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Dear Colleague,
Antibodypedia, the free, open-access online resource listing antibodies, data, and commentary, launched a little more than eight months ago. Since our last newsletter update, in July, we've implemented some changes to the site which we'd like to share with you. Please read on for an overview of our progress or visit the site to see what's new.
The more the merrier
We're pleased to say that on September 2 we passed the half-million mark and now catalogue approximately 520,000 antibodies from roughly 30 providers. We have assembled more than 125,000 data images to annotate these reagents, along with 32,000 published references of their use. We're continuing to input antibodies and enlarge our repertoire of providers: please contact us to suggest additions, and happy browsing!
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Antibodypedia gets a makeover
In early August we released some alterations to Antibodypedia. We've had a number of questions from our users about the possibility of our including various model organisms and can now report that incorporation of mouse antigens into the database is nearly complete. At the moment, only those with human homologues are visible, but we're working to bring mouse-specific gene-products online in the near future. Please let us know what other organisms we should consider adding: for now, mammalian only, please.
Since Antibodypedia is structured gene-centrically, antibody searches start with the selection of an antigen of interest. Although it's possible to query antibodies that recognize a specific UniProt ID, most of our users seem to search on free text, which in many cases can pull up tens or hundreds of antigens with some relation to the query—perhaps they're paralogues, but they might even be interacting partners. Over the next month we will be trying out some tweaks to cut through the noise so that you can find both antigens and antibodies more quickly. Please send us your comments: Are there any antigen or antibody attributes you'd like to see added as filtering criteria? And stay tuned for the revisions to go live this autumn! |
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Antibodypedia makes friends
In addition to making available antibody data and commentary, we believe that Antibodypedia can play an integral role in encouraging best practice in antibody-based research. A portion of the website is dedicated to protocols for protein work. But we'd also like to make it possible for our users to obtain feedback on ongoing experimentation from one another. Ultimately we would like to host a discussion forum within Antibodypedia itself. In the meantime, what better way of drawing together the Antibodypedia community than Facebook? Our page launched September 10. Like us to receive updates on development and other goings-on, and keep us informed about how we can best help you!
The importance of illumination
Antibodypedia is a virtual repository of antibodies and associated data assembled to help the research community identify the reagents best suited to their assays. We annotate our antibody listings with literature citations of their use, provider quality-control experiments, and user-submitted data and protocols, and the sum total of this information determines how discoverable each of our listings will be in a particular search. We believe that any and all antibody data should be out in the open to present researchers with the clearest and most comprehensive possible picture of antibody functionality across organisms and experimental categories. Many of the data images currently in Antibodypedia are from antibody providers; however, we feel that independent (user-generated) data are just as valuable to fully capture the spectrum of antibody functionality. Our goal is therefore to report at least one piece of user data for every antibody in our database. That means we need YOUR data! As mentioned in our last newsletter, we have registered with CrossRef and can assign your submissions a digital object identifier (DOI) for their further citation. Remember, we rely on your experiments to ensure that our antibody rankings accurately reflect antibody efficacy. Please visit our manuscript tracking system if you've got validations to share—even those with a negative result.
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Seeing is believing
Did you know that we've made short videos to showcase various aspects of our site and provide tips on how to search for antibodies? You can find them at Antibodypedia and in our YouTube channel. They're a great way to gain a sense of any new development. Please let us know if you think we should make others—what's hidden or unclear?
Sticks, stones, and constructive criticism
Development is underway day-by-day at Antibodypedia, but we are always eager to hear your opinions on our development and next priorities. Please email us or visit our Facebook page to let us know your likes, dislikes, and general thoughts. We'll be waiting! |
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Thank you for reading this far. I hope that when you use Antibodypedia you find it straightforward and helpful in guiding you towards
The right antibody for the right application |
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Good luck in your research!
Chris Surridge
Associate Publisher, Antibodypedia |
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