Need help with Section Bank Biochem

[salemstein]

They have an experiment in question 38 where a Western Blot is ran. The first result has the experimental trial where only 2 of the 5 lanes show antibody hybridization (shows up as black rectangles). Then they have a positive control lane that has all five lanes showing black rectangles, supposedly because they used an antibody that all cells have. What is the purpose of this control?

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[yeasureyoubetcha]

Its to show that nothing is preventing a positive result from being observed and shows you what to expect for a positive result.

 

[aldol16]

A positive control ensures that you are observing an effect where there should be one. This makes sure that your method of measurement is adequate for detection and isn't giving you a false negative. A negative control ensures that you are not observing an effect when there should not be one. This ensures that your method isn't giving you a false positive.