![\"Machine.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/ue19877e8\/Machine.jpg\")
<\/span><\/p>\n\nI’ve talked before about new tech and kits, how they can make lab life easier and experiments more reproducible. And if I despise the old-fashioned protocol being supplanted – phenol extractions, say, or old-school cuvette spectrophotometers – I will embrace their modern replacement with enthusiasm. And yet – I’ve also talked about how much I love developing films in darkrooms, and how this ritual has being inextricably linked with all of the memorable moments in my scientific career. So for me, computer imaging of chemiluminescent protein blots was always going to be a tough proposition.<\/p>\n
\nDear reader, I gave it a go – and it’s amazing. I probably won’t<\/em> look back. Yes, I’m sad, but on the other hand I’ve got quick, clean results, all tidily scanned and ready for publication. There are a few drawbacks: one person can only develop one blot at a time, so there are bound to be big queues as the technique catches on. Also, it’s a serious pain trying to line up your non-superimposable rainbow markers in greyscale. On balance, however, defection appears to be in order.<\/p>\n \nSo it’s farewell to safelight, Kodak film, X-ray developer, the rumble of the barrel door, the trickling of water, the pungent solutions and, above all, those quirky anonymous interactions with colleagues unseen. I’ve come out into the light.<\/p>\n \n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There’s a new kid on the block – in fact, it’s housed in our laboratory, despite being a communal piece of apparatus. Rumors of its arrival buzzed in the institute’s corridors for weeks, and when the inevitable training sessions were … Continue reading ![\"Exposure.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/ue19877e8\/Exposure.jpg\")
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