13.0017.008

This barrel of mineral oil was used by Dr. Michael Potter to induce plasma cell tumors in mice.

Read Potter and Boyce’s paper “Development of Plasma-Cell Neoplasms in BALB/c Mice After Intraperitoneal Injection of Paraffin-Oil Adjuvant, Heat-Killed Staphylococcus Mixtures,” Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 25(4), October 1960, pp. 847-861.

Learn more on the Esso Oil Drum artifact page.

13.0017.006-7

Potter wanted to study the early stages of tumor growth, but the tumors only grew in animals. Each of these containers holds the bones of one mouse. The labels indicate the mouse’s identifying number, gender, and colony, as well as what the mouse was injected with, such as “1 dose one Fruends adj + Staph” or “mineral oil only,” and when it was injected. Potter would inspect the bones for lesions about 90 days after tumor X5563 had been transplanted into the mice.

Read Nordan and Potter’s paper, “A macrophage-derived factor required by plasmacytomas for survival and proliferation in vitro,” Science 233(4763), 01 Aug 1986, pp. 566-569.

Learn more on the Mouse Reliquaries Artifacts page.

08.0003.005

Drs. Michael Potter and Rose Lieberman prepared their Freund’s adjuvant in a Waring Blendor (yes, that should be an “o”). An adjuvant is a substance that affects an action in a predictable way; Potter used Freund’s adjuvant to generate mouse plasma cell tumor cell lines. Freund’s adjuvant, named after Dr. Jules Freund, keeps an antigen from breaking down quickly and/or increases its effects.

For a complete look at Freund’s impact, see “Jules Freund, 1890-1960,” Journal of Immunology, 909(3), 1963, pp. 330-336.

Learn more on the Waring Blendor Artifacts page.

14.0038.001

Scientists are often associated with microscopes, and in some cases, for good reason. Dr. Michael Potter was usually at his laboratory bench using his Olympus BH-2 Microscope. The BH-2 was part of the first Olympus series that allowed a microscope to the transformed to meet many specifications by switching the microscope head lens modules.

More information is available on the Olympus Microscope Artifacts page.

Learn more about the BH-2 here.

3.0025.001-6

An inveterate beach comber, Dr. Michael Potter expressed his artistic side when he created sculptures of sea birds like pelicans and terns from shells and stones that he had collected. He had a good eye for which shells would fit together to become part of a bird’s body.

Learn more about these sculptures.

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