Spectrometry News and Research

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Finding medical applications for unused inventions: an interview with Gabriel Mecklenburg, Co-Founder of Marblar

Marblar is gamifying the process of technology transfer. We post technology on our platform in the form of a challenge, and the Marblar community then competes to uncover new problems these technologies could solve – thereby discovering new market applications for these technologies.

31 Jan 2013

Colorectal cancer screening: an interview with Dr Donato F. Altomare

Colorectal cancer is a malignant neoplasm affecting the large bowel and the rectum mainly after the 5th decade of life and representing the second cause of death for cancer in western countries (the third in women). In about 15-20% of patients there is an inherited predisposition.

29 Jan 2013

Breathprints identify lung infections in mice

Researchers working with a mouse model have developed a technique for creating “breathprints” that flag up whether or not the animals have a lung infection.

28 Jan 2013

Simple urine test picks up mesalamine non-adherence

A readily available urine test could identify ulcerative colitis patients who are non-adherent to their mesalamine therapy, research shows.

25 Jan 2013

Breathprints identify lung infections in mice

Researchers working with a mouse model have developed a technique for creating “breathprints” that flag up whether or not the animals have a lung infection.

25 Jan 2013

Waters and Fera launch new international food safety training facility

A major new international food safety training facility, aimed at improving compliance with EU food import standards, is being launched today by The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) and analytical equipment manufacturer Waters®.

22 Jan 2013

DESI technique identifies cancer type, grade and tumor margins in brain surgery patients

A new tool that could allow for faster, more comprehensive testing of brain tissue during surgery successfully identified the cancer type, grade and tumor margins in five brain surgery patients, according to a Purdue University and Brigham and Women's Hospital study.

11 Jan 2013

Proteins detected in urine may enable diagnosis of Kawasaki disease

A set of proteins detected in urine by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital may prove to be the first biomarkers for Kawasaki disease, an uncommon but increasingly prevalent disease which causes inflammation of blood vessels that can lead to enlarged coronary arteries and even heart attacks in some children.

20 Dec 2012

Jagaricin and antifungal drugs: an interview with Prof Christian Hertweck

Most people have already experienced a fungal infection (mycosis) of the outer layer of the skin, athlete’s foot or ringworm. Whereas such infections may be cumbersome and often difficult to cure, usually they are not dangerous. However, in cases where a fungus causes a systemic infection, this is, it infects internal organs such as lungs or brain, the infection may turn into a life-threatening disease. Of course, only pathogenic fungi cause problems and the degree of virulence varies.

18 Dec 2012

New MIT technology may help make cancer biomarker detection much easier

Finding ways to diagnose cancer earlier could greatly improve the chances of survival for many patients. One way to do this is to look for specific proteins secreted by cancer cells, which circulate in the bloodstream. However, the quantity of these biomarkers is so low that detecting them has proven difficult.

17 Dec 2012

National Cheng Kung University kicks off 23rd International Conference on Genome Informatics

National Cheng Kung University kicked off GIW 2012 -- the 23rd International Conference on Genome Informatics -- at International Conference Hall Dec. 12, attracting more than 140 scholars from 10 countries including Japan, Korea, China, Singapore, Canada, America, Germany, and Australia.

14 Dec 2012

Docosahexaenoic acid levels reduced in bipolar disorder patients

Results from an Italian study show that plasma levels of docosahexaenoic acid are significantly lower in patients with bipolar disorder than in mentally healthy individuals.

4 Dec 2012

New research finds bisphenol A in fetal liver tissues

New research from the University of Michigan School of Public Health found BPA, or bisphenol A, in fetal liver tissue, demonstrating that there is considerable exposure to the chemical during pregnancy.

4 Dec 2012

New antifungal drugs could be developed based on substance bacteria use to decompose mushrooms

Soft rot diseases cause a great deal of damage in agriculture, and turn fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms to mush. By using imaging mass spectrometry together with genetic and bioinformatic techniques (genome mining), German researchers have now discovered the substance the bacteria use to decompose mushrooms.

29 Nov 2012

Max Planck scientists identify unknown proteins of the herpesvirus

The genome encodes the complete information needed by an organism, including that required for protein production. Viruses, which are up to a thousand times smaller than human cells, have considerably smaller genomes. Using a type of herpesvirus as a model system, the scientists of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried near Munich and their collaboration partners at the University of California in San Francisco have shown that the genome of this virus contains much more information than previously assumed.

26 Nov 2012

Research reveals surprisingly complex protein-coding capacity of human cytomegalovirus

New findings reveal the surprisingly complex protein-coding capacity of the human cytomegalovirus, or HCMV, and provide the first steps toward understanding how the virus manipulates human cells during infection. The genome of the HCMV was first sequenced over 20 years ago, but researchers have now investigated the proteome-the complete set of expressed proteins-of this common pathogen as well.

23 Nov 2012

UPC teams conduct research in biomedical engineering to improve people's health

Systems to improve patient rehabilitation, methods that help detect diseases, and smart biomaterials for optimising treatments—scientific advances in the field of biomedical engineering are unstoppable. A number of leading UPC teams are carrying out research aimed at harnessing technology to improve people's health.

23 Nov 2012

Emory University, Georgia Tech to establish Malaria Host-Pathogen Interaction Center

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded a five-year contract of up to $19.4 million, depending on contract options exercised, to establish the Malaria Host-Pathogen Interaction Center (MaHPIC).

20 Nov 2012

Biomolecular imaging: an interview with Professor Roger Reddel

The reason Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) exists is to find ways to treat or prevent childhood disease. Our research programs are focussed on the areas of cancer cell growth, nerve cell signalling, embryology and gene therapy. These four programs have a shared aim of translating novel findings into new treatments for the benefit of families everywhere.

19 Nov 2012

Researchers show how bacteria control processes in human cells

Bacteria can talk to each other via molecules they themselves produce. The phenomenon is called quorum sensing, and is important when an infection propagates. Now, researchers at Link-ping University in Sweden are showing how bacteria control processes in human cells the same way.

6 Nov 2012