Welcome to the Abcam blog

Happy new year everybody!

Back in March, we were approached to provide some of our scientific posters to dress a movie set for "Extraordinary Measures" starring Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser. The film is based on the story of John Crowley and the discovery of a medicine to treat Pompe Disease. We said yes, and then thought nothing more about it.

Fast forward nine months... the trailer is on the web and an eagle-eyed member of our marketing staff spotted two Abcam posters in starring roles, decorating a lab!

If you want to give your lab the Hollywood treatment, why not check out our collection of free posters and pathways covering all research areas.

Our Stem Cells team have put together a fantastic overview of stem cell fate during embryonic development. Differentiation of stem cells to a lineage-committed fate can be monitored by molecular marker expression, so this pathway card will be a handy reference tool for identifying prominent markers.

• View the pathway card as a high-resolution pdf
• Alternatively, request a hard copy for your lab

Also on the card, we've picked out a selection of our antibodies suitable for characterization, based on those with the broadest range of applications. Here's two of them, each with great images.

DDX4 / MVH antibody - Primordial Germ Cell Marker (ab13840)

A homolog of the Drosophila protein VASA, DEAD-box protein 4 (DDX4) is a germline marker expressed only in the ovary and testis. DDX4 is expressed in spermatogenic cells from the spermatocyte stage to the round spermatid stage and in migratory primordial germ cells in the region of the gonadal ridge in both sexes.

Tested applications
ICC/IF, IHC-FoFr, IHC-Fr, IHC-P, WB

Reacts with
Hu, Ms, Rat, Cow, Pig

23 references, four customer reviews, average five star rating

Olig2 antibody (ab33427)

Olig2 (oligodendrocyte transcription factor 2) is required for oligodendrocyte and motor neuron specification in the spinal cord, as well as for the development of somatic motor neurons in the hindbrain.

Reacts with
Ms, Rt

One reference, nine customer reviews, average four star rating

We have nearly 600 lineage markers in our catalog, for a wide range of applications and many with excellent customer reviews and images, be sure to check out the full range.

For a complete listing of all the free posters and pathways available from Abcam, check out the poster library at www.abcam.com/posters

I hope you find our pathways useful for your research, let me know what you think!

We are adding new resources to our poster library all the time, and here are the three latest additions! Each one is available as a high-resolution pdf to download for your lab, or you can request a free mail copy by emailing mailrequest@abcam.com.

Adult neurogenesis

In association with Prof. Gerd Kempermann, we have produced a new poster on adult neurogenesis pathways in the hippocampus and olfactory bulb.

View the poster

Cardioprotective signaling

Dr. Paul Townsend and Abcam have just released a new pathway card on cardioprotective signaling in the stress-induced myocardium.

View the poster

Nucleocytoplasmic transport pathways

Nuclear pore complexes provide a critical connection through the nuclear envelope, enabling controlled bidirectional trafficking of molecules within the cell.

View the poster

I hope these are useful to your research! For over 60 other posters and pathway cards, covering many research areas, check out the Abcam poster library, www.abcam.com/posters.

The definitive guide to epigenetic marks is here! In association with Abcam, Tony Kouzarides and Andy Bannister (The Gurdon Institute) have produced a handy scientific resource, and what's more, there's a twist...

Well, actually more like a fold. We've cunningly designed the A5 guide so you can fold it to display just your area of interest (in case your lab is covered wall-to-wall by our other pathway posters already :) ) It contains all you need to know about epigenetic marks:

• histone modifications and the enzymes responsible (including new and old names to reflect the recently published nomenclature)
• histone binding proteins and the modifications they bind.

Download the card as a pdf and view related antibodies, or request a mail copy

We've released a new Cardiovascular poster! Check out 'Scavenger receptor pathways' to learn more about the heightened oxidative stress in the artery walls that gives rise to oxidized forms of low density lipoproteins. What's more, we have an accompanying review article by Dr Kathryn Moore (Harvard University) for you to read.

• Check out the article and download a pdf version of the pathway for your lab
• Or request a free mail copy of the pathway

We find that our posters are always very popular at scientific conferences, so have a look at our complete poster library if you've missed out on any! I hope these resources are useful for your research, drop me a comment if you like them.