I just had a very interesting phone call. It went something like this:
Phone: Ring!Ring!
Me: Hello, Proteomic Services.
Phone: Hi, I’m new to the field of proteomics and would like to know what the difference is between a full-length protein and a mature protein.
Me: Buh! Sorry, you just caught me debugging some code, so give me a minute to go into science mode.
In a nutshell, the person on the phone wanted to known which protein sequence to use to generate antibodies against. I explained the differences in protein sequences and steered him towards PDBe so he could use structure information to make sure the peptide he’s trying to raise antibodies against isn’t buried deep within the 3D structure.
The amusing bit came when I asked him how he got my contact information. Turns out my name is the first in the list when you search all staff in the proteomics team.
Hee hee, turns out 6 years of biochemistry hasn’t been wasted after all :D