Mass Spectrometry News and Research

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Mass spectrometry is an analytical method used to identify different compounds based on the atomic sample constitution of the molecules and their charge state, which enables “blind” analysis of an unknown sample without any prior knowledge of its composition.

A new method to detect presence of 23 illicit drugs

A team of scientists from the Institute of Legal Medicine at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) has developed a technique for detecting the presence of 23 illicit drugs and medicines in saliva samples.

11 Feb 2009

New Benzothiazepine test will catch sports cheats

Avoiding detection just got harder for drug cheats who try to use a particular range of untested, but potentially enhancing, compounds.

7 Jan 2009

Biologist finds plant polymerases IV and V are really variants of polymerase II

It's a little like finding out that Superman is actually Clark Kent. A team of biologists at Washington University in St. Louis has discovered that two vital cellular components, nuclear RNA Polymerases IV and V (Pol IV and V), found only in plants, are actually specialized forms of RNA Polymerase II, an essential enzyme of all eukaryotic organisms, including humans.

6 Jan 2009

Researchers study newborns' umbilical cord blood to better understand fetal health risks from smoking mothers

Despite the well-known dangers of first- and secondhand smoke, an estimated ten percent of pregnant women in the U.S. are smokers.

3 Dec 2008

Noninvasive test for urine protein detects kidney dysfunction in transplant patients

A noninvasive test that analyzes proteins in the urine can correctly identify patients whose transplanted kidneys are failing, according to a study appearing in the February 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).

26 Nov 2008

Carbon nanotubes detect lung cancer markers in the breath

Using an array of nanotube devices, each coated with a different organic material, researchers at the Israel Institute of Technology have developed diagnostic system that may be able to diagnose lung cancer simply by sampling a patient's breath. The results of this study, which was led by Hossam Haick, Ph.D., appear in the journal Nano Letters.

20 Nov 2008

Scientists map steps to block enzyme phosphodiesterase 5's action in heart failure

Taking a cue from the way drugs like Viagra put the biological brakes on a key enzyme involved in heart failure, scientists at Johns Hopkins have mapped out a key chemical step involved in blocking the enzyme.

12 Nov 2008

Five key proteins form new, early-warning blood test before heart attack strikes

A team of Johns Hopkins biochemists has identified a mixed bag of five key proteins out of thousands secreted into blood draining from the heart's blood vessels that may together or in certain quantities form the basis of a far more accurate early warning test than currently in use of impending heart attack in people with severely reduced blood flow, or ischemia.

10 Nov 2008

Scientists confirm a molecular clipping mechanism behind stem cell development

Stem cells don't just become a part of the liver or the brain in a flash; it takes a complex molecular choreography and requires that specific genes be switched on and off at specific times.

6 Nov 2008

NIH funds two new centers for imaging technology for neurodegenerative disorders and software for protein analysis

The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced today it will provide up to an estimated $11 million over the next five years to create two new Biomedical Technology Research Centers (BTRCs) that will provide researchers nationwide with access to specialized research tools, training and state-of-the-art equipment.

15 Oct 2008

Kinaxo partners with Boehringer Ingelheim

Kinaxo Biotechnologies GmbH announced today that it has entered into a two-year collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim. Under the agreement Kinaxo will apply its new platform technologies to studies on drug mode of action and target identification. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

13 Oct 2008

Existing anti-obesity drugs may be effective against flu, hepatitis and HIV

Viruses dramatically increase cellular metabolism, and existing anti-obesity drugs may represent a new way to block these metabolic changes and inhibit viral infection, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

29 Sep 2008

New technology to analyse human cells

A new technology which enables scientists to identify proteins by making a map of the energy flow inside the protein is revealed in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal.

23 Sep 2008

New technique in blood analysis may speed diagnosis of heart attacks

Someday doctors may be able to use a blood test to confirm within minutes, instead of hours, if a patient is having a heart attack, allowing more rapid treatment that could limit damage to heart muscle.

9 Sep 2008

Skin odors used to detect basal cell carcinoma

According to new research from the Monell Center, odors from skin can be used to identify basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer. The findings, presented at the 236th meeting of the American Chemical Society, may open doors to development of new methods to detect basal cell carcinoma and other forms of skin cancer.

20 Aug 2008

Scientists discover reservoir of mitochondrial DNA mutations present in the general population

Researchers at the University of Newcastle, England, and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech in the United States have revealed a large reservoir of mitochondrial DNA mutations present in the general population. Clinical analysis of blood samples from almost 3,000 infants born in north Cumbria, England, showed that at least 1 in 200 individuals in the general public harbor mitochondrial DNA mutations that may lead to disease.

11 Aug 2008

How short RNAs influence many proteins

During the last decade, microRNAs have emerged somewhat surprisingly as key players in the way genes are regulated. These short snippets of RNA do their work by interacting with messenger RNAs, which act as blueprints for protein creation.

6 Aug 2008

Researchers examine link between prenatal vitamin D levels and schizophrenia

Researchers from UQ's Queensland Brain Institute are set to conduct a world-first trial into the link between prenatal vitamin D levels and schizophrenia prevalence.

3 Aug 2008

Structure and composition of hepatitis B virus now mapped

Using a newly developed method, Utrecht University researchers have mapped the structure and composition of the hepatitis B virus.

28 Jul 2008

Enzyme may explain how hepatitis C infection causes fatty liver

A key enzyme may explain how hepatitis C infection causes fatty liver - a buildup of excess fat in the liver, which can lead to life-threatening diseases such as cirrhosis and liver cancer, report University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and School of Medicine researchers.

10 Jul 2008