As scientists, writing is a major component of the job, yet having “no time to write” is a common complaint echoed amongst PhD candidates, post-docs, and professors alike. On top of experiments, data analyses, and taking/teaching courses, writing can easily end up on the back burner. But publishing papers, like it or not, is critical for a career in science. Rather than setting intimidating goals like publishing some number of papers within a year or publishing in a high impact journal, it is more feasible and beneficial to first develop good writing habits, which will in the long run increase productivity.

Every year, scientists make fascinating breakthroughs which broaden, yet challenge, our understanding of life and the world around us. Just as we start to understand a biological process, like how heredity or aging works, a new discovery can flip it on its head or open a whole new avenue for research. As 2018 comes to an end, it’s the time for roundups of top products, gifts, movies, tech, etc. We decided to put our own spin on it with the top life science discoveries of the year.

These days major debates center around scientific information – from climate change, gene-editing to vaccinations – yet, despite the data-driven nature of science, there are deeply divided opinions regarding these hot topics. For researchers, it might be frustrating to witness scientific findings being misinterpreted or exaggerated. But it’s not surprising that so much science is misunderstood. Too many scientists still reside within their own research bubbles, which is counterproductive.

The glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, or GAPDH for short), is a multifunctional, indispensable enzyme found in all cells. The generally known function of GAPDH is to assist in carbohydrate metabolism as a key player in glycolysis, but there are studies demonstrating its role in the nucleus as well. 

GAPDH is a constitutively expressed housekeeping protein, and GAPDH mRNA levels and protein levels are often used as loading controls in experiments that quantify target-specific expression changes. Recent studies have elucidated the role of GAPDH in apoptosis, gene expression through its possible activities as a transcription factor, and nuclear transport. As both a metabolic protein as well as one that might play a role in cytoskeletal reorganization, GAPDH activity is intricately tied to tumorigenesis. GAPDH may also play a role in neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, although many researchers do use GAPDH as a control, this protein needs to be appreciated for its myriad other functions as well!

ABclonal Technology's GAPDH recombinant rabbit monoclonal antibody is a human-specific antibody that can be used with a high dilution ratio of 1:2560000. As a highly-stable antibody product, this means that you can perform numerous Western blotting experiments over a long period of time using a small quantity of antibody, as well as in other experiments to study the functions of GAPDH. Take advantage of this robust, cost-effective antibody product in your research today!

In the last What’s Hot in Life blog post, we discussed how next generation sequencing (NGS) is used as a basis for understanding disease. This week I wanted to talk about DNA sequencing again, but in a completely different context. On November 1^st, scientists launched an ambitious project to sequence all 1.5 million complex species on Earth. Their purpose? To save biodiversity.