"datePublished":"2026-07-16T08:18:37+09:00"

Mac Nano, just like iPods!

Still part of the article.

Or if more than one blob is present (i.e. blobs at different molecular weights) for a supposedly selective and specific antibody that should show exactly one blob on the blot.

> Now, if while preparing the images they needed to do some editorial choices

Editorial choices on raw scientific data are a big no-no.

> This image is supposed to demonstrate that the antibody being sold works as intended. (…) Antibodies are near-ubiquitous but notoriously fickle laboratory reagents in biomedical research. For many applications, it is absolutely crucial that the antibodies that you use are selective (i.e., the antibody binds strongly to the target protein) and specific (i.e., the antibody binds to the protein of interest and little else).

Antibodies showing a different picture (Western blot) than what is expected can drastically change the interpretation of the results as well as the conclusion of a study, for example. It may also encourage scientific fraud by authors by forcing them to unknowingly/coincidentally make to a blot image the same (or similar) fraudulent modifications performed by the vendor.

Now I’m curious about how much of the blot photoshopping present in retracted papers can be attributed to these misleading verification data.

Protein sequences, but the point still stands.

> So it works. But there has got to be a simpler/better/non-toxic way to create an ion trap using proteins and make plants work better ...

I remember reading about designed minimal photosystem-like systems. I cannot find the actual paper now, though.

Structure is determined by sequence, so they are equally important. Structure is more conserved than sequence, mainly due to the physicochemical constraints that govern protein folding.

> that "reaction centers" are what matter, and the rest is just "protection"?

Sometimes not even protection. Many enzymes can have plenty of its sequence/structure removed and still be functional. Natural proteins carry lots of evolutionary cruft.

> What do you mean by "reaction center" - surely not physically central within the folded structure

I think they borrowed the term from photosystems/photosynthesis. But, to be more precise, what they actually meant is the active site of an enzyme; the location where the catalyzed reaction takes place.

> (isn't it the surface shape that determines reactivity) ?

Shape is not enough, the chemical nature of the amino acid residues involved is also important. A single mutation in a key catalytic residue will shut down the enzyme even if the shape stays the same.

―François Jacob, “Evolution and Tinkering” (https://web.mit.edu/~tkonkle/www/BrainEvolution/Meeting9/Jac...)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47198977#47202707