Andrew Vik
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David:

How well would grain alcohol products, such as Everclear, work in preserving
useful genetic material? I think that is the highest proof ethanol available to
the layman.
Also, how long are ethanol preserved specimens viable for such research?

Andrew V.

David Campbell wrote:

> >Any special place you get enough 90% or stronger alcohol to soak 4-5 gallons
> >of dredged sand and
> >rubble?
>
> I get ethanol for preserving DNA samples through the university, as a
> chemical reagent.  It is less expensive but requires more paperwork.  I do
> not know how easy it would be for someone not officially connected with a
> university or industrial buyer to obtain it this way.  It's probably worth
> checking if you know a chemist or biochemist.
>
> If you preserve the micros in ethanol, they could be used for DNA work.
> Very few micros have had the DNA analyzed, and the systematic placement is
> often uncertain, so most of what you find is probably unusual in this
> sense.
>
> David Campbell
>
> "Old Seashells"
>
> Department of Geological Sciences
> CB 3315 Mitchell Hall
> University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
> Chapel Hill NC 27599-3315
> USA
>
> [log in to unmask]
> 919-962-0685
> FAX 919-966-4519
>
> "He had discovered an unknown bivalve, forming a new genus"-E. A. Poe, The
> Gold Bug