chasing the high

yesterday, something wonderful happened. not quite as wonderful as falling in love but close... i got the results back from my protein isolation.

things that are wonderful about my results:

• even though i did not manage to get all three bands, all three proteins were still present in sufficient quantity in the sample to be sequenced [which really says alot about the specificity of Western blots if you think about it].


• the proteins identified thus far appear to make sense, not that i want to jinx anything here.


• antibodies against one of the proteins identified have been associated with multiple immune-mediated diseases in humans, including nephritis. this supports the protein's identity and provides an independent degree of support for my hypothesis that these antibodies are associated with immune-mediated disease in cats.

overall, the results appear to be everything a girl could possibly want. they validate that my research hasn't been total bunk (which i was starting to secretly wonder) and indicate it may in fact be pivotal work. the kind of work that changes things. again, not that i want to jinx anything.

as you can imagine, i felt incredible yesterday. by ten last night though, the high had mostly dissipated. i am recapturing it a bit this morning as i read the human literature on my proteins, but it certainly isn't the same.

i find myself thinking, 'A year of struggle to purify the proteins and the high can't last a bit longer? Sheesh.'