这里通常不转贴，但看到一段张轲风08年的文章引起了对电影的一点一点想法。影响过90年代成长过程的电影不多，张艺谋“活着”和其它几部可算在其中。其人性的表达和对最底层人民的理解是前所未有的。且表现手法不夸张，不拖带不必要的“艺术”累赘。快进十年，按张轲风的说法：
“在专社会里，如果没有英雄，没有‘核心’，人们会感到恐慌，会故意呼吁出一个“核心”，袁世凯的上台就是证明。从这个意义上说，张艺谋定是一个斯德哥尔摩综合症患者，他通过《英雄》这部影片表达了对秦始皇这个国家“绑匪”的倾慕，并且主观地将当时的六国人全部假想为呼吁统一的斯德哥尔摩综合症患者。其实，他搞错了，七国时代的人还不是斯德哥尔摩综合症患者，心中没有呼唤“核心”来绑架天下的冲动。秦始皇对天下人的劫持是中国人患斯德哥尔摩综合症的开端。”
在什么样的荣华和舒适面前，人如张艺谋者会将自己扭转得如此完整和彻底？
原创Allele Biotech Outpost, more blogs at www.allelebiotech.com/blogs
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Immunoprecipitation Tags
Immunoprecipitation is a process of isolating a protein as an antigen by using antibodies against it. It is a powerful tool for studying proteins in biological samples and, in case of Co-IP (meaning immunoprecipitation of complexes containing a known antigen), for analyzing protein-protein interactions. Similar technologies such as chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), or crosslinked and iImmunoprecipitation of RNA-protein complexes (CLIP) aid analysis of protein-DNA or protein-RNA interactions.
The major obstacle for achieving effective immunoprecipitation is the difficulty of finding usable antibodies against a target of interest. A common practice is to use tags that are fused to the C- or N-terminus of the target protein, thereby any validated, commercially available antibody can be used for co-IP in different experimental systems. However, caution must be exercised against potential interference of biological functions from the added tags. In general, one should choose tags that have been tested in many situations and proven non-interfering; still, each biological system is different. Independent validation or supporting data should be used when interpreting results from tag-based co-IP.
Tags are often selected based on high quality and commercially available antibodies. Most commonly used tags include: FLAG, Myc, HA, V5, T7, and His, which are quite small in size and in theory less likely to interfere. GST and GFP are in between 20-30kDa, but they are well documented to form self-contained and stable structures independent of their fusion partners and proved to not interfere in many cases. GST can bind to glutathione beads directly, therefore a top choice for pulldown experiments. GFP or other FPs as tags have the advantages of being also a visualization module to follow the protein both inside cells and during pulldown. However, previously available anti-GFP antibodies, either polyclonal or monoclonal, are not comparable to those against other tags, thereby limiting the use of GFP as fusion tag in pulldown experiments.
GFP-Trap, a recent addition to anti-tag antibodies, is an E. coli expressed, single domain fragment derived from camelid heavy chain antibodies with much higher stability, specificity, and affinity, making GFP based pulldown quantitative. This recent advancement should make GFP in line to become the most suitable tags for many aforementioned precipitation experiments.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
A personal mission statement on 43rd birthday
I had a great bd with people most important to me: my family and my best friends' at Disney, during also a 20th anniversary college class reunion. Except my parents and siblings, these are the people who know me best.
Thought I should put some summary on how life's been so far and where it may go next. As a person running an operation, I'd like to put it in a mission statement format, a personal one.
Do research, to satisfy personal curiosity about science in my fields, and contribute to the knowledge pool to help mankind and the environment; do business, support those surrounding me, and support more that surround them; voice against tyranny, help those who can't help themselves and those who feel hopeless in this world.
Jiwu, CEO of Allele
Thought I should put some summary on how life's been so far and where it may go next. As a person running an operation, I'd like to put it in a mission statement format, a personal one.
Do research, to satisfy personal curiosity about science in my fields, and contribute to the knowledge pool to help mankind and the environment; do business, support those surrounding me, and support more that surround them; voice against tyranny, help those who can't help themselves and those who feel hopeless in this world.
Jiwu, CEO of Allele
Francis Collins On the Job
Dr. Collins did a town hall meeting style announcement his first day as NIH Director on Aug 17th, 2009. He laid out his view for the NIH: more funding (good), encouraging young scientists (good, average age for first own funding for US biologist is 42, not good), and staying open in communication with society it is serving.
The NIH has $30.9 billion budget for 09 and 2010 thanks to the stimulus addition of $10 billion/year. However, it will feel dried up after two years if the budget plan remains as is. The Obama administration does not seem to want increase the basic research but instead focus more on health care management.
Collins is a well admired director and established scientist. However, it may be a little concerning that he might be too much into “big science” and organized efforts. I don’t know what they teach in graduate classes now but from what I was told 20 years ago curiosity-driven science is the best science and that was what got the US to the dominant leadership in biomedical fields.
Talking about nurturing young scientists, big programs and big labs controlling most grants by proposing big science seem trendy these days. The fight to become one of the big guys in a small, crowded field is a really daunting path for young researchers to tread. The big guys have the say from publication to funding and often times the unpleasant thought and bitter taste of competing against a scientific juggernaut turn young researchers away.
more at www.allelebiotech.com
The NIH has $30.9 billion budget for 09 and 2010 thanks to the stimulus addition of $10 billion/year. However, it will feel dried up after two years if the budget plan remains as is. The Obama administration does not seem to want increase the basic research but instead focus more on health care management.
Collins is a well admired director and established scientist. However, it may be a little concerning that he might be too much into “big science” and organized efforts. I don’t know what they teach in graduate classes now but from what I was told 20 years ago curiosity-driven science is the best science and that was what got the US to the dominant leadership in biomedical fields.
Talking about nurturing young scientists, big programs and big labs controlling most grants by proposing big science seem trendy these days. The fight to become one of the big guys in a small, crowded field is a really daunting path for young researchers to tread. The big guys have the say from publication to funding and often times the unpleasant thought and bitter taste of competing against a scientific juggernaut turn young researchers away.
more at www.allelebiotech.com
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Camelid Antibodies--background
When it was discovered that animals in the camel family produce antibodies with no light chains, the idea that a single-domain fragment can bind as well as a full 4-chain antibody formed a breakthrough. So far it has been a relatively less known one.
Smaller antibody fragments have been tested for therapeutic uses because classical IgG antibodies are too bulky to penetrate tissues well, and very expensive to produce. Different combinations of antigen-binding variable regions are used, e.g. scFv, Fab, diabody, all to some degree of success. In comparison, the N-terminal domain of camelid antibodies, termed VHH domain, represents a naturally evolved, only 13-15 kD in size, fully functional target binding fragment with many advantages.
The only other known species outside camelidae family that has heavy chain antibodies is particular cartilaginous fish, nurse shark. Although the arrangement of CDRs is somewhat different between the camel and shark heavy chain variable regions, they share many characteristics such as extremely high stability (maintaining functions after100 C heat and extreme pH treatment).
Accumulating reports have demonstrated the therapeutic potentials of camelid antibody-based fragments in treating cancer, neural diseases, even use in hair dandruff preventing shampoo. For basic research, the tiny antigen binders can be used as tools for quantitative pull down with unmatched efficiency, recognizing previously inaccessible enzyme cleft as antigens, and providing libraries for binding partner selection.
Allele Biotech has been working on display antibody selection from its early days through an NIH grant, and recently carried out an NIH/NCI contract for scFv yeast display in collaboration with AvantGen. By working with Chromotek on camelid antibody products, we hope to combine our superior fluorescent proteins with the best antibody candidates and display technologies to move the capture and signaling fields forward in significant ways.
The product line will be formally announced by AlleleNews shortly.
Smaller antibody fragments have been tested for therapeutic uses because classical IgG antibodies are too bulky to penetrate tissues well, and very expensive to produce. Different combinations of antigen-binding variable regions are used, e.g. scFv, Fab, diabody, all to some degree of success. In comparison, the N-terminal domain of camelid antibodies, termed VHH domain, represents a naturally evolved, only 13-15 kD in size, fully functional target binding fragment with many advantages.
The only other known species outside camelidae family that has heavy chain antibodies is particular cartilaginous fish, nurse shark. Although the arrangement of CDRs is somewhat different between the camel and shark heavy chain variable regions, they share many characteristics such as extremely high stability (maintaining functions after100 C heat and extreme pH treatment).
Accumulating reports have demonstrated the therapeutic potentials of camelid antibody-based fragments in treating cancer, neural diseases, even use in hair dandruff preventing shampoo. For basic research, the tiny antigen binders can be used as tools for quantitative pull down with unmatched efficiency, recognizing previously inaccessible enzyme cleft as antigens, and providing libraries for binding partner selection.
Allele Biotech has been working on display antibody selection from its early days through an NIH grant, and recently carried out an NIH/NCI contract for scFv yeast display in collaboration with AvantGen. By working with Chromotek on camelid antibody products, we hope to combine our superior fluorescent proteins with the best antibody candidates and display technologies to move the capture and signaling fields forward in significant ways.
The product line will be formally announced by AlleleNews shortly.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Allele’s Online Community
Allele Biotech’s participation in social networking sites (Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace has been successful over the past few months! We initiated contact with our customers via these websites not only to provide an easy way to let people know about our newest products and promotions but, most importantly, to ensure better customer service through an easily accessible forum for questions, comments, and yes, even criticisms. We are not like those other companies that are so large that your business and opinions do not matter to us. We at Allele Biotech need and appreciate our customers and reward your patronage and participation in these social networking forums with special promotions and customer service that really lets you know we value your online community membership. Your research goals are our research goals!
Several times a week our tweets will inform you about great deals like FREE SHIPPING on select products ordered within a specific time frame.
Our regular blogs found on all three of our sites are used to converse on a variety of topics from SBIR grants to fluorescent proteins to skin care!
On facebook and myspace you can submit technical questions on protocol or products and receive SAME DAY answers; you may also send comments and suggestions for improvement which will be seen by our head scientist and executives. Your opinion counts at Allele! We began this networking concept as not only a way to better reach our customers but, more importantly, as a way for them to better reach us.
Become a friend, fan, or follower to any one of the sites today and receive a $30 discount off your next order!
Several times a week our tweets will inform you about great deals like FREE SHIPPING on select products ordered within a specific time frame.
Our regular blogs found on all three of our sites are used to converse on a variety of topics from SBIR grants to fluorescent proteins to skin care!
On facebook and myspace you can submit technical questions on protocol or products and receive SAME DAY answers; you may also send comments and suggestions for improvement which will be seen by our head scientist and executives. Your opinion counts at Allele! We began this networking concept as not only a way to better reach our customers but, more importantly, as a way for them to better reach us.
Become a friend, fan, or follower to any one of the sites today and receive a $30 discount off your next order!
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