Worm Breeder's Gazette 1(1): 4
These abstracts should not be cited in bibliographies. Material contained herein should be treated as personal communication and should be cited as such only with the consent of the author.
In genetic crosses and in experiments measuring the number of progeny produced by a worm, the counting of progeny is tedious. It is often important to kill off or remove all of one generation before they reach maturity in order to prevent a second generation from confusing results. We have found that a miniature soldering iron can be used for killing individual animals on a petri plate. The killing is reliable and fast if the tip is cleaned of roasted worm periodically. If the soldering iron is connected to a counting circuit, such as those used in resistance type bacterial plaque counters, the counts are recorded automatically. The schematic of a simple counting circuit we have built is diagrammed below. The second terminal is connected to the agar surface by an alligator clip. The standard copper tip on the iron can be sharpened for use, but we find it more convenient to use the fine pointed tip of a dissecting needle fastened to the soldering iron with a brass sleeve. The whole system can be purchased and assembled for about $60. [See Figure 1]