Product Review in 1986

Quantifying receptor autoradiography is a useful tool, and one becoming increasingly popular, but potential errors exist in the interpretation of results.

Highlights from the Salon du Laboratoire and Interchemie '86 in Paris, and from the American Society for Cell Biology meeting in Washington, DC

Immunoglobulins may provide a novel source of drugs for the treatment and suppression of allergic reactions and other immunologically-mediated diseases.

More and more monoclonals are on the market, plus the equipment to produce them

November's meeting of the American Society for Neuroscience will bring a host of novel products to Washington.

Brain tissue preparations provide a window on the regulation of neuroreceptor function that cell-free preparations cannot offer. The view reveals complex neuromodulator interactions.

At the end of October, over 300 companies will convene in Tokyo for the 21st scientific instrument show. Below are some of the top exhibits.

Interactive computer graphics designed for protein crystallography has also helped visualize a 5,000-year-old excavation site in three dimensions. Tomorrow's archaeologists stand to benefit from this marriage of the very old and the very new.

While the delegates to Nature's Boston conference explore the human genome, DNA manipulation dominates the exhibit area.

The hybrid mutants and mutant families created by cassette mutagenesis may advance our understanding of the relationship between function and structure.

From data acquisition to manuscript submission, computers aid research every step of the way and the computers often jump in where their owners may fear to tread.

Computer networking in the research laboratory is still a rarity. But growing demands for shared resources may prompt laboratories to make the connection . . . the question is when and how.

The interaction between the mechanical waves of scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) and the mechanical features of living cells makes a novel contribution to the characterization of biological materials.

A collection of instruments and accessories for microscopy and image analysis closes with immunology product selections.

This week's review is aimed at the endocrinologist's needs. Selections include microplate manipulators, probes for chemical labelling and microtomes for sample slicing.

Reverse haemolytic plaque assays make possible the microscopic visualization of hormone release at the single-cell level. The method can quantify functional differences among hormone secretors of a given type.

Heparin-affinity chromatography allows the isolation and chemical definition of a family of hormone-like polypeptide growth factors that support several important cell types in defined culture conditions.