Equipment
Academics / Departments & Programs / Biology / About Us / Equipment
The biology department has 20 labs equipped with typical teaching and research equipment. In addition to this, Calvin's biology department has received funding to purchase advanced and specialized equipment, which at large universities is usually reserved for faculty and graduate students. Here at Calvin, undergraduate students use this technology for research projects and classroom work.
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Aquariums
- We keep a variety of tropical fish and amphibians in fresh water aquariums.
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Atmosphere Control Glovebox
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Boat, truck and trailer
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CO2 Incubator
- Allows cells to be grown in culture by emulating a cell’s normal environment in an organism.
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Cell 3D Imaging System (Zeiss Apotome)
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Computerized Physiology Monitoring Equipment
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Electrocardiogram (ECG)
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Embryonic Viability Detector
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Flow Cytometer
- Measures fluorescently labeled structures in or on cells. Can be applied to identify leukemia cells or the amount of DNA in individual cells.
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Fluidigm BioMark HD
- Used for high-throughput quantitative PCR and genotyping.
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Fluorometer
- Measuring fluorescently tagged structures in cells and tissues
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Greenhouses
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Growth Chambers
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Image Documentation System
- Used for digitizing images for permanently recording laboratory data.
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Inverted Microscope
- Used for viewing living cells growing in culture. Can be used for viewing living cells growing in culture and observing cellular responses to infection.
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Ion Torrent
- Used for sequencing the genomes of bacteria and bacteriophages (both cultured and uncultured). Sequencing mRNA from a variety of sources.
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Negative-80 Freezer
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Odyssey Li-Cor Scanner
- Infrared imaging system used to scan gels.
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Plant Flourometer
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Portable Photosynthesis System
- Used to measure leaf fluorescence and gas exchange rates (CO2 and H2O) between plant leaves or insects and the atmosphere.
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Remote sound production device
- These units are used to playback pre-recorded birds songs and other types of noise in remote forest locations in order to monitor the resulting changes in bird behavior. Designed in house by Chuck Holwerda in the electronics shop and Phil Jasperse in the metal and wood shop.
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Super Speed Centrifuge and Rotors
- Separates structures by rotation at ultra high speed (80,000 rpm, 605,000 x g), an ultra high-speed refrigerated centrifuge
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Synergy Microplate Reader
- Used for measuring absorbance, fluorescence of luminescence of indicator compounds in cellular/biochemical reactions.
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