Help with Microscopes and Telomeres

Hi,
I have a question, and I was hoping that Etsy's biologists could help me!

I'm trying to figure out what kind of microscope I would need to observe and measure telomeres (part of DNA). Does anyone have any advice? What strength of microscope? Are there any other ways to observe them other than microscopes that you think would be better?

Also, what kind of sample would be best to observe telomeres: hair, blood, skin..?
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Re: Help with Microscopes and Telomeres

To my knowledge, the only way to do this with microscopy is using fluorescent in-situ hybridization. You need a confocal microscope, which most university biology departments would have. Otherwise, you can also measure telomere length through Southern blot or flow cytometry. Any tissue type should be fine, as quality will rely primarily on extraction technique, and there are kits available for extraction of DNA from human tissue. However, there isn't really a good way to do what you want without access to a molecular laboratory that is authorized to work with human tissue.
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Re: Help with Microscopes and Telomeres

Thank you so much for your detailed and thoughtful answer!
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