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.

Tau protein in Alzheimer's disease looks different at every dementia stage

Research into Alzheimer's disease has long focused on understanding the role of two key proteins, beta amyloid and the tau protein. Found in tangles in patients' brain tissue, a pathological form of the tau protein contributes to propagating the disease in the brain.

19 Nov 2020

Astrocytes regulate inhibitory synapses by binding to neurons

In the orchestra of the brain, the firing of each neuron is controlled by two notes--excitatory and inhibitory-- that come from two distinct forms of a cellular structure called synapses.

16 Nov 2020

Study shows how UCH37 enzyme regulates a cell’s waste management system

Researchers reported the discovery of a new enzyme, called UCH37, that controls the waste management system of a cell.

9 Nov 2020

Rapid prognosis of SARS-CoV-2 by MALDI-TOF MS

Gomila et al. recently uploaded a study to the preprint server medRxiv* (November 2020), aiming to utilize MALDI-TOF MS to analyze the sera of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 in a range of disease severity states.

6 Nov 2020

Innovative machine learning concepts can help develop new drugs

Tandem mass spectrometry is a powerful analytical tool used to characterize complex mixtures in drug discovery and other fields.

15 Oct 2020

Researchers unravel molecular factors that drive severity of COVID-19

While most COVID-19 cases are asymptomatic or mild, severe complications associated with acute respiratory distress have led to more than one million deaths worldwide in just several months.

14 Oct 2020

Components leaking from broken muscle fibers activate 'satellite' muscle stem cells

While building a muscle damage model in a cultured system, a research collaboration between Kumamoto University and Nagasaki University in Japan has found that components leaking from broken muscle fibers activate "satellite" muscle stem cells.

13 Oct 2020

Analysis of wild tomatoes elucidates genetic basis underlying fruit traits

Domestication and subsequent intensive breeding of tomato had a major impact on fruit ripening and the myriad metabolic processes accompanying it.

29 Sep 2020

New study reveals metabolic signature of SARS-CoV-2 infection involving signs of multi-organ damage

SARS-CoV-2 can lead to a broad range of symptoms, from absolutely nothing to multi-organ failure, severe respiratory stress, and eventually death.

11 Sep 2020

Chemical crosslinking data helps study protein dynamics

The mechanism for protein function can be unraveled by defining protein dynamics.

26 Aug 2020

Seafood study finds plastic in all samples

A study of five different seafoods has found traces of plastic in every sample tested.

From University of Exeter 13 Aug 2020

New technology captures common biomarker of heart-disease

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a method combining sticky nanoparticles with high-precision protein measurement to capture and analyze a common marker of heart disease to reveal details that were previously inaccessible.

7 Aug 2020

Specific protein found at high levels in the blood of people with early signs of Alzheimer's

Two decades or more before symptoms arise, plaques of a sticky protein called amyloid begin forming in the brains of people later diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

29 Jul 2020

Oak coumarins could produce bitter taste in spirits,wine

Wine and spirits are complex mixtures of flavor and aroma compounds, some of which arise during aging in wooden barrels.

16 Jul 2020

Imaging mass spectrometry identifies tumor markers for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Volume 11, Issue 28 of Oncotarget features "Lipid and protein tumor markers for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma identified by imaging mass spectrometry" by Schmidt et. al. which reported that the authors used MALDI imaging mass spectrometry and immunohistochemistry to seek tumor-specific expression of proteins and lipids in HNSCC samples.

15 Jul 2020

Golgi membrane protein drives growth and invasion of breast cancer

The cover for issue 28 of Oncotarget features Figure 5, "TMEM165 expression levels alters N-linked glycosylation," by Murali, et al., and reported that the TMEM165 protein was not detected in non-malignant matched breast tissues and was detected in invasive ductal breast carcinoma tissues by mass spectrometry.

15 Jul 2020