January 15, 2009 (Vol. 29, No. 2)

URL:
http://www.vascular-proteomics.com

Rating:
Strong Points: Interesting topic
Weak Points: Not very extreme

Summary:
Cardiovascular proteomics is a pretty substantial research topic, so when I saw that the domain name vascular-proteomics had been taken, I expected a massive site covering this important topic. What I discovered was somewhat disappointing, however, though there are some useful subsections at the site. Hosted at King’s College in London, the site’s content is divided into four main sections—Methods, Protein Maps, Search Spots, and Links. The Methods segment provides only a rudimentary methods description. The protocols covered are 2-D gel electrophoresis, DIGE, tryptic digestion, and mass spectrometry. Three protein maps are shown and each is divided into nine segments with numbered protein spots in each one. The Search Spots section gives users functions for either identifying a numbered spot as a protein or (when available) a number corresponding to a user-input protein name. Numerous options (such as pI) are available for users to specify proteins of interest. Some of the links returned by the database were broken, unfortunately. Last, the Links section is a general collection of links relevant to the subject. Overall, I expected more out of the site, though what was available was good.

Previous articleJ.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference—Monday, January 12 Update
Next articleInvestigators Use DNA Repair Patterns to Determine Pancreatic Cancer Risk