News

Gordon F. Kirkbright Bursary Award 2013

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:47:36 GMT

Applications are invited for the 2013 Gordon Kirkbright Bursary, a prestigious annual award that enables a promising student/non-tenured young scientist of any nation to attend a recognised scientific meeting or visit a place of learning.

Warwick researchers solve 40-year-old FT-MS phasing problem

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:34:00 GMT

Scientists at the University of Warwick have developed a computation which simultaneously doubles the resolution, sensitivity and mass accuracy of Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry (FT-MS) at no extra cost.

IR spectroscopy detects that oxygen defects act as active centres

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 11:09:58 GMT

In the chemical industry, heterogeneous catalysis is vital for the manufacture of basic or fine chemicals, in catalytic converters of exhaust gas and for the chemical storage of solar energy. A new infrared spectroscopy method can study processes at surfaces of oxides used as catalysts.

Starfruit-shaped nanorods enhance SERS

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 10:57:56 GMT

Starfruit-shaped gold nanorods could enhance surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) by a factor of 25 compared to similar smooth nanorods.

Exploring the body using light

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 10:49:31 GMT

Medical applications of NIR spectroscopy are covered in this major special issue of JNIRS—Journal of Near Infrared Spectroscopy.

CD shows that proteins can refold in the absence of water

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 08:06:34 GMT

New research by scientists at the University of Bristol has challenged one of the key beliefs in chemistry: that proteins are dependent on water to survive and function. The team’s findings could eventually lead to the development of new industrial enzymes.

Pittcon 2012 attendance

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:29:24 GMT

The Pittcon organisers have released the attendance figures for Pittcon 2012. The headline overall attendance is down at 15,754, as was probably expected. These figures are always an excuse for much discussion amongst hardened Pittcon visitors. To me, the interesting point is the relative changes between conferees and exhibitors.

Raman imaging of breast cancer cells

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 08:45:25 GMT

Researchers from Purdue University in the USA have created a new imaging technology based on Raman spectroscopy that reveals subtle changes in breast tissue, representing a potential tool to determine a woman's risk of developing breast cancer and to study ways of preventing the disease.

The First Spectroscopic Measurement of an Anti-Atom

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:19:13 GMT

The ALPHA collaboration at CERN in Geneva has performed the first-ever spectroscopic measurements of the internal state of the antihydrogen atom.

SERS may benefit from new, single-step method of fabricating microcapsules

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:36:35 GMT

A new, single-step method of fabricating microcapsules, which have potential commercial applications as a substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), and in industries including medicine, agriculture and diagnostics, has been developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, UK. Their have been published in Science titled “One-Step Fabrication of Supramolecular Microcapsules from Microfluidic Droplets”.

Mass spectrometry detects nicotine in Mayan container

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:52:13 GMT

Archaeologists examining late period Mayan containers have identified nicotine traces from a codex-style flask, revealing the first physical evidence of tobacco use by ancient Mayans. The study published in Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry reveals the flask is marked with Mayan hieroglyphics reading, “y-otoot ’u-may” (“the home of its/his/her tobacco”), making it only the second case to confirm that the text on the exterior of a Mayan vessel corresponds to its ancient use.

Top 10 Cancer Breakthrough of 2011

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:06:51 GMT

Verisante Technology, Inc. has announced that a research study using its Core laser Raman spectroscopy system was named as one of the Canadian Cancer Society’s 10 research achievements for 2011.

FACSS awards

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:57:16 GMT

FACSS has announced the winners of the 2012 ANACHEM and Charles Mann awards: Peter Griffiths and Don Pivonka.

Inaugural winners of the FACSS Innovation Awards

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:58:46 GMT

The Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS) has announced the winners of the 2011 FACSS Innovations Awards. The FACSS Innovation Awards showcase the newest and most creative science debuted orally at a FACSS-organised conference. Shortlisted finalists competed in front of expert panels at the 2011 FACSS conference in Reno, NV, USA (2–7 October 2011). The panel commended the high quality of entries and selected four equal awardees.

Funding for Imaging MS in Germany

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 07:57:33 GMT

Due to the importance of imaging mass spectrometry in the life sciences, the Joint Committee of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has decided, as part of the “Imaging Mass Spectrometry in the Life Sciences” initiative, to equip nine universities with major instrumentation systems.