CST BLOG: Lab Expectations

The official blog of Cell Signaling Technology (CST), where we discuss what to expect from your time at the bench, share tips, tricks, and information.

Romantic Reagents

Read More
All Posts

It’s Valentine’s Day. You can’t put out that bowl of candy hearts because…NO FOOD IN THE LAB!!! Okay, fair enough, but there has to be another way to send a message to someone special at the bench. Why not use antibodies to your advantage? The label of your vials might have all the messaging you need!

First things first: cover your bases. You need mAbs that address the positive and negative. Let’s face it; even the candy heart people include gems like, “Friends,” or “You Rock.” My personal favorite was “Fax Me,” but I don’t think they make that one any more. Why fax someone you see every day!? I digress. Clearly it’s important to have vials to give to those you DON’T want getting the wrong idea. For these purposes, might I suggest SNAIL, SLUG, or Mutant? It isn’t as nice as “Friend” or “You Rock.” Maybe one day we’ll have proteins to target with those names too!

Romantic Antibody Reagents

Now on to the fun! For that certain someone who makes your heart flutter every time they walk by in a lab coat? Maybe leave a vial of Connexin, Fox, or SMRT. Did they fall asleep at their desk? What a perfect opportunity to stash a vial of Sleeping Beauty to find when they wake up! Or better yet, leave a vial of KISS1R on their benchtop.

Scientists are funny. We have so many creative names for proteins and targets. Why not use them to your advantage?

Chris Sumner
Chris Sumner
Chris Sumner was the Editor-in-Chief of Lab Expectations. When he's not reading/writing about curing disease, he's hiking in the woods, playing guitar, or searching for the world's best lobster roll.

Recent Posts

Research Round-Up: CST® Anti-CAR Linker Antibodies in the Literature

As chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumors, hematologic malignan...
Alexandra Foley Mar 5, 2025

Do You Trust Your Research Antibody?

There’s no getting around it: Selecting the right antibody can make or break your experiment. If the reag...
Alexandra Foley Feb 26, 2025

Why is combining single cell RNA and intracellular signaling data difficult?

What if you could measure RNA, determine cell type, and detect intracellular signaling, all in a single c...
Alexandra Foley Feb 19, 2025