English

Noun

ghost band ‎(plural ghost bands)

1. (sciences) Any spurious results clustered together, outside of normal expected ranges (as in a plot of recorded energy values, with an inexplicable blot, marring the clean expected results).
2. (biology) A large band or stripe that appears on a developed gel as a wide halo with no specific, distinguishable signal.

   Ghost bands are a common problem in western blot analysis.

3. (entertainment) Impersonators of a well-known band hired to perform while the real band members are elsewhere.

References

• Vattem, Krishna and Mahesh Mathrubutham (August 2005), "Factors that cause the appearance of ghost bands when using chemiluminescent detection systems in a Western blot," Pierce Biotechnology, Inc.