What On Earth?

[Zacs-Master]

I pride myself in being able to work out the basics of technology but this one has me stumped. What on earth do these things do?
http://www.lifetechnologies.com/uk/en/home/life-science/protein-expression-and-analysis/western-blotting.html?cid=display_TRFC-WestFlow-CO116306&ef_id=U62yNAAAASSOaEiK:20140627180516:d

[theprof]

Thanks for that Peter.

[theprof]

I do find that I can get to a stage where the usual suspects soon dry up with their attempts at witty comments. They seem to be only able to take it so far. Once again, it's happened here.

[pixie373]

Lol. Funny thread. Still no idea :-)

[naomi24]

I really want to join in with this, but I'm too tired, so got to go to bed. Pleased to see 'theprof' around though. :o)

[pixie373]

Night Naomi x

[theprof]

Goodnight Naomi. Thanks for that.

[Prudie]

PP I take affront at the comment about usual suspects because firstly I have no recollection of being in a group with these posters and regularly going round spoiling threads until our witty comments dry out. It was an interesting thread for once and we learned something at the same time as having some fun banter. It's a bit rich knocking people because they don't have a biochemistry degree nor have knowledge of what is obviously a highly specialised piece of equipment.
The thread made a nice change from discussions about whether we prefer Nutella or marmite on our toast but I don't see those people berated for their lack of intellectual skills.

[Peter Pedant]

. Hi Proo

I have been back through the first twenty answers of which yours is the first and is perhaps the intellectual high point.

I dont regard as contributory in any way:
weecalf: I thought it was a shredder.....Zacs-Master Oh dear. Typical 'scientific' explanation. Without any practical application info

as for your baffling sentence: be baffled no more.

stuff may not be coloured. {stuff-flashy antibody} will flash in UV light but it is expensive to produce. SO you make a anti-sheep antibody that will flash - quite cheap if you make lots and lots
and THEN stuff-antibody made in sheep - antibody against sheep which flashes is effectively a sarny. and your baffling sentence tells punters that this much cheap sarny is available in the system they would be buying.


The next generation of blotting was better. Suppose you have a protein:
a-b-c-d-e-f

and your protein soup is a, b-x, c-x-x, d-x-x-x, e-x-x-x-x and so on
if you analyse that with a Western blot, you will notice that being small,
A is a t the top and then B-x and then C-x-x, so that altho you have selected them by size, you can hold up your gel and read out A, B, C, D...
which is the order of the units on the protein.

So you can sequence the protein ( or DNA ).

Clever huh ? yes .... very very clever

but instead, we had comments like if only I had known they were gonna use PCDF gel I would have.....


I suppose it was the sheer number of p+ssy little comments and one-liners that overwhelmed me

[theprof]

Prudie, to be honest I can't seem to find any post that knocks people because they don't have a biochemistry degree so I think this accusation towards PP is unjust.

The OP appeared to post a genuine question which puzzled the OP without a hint of humour or sarcasm. Despite this, the OP soon attempted to ridicule the answers provided despite the fact that they were comprehensive and provided in good faith. Others soon joined in with alternative facetious comments.

As you say, the equipment is indeed highly specialised but it is no more than that utilised in other scientific disciplines. Nevertheless, I can well understand PP's overwhelming revulsion at the comments made by others during the course of this thread.

For me, well as I said, it's not the first time I've come across it. To those who wish to continue the puerility, I say bring it on.

[ferlew]

OMG !!!!!
This is another RTFM thingy, isn't it?

[jomifl]

A colleague of mine used this technique for identifying shrimp races in the English Channel. Why? because he could.