Trends in biochemical literature

Any working biochemist intuitively knows that the literature is growing. However, quantifying this growth with any degree of precision is not an easy task. But after my interest in this problem was piqued by the late Robert Harte [1] attempted to produce what is, I hope, an accurate and useful view of the biochemical literature.     

N-(β-iodoethy)trifluoroacetamide: A new reagent for the aminoethylation of thiol groups in proteins

β-Iodoethyltrifluoroacetamide was prepared and evaluated for use in the aminoethylation of sulfhydryl groups in proteins. Lysozyme, ribonuclease A, chymotrypsinogen A, and soybean trypsin inhibitor were reduced using dithiothreitol in 6 m guanidine hydrochloride. The reduced proteins were then treated with the reagent. Conversion of cysteinyl to aminoethylcysteinyl residues averaged 97%; no destruction of nontarget residues was observed.