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WEEKLY UPDATE / 19 Nov 2024
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Hello!
Regulatory agencies prescribe concentration limits for emerging contaminants, such as PFAS, based on what the data says about risk to human health and the environment. Each chemical is usually considered in isolation, but what happens when you have a collection of chemicals, each at concentration levels deemed safe?
Well, according to research from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), such chemicals have the potential to form mixtures in the human body to produce neurotoxic effects that are “worse than the sum of their parts.”
The team extracted plasma samples from 624 pregnant women from the Leipzig mother-child cohort LiNA, using a nonselective extraction method for organic chemicals. They then used HRMS to test for 1,000 different chemicals that can be ingested by humans, which are naturally present in the environment, of which they were able to quantify around 300. From there they analyzed the neurotoxic effects of the individual chemicals, as well as around 80 self-produced chemical mixtures in realistic concentration ratios, using a prediction model to quantify the degree of neurotoxicity and a cellular bioassay (based on human cells) to then test their predictions.
We spoke with first author Beate Escher, who said: “Our findings clearly show that we cannot regulate on a chemical-by-chemical basis, and that complex mixtures must be addressed in risk assessment and regulation.”
Click here to read the full interview.
Until next time, James Strachan, Editor |
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Essential Reading
Stefan Foser on the Future of Pharma Earlier this year, Stefan Foser joined Bruker as VP of Global Pharma – following a successful career as a molecular biologist and pharma business leader. We caught up with him to reflect on the importance of analytical technology in the “post-genomic era.”
“From my perspective as a molecular biologist, looking ahead five to ten years, the trajectory is clear: we are moving towards a deeper comprehension of diseases through multi-omics. This represents not just a technological evolution but a significant leap in our biological understanding.” Read the interview here.
Chewing the Fat In a recent study, researchers at the University of California, USA, used an experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mouse model to explore why mice fed a high-fat, low-carbohydrate KD exhibit significantly lower disease severity than those on a standard diet.
The study identified Lactobacillus murinus, a gut bacterium enriched by βHB, as a key player in reducing T helper 17 (Th17) cell-mediated inflammation. The team used genome sequencing and mass spectrometry to verify L. murinus’ production of indole lactic acid (ILA). This metabolite is known to suppress Th17 cell activation, suggesting that βHB promotes neuroprotection indirectly by shaping microbial metabolites.
Our full news story on the study was published earlier this week, check it out to find out more! |
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Worth Your Time
The results from a multi-laboratory ocean metaproteomic intercomparison assessing the effects of LC-MS acquisition and data analysis procedures finds good reproducibility and software utility. Link
Highlights from the 68th Benzon Foundation Symposium focusing on bridging the gap from proteomics technology to clinical application include: spatial proteomics for disease mechanism studies, proteomics for clinical diagnostics, plasma proteomics for biomarker discovery, and AI for proteomic data acquisition. Link
Wines made from highly smoke-impacted grapes – determined by GC-MS and LC-QqQ-MS – have a smoky, barbeque, medicinal, and retro-nasal ashtray character. Link
Graham Cooks and colleagues use desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) tandem mass spectrometry to detect IDH mutation in glioma, “which might in future be used at the time of surgery to support decision-making on resection regions, especially at tumor margins.” Link
Black balls on Sydney beaches are likely the spawn of “fatbergs,” showing traces of human feces, methamphetamine, and PFAS according to NMR and mass spectrometry analyses. Link
Seer’s Proteograph Product Suite to be integrated with Thermo Fisher’s Orbitrap Astral mass spectrometers as part of a co-marketing and sales agreement. Link |
Upcoming Brand Events
Nitrosamine Analysis in the Pharma Industry: Trends, Challenges, and Future Perspectives
11/14/2024 | 03:00 PM Europe/London | Register Now
Power List Perspectives on The Future of Analytical Science
12/12/2024 | 04:00 PM Etc/GMT | Register Now |
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(Mass) Spectacular and Strange
Neither Fish nor Flesh
Until this week, I was not aware of the titan arum flower, commonly known as corpse flower – because its rare blooming scent is reminiscent of rotting flesh. This is despite having apparently seen one in the flesh – pun not intended – at London’s Kew gardens, which they say “attracts thousands of visitors hoping to experience the magnificent sight and disgusting stench.” Each to their own.
The corpse flower also draws the attention of curious scientists, interested in the genetic pathways and biological mechanisms that produce heat – unusual in plants – and the odorous chemicals. A Dartmouth-led study used RNA sequencing and mass spec to do just that. They identified a previously unrecognized component of the corpse flower’s odor: the appropriately named putrescine, derived from arginine. |
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