Worm Breeder's Gazette 9(2): 111

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.

Metamorphosis: Computer-Assisted Rotational Analysis and Interspatial Distribution of Nuclear Structures from Serial Ultrathin Sections

P. Goldstein and M. Voight

Figure 1

We are interested in cellular and nuclear interspatial relationships.
These can be delineated after three-dimensional reconstruction from 
serial ultrathin sections.  To this end we have concocted 
'Metamorphosis' which is a group of computer programs designed to 
permit three-dimensional analysis of objects from digitized data.  
Infinite exterior views are possible using the rotation program and 
the user has the added ability to enter the object and peer out.  This 
permits analysis of structural associations from any perspective.  
Since many associations cannot be abstracted without a computer, using 
rotation analysis may reveal obscure relationships.  This concept 
becomes important when proposing theories involving interactions 
between two or more objects.  The program is written in BASICA and 
designed for use on IBM-compatible personal computers equipped with a 
digitizer.  We are currently using an IBM-XT with a 10-megabyte hard 
disk and a Houston Instrument DT114 HIPAD Digitizer.  Three 
dimensional transformations are accomplished via matrix manipulation 
which permits rapid evolution of new images.
[See Figure 1]

Figure 1