Techniques
With the dizzying array of technology and techniques available to the modern researcher, it is useful to be able to give perspective and context to these invaluable aids, both for the layperson, and for other immunologists who may not have encountered them in their particular line of research.
This section carries links to articles authored by professional immunologists, and members of the BSI, which provide accessible introductions to a range of techniques.
Immunology on the GO
Alexander Diehl (Jackson Laboratory), Evelyn Camon (European Bioinformatics Institute) & Ruth Lovering (University College London)
This is an accessible introduction to the
Gene Ontology (GO), a powerful hierarchical system of terms and descriptors, available online, that has the potential to revolutionise approaches to immunology research - particularly those involving high-throughput methodologies. It also functions as a 'call-to-arms' to immunologists to meet the ongoing demand for appropriate literature references supporting the characterisation of the numerous immune elements and processes described in GO - thereby improving the resolution of results.
A further technical review published in Immunology journal is available here.
For information about the UCL-based GO annotation project please visit: http://www.cardiovasculargeneontology.com.
Introduction to Vital Imaging Methods
The Centre for Biophotonics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
The use of imaging methods to visualise structure and function in organic systems has a relatively long history, dating back to Roentgen's discovery of X-rays at the end of the nineteenth century. Within the context of immune function, Professor Paul Garside, Dr Jim Brewer and colleagues from the Centre for Biophotonics at the University of Strathclyde follow the story from its origins up to the present day, with the promise of techniques that will allow high resolution imaging in vivo and in real-time.