Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

hi there, i'm planning to do a project on the bioluminescent abilities of vibrio harveyi or fischeri. I would like to know what would be the best way to measure bioluminescence; by photometer or luminometer. It would also be a great help to where i can obtain either as well. Thank you!
Sincerely, Sophia

Generally speaking I would suggest you use a luminometer for this. Do you have one available to you? I have only ever used a luminometer for this purpose and it would be your ideal tool, but there may be other methods available if you can't get access to one.

I am not too sure, but i am trying right now to find a mentor at any nearby colleges or bio labs, i assume they would have the luminometer or a tool similar to it.

Hi Sophia,

It is not necessarily safe to assume that a lab will have a luminometer. It depends on the type of research!

In case you cannot find one to borrow, I searched the Internet for "luminometer" and found some pretty good deals. Here is one for less than $20: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 1NV1029131

You may have some luck doing your own search.

Good luck!

Heather

Hello there,

I noticed that your research topic is about testing the effects of UV rays on bioluminescent Vibrio fischeri and I think it's quite interesting! Just out of curiosity, why did you decide to choose UV rays and not some other conditions? Do Vibrio fischeri often get exposed to UV rays in their natural habitats? Some other things to consider is the amount of time you expose the bacteria to UV rays. One of the things you can test is whether exposing the bacteria to UV rays for longer amounts of time will change the bioluminescence levels compared to shorter exposures. Another thing you can test is UV rays of different "strengths" and see if "stronger" UV rays will change the bioluminescence levels compared to "weaker" UV rays. Where are you going to obtain your source of UV rays? Do you have a UV lamp, or are you just going to expose your bacteria to something like the sun?

I realize that you are still in your early stages of planning your project, but these could be very important points to consider when you actually do your experiments!

Hope that helped.

Connie