Recently, the lab acquired our first batch of fertilized chicken eggs. I, along with the other undergraduate/graduate students, have spent time working on the technique of opening the eggs and extracting the embryo. This process (which is much harder than it looks) must be done quickly and efficiently so that all embryos collected start at approximately the same developmental stage for the experiment. In order to isolate the embryo, the egg is wiped clean, opened near the top where the air bubble resides using small angled scissors, a milliliter or two of egg white is removed with a syringe, black dye is inserted with a small needle directly under the embryo, the site is dabbed clear of egg white, filter paper is placed on top of the embryo, straight scissors are used to separate the embryo from the yolk, and the filter paper with embryo attached are moved into a petri dish with ringer solution. Got it? -Savita Chapman |