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4th Symposium on Structural Proteomics 2014

15 Sep 2014

The Symposium on Structural Proteomics will take place this year
Antwerp, Belgium
November 27th-28th 2014

This meeting started off in Canada in 2011 on a small scale, but has already grown into a major forum for scientists working at the nexus of native MS, HDX, crosslinking and computational methods.

We invite you to attend and contribute to this meeting, and are keen to cover the spectrum of emerging methods in this dynamic field.

Please note that places are limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. We tried to keep the registration costs as low as possible, but hope to have a great time scientifically and socially, if last year’s meeting is anything to go by…!” Registration closes Nov 1st, 2014

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The Chemical Analysis Metadata Platform

15 Sep 2014

The ChAMP project is focused on making it easy for the community to identify the important aspects of methods of chemical analysis. The project will develop a set of fields (metadata) that can be used to characterize methods such that groups and individuals in the area of chemical analysis can build standards applicable for their needs. In this way, we hope ChAMP will accelerate the semantic annotation and linking of analytical method data while making the underlying metadata uniform across applications.

This project needs lots of input from the community so it can truly cover all potential use cases, so we encourage you to get involved. Follow the progress of this project on the ChAMP website (http://champ-project.org) and tell us what you think/need for your application.

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Urine test could catch lung cancer early

08 Sep 2014

Lung cancer could be identified earlier, thanks to a new test that uses surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to detect a cancer biomarker in urine

Detecting lung cancer is difficult as it is hidden in the body, and current clinical methods are not effective at an early stage; the one-year survival rate after diagnosis in the UK is just 29–33%. Acetyl amantadine (AcAm) is recognised as an exogeneous cancer biomarker because it is the product of a metabolic process known to be significantly up-regulated in cancerous cells. After ingestion, the antiparkinson and antiviral drug amantadine is acetylated in the body by the enzyme spermidine/spermine N1 acetyltransferase to give AcAm, which can be detected in patient urine. However, techniques previously used to quantify AcAm in urine, such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), are undesirable for clinical adoption due to high costs and long run times.

Interested to know more? Read the full article in Chemistry World here…

Quantification of an exogenous cancer biomarker in urinalysis by Raman Spectroscopy
Guangyi Cao, Ghazal Hajisalem, Wei Li, Fraser Hof and Reuven Gordon
Analyst, 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4AN01309C

Do you fancy submitting an article to Analyst? Why not submit to us here today or alternatively email us with your suggestions!

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Call for Applications: Visiting Researchers Programme to Visit China in 2015

28 Aug 2014

Image courtesy of © iStock

The State Administration for Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA) is a division of the Chinese Government with which RSC has a cooperation agreement. Under this agreement the RSC and SAFEA will jointly fund researchers from the UK to visit Chinese Universities. The purpose of the visits are to stimulate collaboration between UK and Chinese institutions. They will allow the visitor to contribute their experience towards the development of excellent emerging science and build links with the Chinese Chemistry community.

In addition, the visitor will advise Chinese research groups on all aspects of presenting their research to an international audience. The programme will strengthen links between the UK and Chinese Science and between the RSC and our partners in China.

We would be very grateful if you could please send us the following information as part of your application:

• Detailed CV containing your career progress

• A letter detailing your objectives and what you hope to achieve in China

• Current research interests, especially areas where you wish to collaborate

• List of current collaborators in China (If any)

• List of your current and past publications

• Preferred dates to travel to China

Applications are open until the 31^st October 2014 for RSC members based in the UK and Ireland. Visits usually last up to a week. The Royal Society of Chemistry covers up to £1500 for international flights, and visa and local costs are usually covered by the local Chinese host universities. Prior collaboration in China is not necessary because SAFEA and the RSC will work together to find appropriate Chinese University hosts.

Please email to register your interest in participating in the programme.

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Printed sensors kick up a stink

26 Aug 2014

Methyl mercaptan is easily detectable by the human nose © Shutterstock

Scientists in Canada have used an inkjet-printer to create sensors that give off a smell when a target biomolecule is present.

Visual outputs, such as fluorescence and colour changes, are what indicate a positive reading in most sensors. Carlos Filipe and his team at McMaster University, however, have come up with a sensor where the output comes in the form of a smell. ‘People use the sense of smell in their everyday-lives but this fact has been largely under-explored for analytical purposes. A very convenient aspect of using smell is that a person or user does not have to be constantly looking at a read-out or a display to get a signal, the signal will come to the user.’

Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the original journal article in Analyst – it’s free to access until 3rd October:

An inkjet-printed bioactive paper sensor that reports ATP through odour generation
Zhuyuan Zhang, Jingyun Wang, Robin Ng, Yingfu Li, Zaisheng Wu, Vincent Leung, Spencer Imbrogno, Robert Pelton, John D. Brennan and Carlos D. M. Filipe
Analyst, 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4AN01113A, Communication

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Strep throat spotted in seconds

01 Aug 2014

Scientists have developed a non-invasive mass spectrometry-based diagnostic technique that can diagnose strep throat in less than 10 seconds.

Almost all of us will experience a sore throat at some point in our lives, and a number of these sore throats (~30%) will be caused by infections with Streptococci bacteria. Streptococcal pharyngitis, which is usually caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, is commonly known as ‘strep throat’ and can be treated with antibiotics if successfully diagnosed. Although the vast majority of strep throat cases resolve themselves within a few days, Streptococcal infections can lead to serious complications, such an inflammatory disease called rheumatic fever that can result in heart failure and even death. Children and the elderly are particularly susceptible to complications, so for these individuals, the rapid diagnosis and treatment of strep throat can be life-saving.

Touch spray-mass spectrometry can detect strep throat causing bacterium directly from medical swabs

Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the original journal article in Analyst – it’s free to access until 12th September:
Detection of strep throat causing bacterium directly from medical swabs by touch spray – mass spectrometry
Alan K Jarmusch, Valentina Pirro, Kevin S Kerian and R. Graham Cooks
Analyst, 2014, Accepted Manuscript, DOI: 10.1039/C4AN00959B

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Analyst Impact Factor announced: 3.906!

30 Jul 2014

We are delighted to announce that our latest Impact Factor* is 3.906!

Analyst remains the home of premier fundamental discoveries, inventions and applications in the analytical and bioanalytical sciences. It publishes leading edge interdisciplinary research that presents a significant advance in fundamental theory or practice of the chemical, physical and biological sciences from an analytical perspective and remains in the top 3 general analytical journals publishing primary research.

The Editorial office thanks all of our Board members, authors, readers and reviewers for their continued support.

We invite you to submit your latest piece of high impact work with us here.

Click through to see how the other Royal Society of Chemistry journals did.

*The Impact Factor provides an indication of the average number of citations per paper. Produced annually, Impact Factors are calculated by dividing the number of citations in a year by the number of citeable articles published in the preceding two years. Data based on 2013 Journal Citation Reports^®, (Thomson Reuters, 2014).

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Chemistry and Art

15 Jul 2014

Will there be blood? - by Caroline Grainger

2014 is the Royal Society of Chemistry year of Chemistry and Art! There have been a number of initiatives around this, and we are pleased to promote some recent work the Analyst and Analytical Methods has been involved in.

50 Shades of Green - by Paul Jackson

Founded by Yalda Javadi, Ionic Magazine aims to bridge the gap between science and art and is published as an online magazine four times a year. Javadi says ‘The two subject matters are often considered to be poles apart and from two very different worlds. Science is about truth, about following rules and laws that help answer fundamental rational questions, whereas art invokes emotional connections through expression, impressions, concepts and creations. Yet both create a sense of mystery, both are matched when it comes to skill, creativity, imagination and impact.’

She created Ionic Magazine as a way to visually express modern day scientific breakthroughs. The ultimate goal: a stunning and stimulating collaboration of two traditionally contrasting worlds.

Fishing for isinglass - by Angie Brown

In collaboration with the Royal Society of Chemistry, Issue 6 of Ionic Magazine has a selection of papers from the Molecular Analysis for Art, Archaeometry and Conservation themed collection. This collection of papers across Analyst and Analytical Methods highlighted cutting edge analytical research from academia, national laboratories and museums showing the most recent analytical breakthroughs in the field of cultural heritage. The articles described those techniques recently employed to study art and cultural objects at the molecular level, characterising their structure, properties and chemistry.

Why not take a look at the beautifual and fascinating collection of artwork inspired by this selection of research papers?

As Javadi asks -Right side or left side brain, which way do you swing?

A selection of these papers will be free to read until Aug 3rd.

You may also be interested to read the lates issue of Chemistry World, a special issue of Chemistry and Art.

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175 Faces of Chemistry – Martha Whiteley

20 Jun 2014

Martha Whiteley

“There is a long-established and inveterate prejudice… that girls are less capable of mental cultivation, and less in need of it, than boys” reported the 1868 Schools Inquiry Commission.

Analyst, and the historic J. Chem. Soc., Trans. contributor Martha Whiteley did much to reverse this prejudice, for which she has been nominated as an “175 Face of Chemistry”.

This Friday, why not take some time out to explore our journal archives, discover her research, and read about her campaigning for women fellows’ admission to the Royal Society – and the problems along the way (why should men be preferred simply because ‘they wear a distinctive dress and are privileged to grow a moustache?’ – Nature editor, 1909).

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Analyst Blog

Archive for the ‘News’ Category

4th Symposium on Structural Proteomics 2014

The Chemical Analysis Metadata Platform

Urine test could catch lung cancer early

Top ten most accessed Analyst articles from April to June 2014

Call for Applications: Visiting Researchers Programme to Visit China in 2015

Printed sensors kick up a stink

Strep throat spotted in seconds

Analyst Impact Factor announced: 3.906!

Chemistry and Art

175 Faces of Chemistry – Martha Whiteley

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