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.

Protein found in immune cells may be a reliable marker for schizophrenia risk

Schizophrenia is a severe and complex psychiatric illness that affects about 1% of the population. Diagnosis currently relies on subjective clinical interviews and the assessment of ambiguous symptoms, which frequently leads to delayed diagnosis and treatment. As such, biomarkers that would indicate schizophrenia risk or onset would be extremely useful.

8 Jul 2008

Risk of Bisphenol A in plastic products, Q & A's

Bisphenol A, an estrogenlike compound in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resin, has been popping up in the news a lot lately.

30 Apr 2008

New method to detect fake Tamiflu

Chemists in Georgia are reporting development of a fast new method to detect fake Tamiflu, the mainstay medication for preventing and treating bird flu.

8 Apr 2008

Spit in a cup to replace needle pricks

One day soon patients may spit in a cup, instead of bracing for a needle prick, when being tested for cancer, heart disease or diabetes.

26 Mar 2008

Natural biomedicines from the ocean

With the number of terrestrial sources that yield novel treatments for human disease decreasing year by year, the oceans have been tapped as a promising resource for discovering new natural biomedicines.

20 Mar 2008

Increased hepcidin expression: A novel oncogenic signalling mechanism

Historically anaemia, which is associated with colorectal cancer, has been attributed to blood loss.

19 Mar 2008

Newly discovered ERK pathway proteins related to CagA induced disease

Cytotoxin-associated gene A protein (CagA) from type I H.pylori has been proved by epidemiological and experimental studies to be closely associated with the H.pylori induced gastric diseases, especially gastric cancer.

25 Feb 2008

Purdue tackles large public health issue at indoor swimming pools

Researchers at Purdue University have determined how certain airborne contaminants are created when chlorine reacts with sweat and urine in indoor swimming pools, a step toward learning how to reduce the formation of "volatile disinfection byproducts" that cause respiratory irritation.

20 Feb 2008

New understanding of cancer initiation

Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha have assisted in a significant discovery - the understanding of a common mechanism of cancer initiation - that could result in better cancer assessment, prevention and detection.

7 Feb 2008

Novel method for assigning probabilities to human protein interactions

The Stowers Institute's Proteomics Center has published a novel method of using normalized spectral counts derived from a series of affinity purifications analyzed by mass spectrometry (APMS) to generate a probabilistic measure of the preference of proteins to associate with one another.

25 Jan 2008

New method for measuring protein synthesis

In a major breakthrough for future research and drug development, a team of Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) investigators developed a new, more reliable method for measuring protein synthesis and turnover, processes that are critical to understanding cellular functions.

23 Jan 2008

New method to transfer DNA into a host cell

Genetically engineered products have become indispensable. For example, genetically modified bacteria produce human insulin.

21 Jan 2008

Smart hydrogel particles: biomarker harvesting

The long and challenging effort to find blood-borne markers for cancer and other diseases may soon enter a new realm of success using a new nanoparticle that preferentially and rapidly removes small proteins and other molecules from blood while simultaneously protecting them from degradation.

16 Jan 2008

Proteomic profiling shown more accurate than traditional biomarkers in identifying liver cancer

As the incidence of liver cancer continues to grow - fueled in large part, by rising rates of hepatitis C infections - so too does the need for tests to help diagnose the disease at an earlier stage.

16 Jan 2008

Model developed that predicts molecular response of living cells to genetic or environmental change

Scientists at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB), in collaboration with researchers from New York University (NYU), have developed a model which rapidly characterizes and accurately predicts the molecular-level, mechanistic response of a free-living cell to genetic and environmental changes.

28 Dec 2007

Pathogens use previously undescribed mechanism to sabotage host immune system

New research identifies a previously unknown enzymatic mechanism that subverts the early host immune response and promotes pathogenicity by manipulating a common signaling pathway in host cells.

10 Dec 2007

New human rhinovirus associated with pediatric respiratory tract infection in Germany

Using a rapid, sensitive, and inexpensive diagnostic tool called MassTag PCR, scientists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health's Center for Infection and Immunity implicated a new human rhinovirus as the cause of severe pediatric respiratory tract infections in Europe.

21 Nov 2007

Contamination from depleted uranium found in urine 20 years later

Inhaled depleted uranium (DU) oxide aerosols are recognised as a distinct human health hazard and DU has been suggested to be responsible in part for illness in both military and civilian populations that may have been exposed.

24 Oct 2007

Health Discovery receives notice of allowance of U.S. patent application covering kernel selection methods

Health Discovery Corporation has announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a notice of allowance of HDC's patent application covering methods for selection of kernels, i.e., functions or algorithms that are used to transform input data into a different configuration, known as "feature space", which allows for easier recognition of patterns within the data.

18 Oct 2007

Improving diagnosis of cancer by detecting protein-sugar structures

Researchers report in the October 2007 issue of Molecular & Cellular Proteomics that they have developed a new way of detecting the abnormal presence of complexes of sugars and proteins in the blood of cancer patients, thus providing a new tool for cancer diagnosis.

8 Oct 2007