint project that involves research on the aging process of red blood cells using a scanning electron microscope. Workshop participants can observe red blood cells and attempt to recognize the changes they undergo.
WORKSHOP: IMAGES FROM INSIDE CELLS
Saturday & Sunday / 3 PM in the BioLab (Level -3), Duration: about 30 minutes
The workshop leader will assist participants in using fluorescent stain and hematoxylin & eosin stain, and in comparing the resulting cells. The images and impressions that emerge are highly diverse, and will be compared and contrasted at the end of the workshop.
WORKSHOP: THE CLASSICS OF CELL STAINING
Saturday & Sunday / 4 PM in the BioLab (Level -3), Duration: about 30 minutes
Pioneers such as Gram, Ehrlich and Pasteur were already developing cell staining methods in the 19th century—for example, the hematoxylin & eosin stain that is still widely used in cell research and analysis. Workshop participants will get acquainted with the classic methods of staining and an introduction to what goes on inside cells.
WORKSHOP: CELL STAINING IN THE 21st CENTURY
Saturday & Sunday / 5 PM in the BioLab (Level -3), Duration: about 30 minutes
When microscopy merges with modern molecular biology, this results in totally new possibilities for conducting cellular research. Here, workshop participants can use fluorescent stains to make cell nuclei visible and discover other parts of the cell such asthe Golgi bodies, the endoplasmic reticulum and the cytoskeleton.
press release “Science Days: The Cell” / PDF
Photo:
Cells of a lily anther / Stefan Schwarzmair / Printversion / Album
Photo:
In the Biolab / rubra / Printversion / Album
