From owner-drosophila@net.bio.net Fri Feb 02 22:00:00 1996 Path: biosci!bcm.tmc.edu!news.msfc.nasa.gov!newsfeed.internetmci.com!swrinde!cssun.mathcs.emory.edu!hobbes.cc.uga.edu!news From: bernhardt@bscr.uga.edu Newsgroups: bionet.drosophila Subject: Re: ether vs. CO2 Date: 3 Feb 1996 20:19:36 GMT Organization: University of Georgia, Athens, Ga Lines: 27 Message-ID: <4f0g0o$mo4@hobbes.cc.uga.edu> References: <4etgh5$6l0@nntp.Stanford.EDU> Reply-To: bernhardt@bscr.uga.edu NNTP-Posting-Host: bscr.cc.uga.edu In article <4etgh5$6l0@nntp.Stanford.EDU>, Axel Franke writes: >Hi everyone, >this certainly is a never ending discussion, whether to use ether or >CO2. >I would like to get some comments on >-health risks (for both pregant and non-pregnant fly workers) >-costs of CO2 set up >-costs of CO2 use >-effects on flies etc. >Thanks a lot The lab I'm in uses CO2 exclusively for fly anesthesia. There are no health risks to humans (that I know of) short of locking oneself in an airtight room and opening a CO2 canister. If you start breathing faster and deeper, you're getting too much CO2. I don't know about ether. To use CO2 you need a canister and a delivery system. We have a plastic tubing system that delivers the CO2 to a fly platform that is porous. Flies can be safely anesthetized for 10-15 minutes. We aren't concerned with fly behavior, so I can't address possible behavioral effects. I can't imagine ether not having some if CO2 does, though. Another means for anesthetizing flies is sudden refrigeration. I've never used it, but I can put you in touch with someone who has. Also let me know if you have more questions about CO2. I hope this helps. -- Matt Bernhardt University of Georgia Whom the gods would destroy, bernhardt@bscr.uga.edu they first make mad with Microsoft. .