Most of us, once we start in a new lab and/or being shown how to do an experiment, we often just get on with it. We follow the protocol to the letter with no questions asked. This approach may work and your results might turn out perfect. However, what if things were to go wrong? How would you trouble shoot?

This is where spending few hours in a library (figuratively and literally) really help. A quick download of NATURE protocol, Springer protocol or from companies could really save your hours of anxiety. Find out what the reagents do and why you add them. A simple google search is often sufficient to give you a background information.

For example, in the case of western blot (or immuno blot), why do you heat the samples at 70 ^oC in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS). Why do you add beta-mercaptoethanol. Why sometime you would block your membrane with milk, while the other you would block it with bovine serum albumin.

The point is, read the protocols. Most NATURE protocols and Springer protocols will elaborate the reasons behind the addition of reagents and certain nitty gritty of the procedure.

I hope this helps young scientists out there.

Baby Immunologist