Patients who have not benefited from standard therapy for ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by back pain and sacroiliac-joint damage, may soon have another option.

Microorganisms often assemble natural products similar to industrial assembly lines. Certain enzymes, non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS) play a key role in this process. Biotechnologists have now discovered how these enzymes interact with each other, bringing them one step closer to their goal of engineering peptide natural products.

A $5.1 million grant has been awarded from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to advance the development of a novel therapy for blinding retinal conditions.

Changes to the complex of DNA and the proteins that form chromatin are important drivers in many cancers. We explore the challenges and progress in the development of new therapies targeting epigenetic regulators.

To pick apart the differences between individual cells in complex multicellular organisms, we need to look at cells one-by-one. This article takes a look at how several scientists in North America are using single cell proteomics (SCP) technologies to discern disease pathogenesis and enhance directed stem-cell differentiation.

As many people spent the summer trying to keep the flies away from their fruit-bowls, an international group of scientists published one of the biggest and most important datasets in the field of connectomics to date, the complete 3D electron micrograph volume of the fruit-fly (Drosophila melanogaster) brain.

The world of microfluidics has generated a host of intricate tools on a microscale, ranging from cheap paper-based lateral flow tests to organ-on-a-chip models designed to facilitate personalized diagnostic tests.
This article explores the extent to which microfluidic tools are filling a gap in clinical and point-of-care diagnostics, and touches on how microfluidics could improve the drug discovery process.

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a powerful tool increasingly being used in many fields including cancer research, biomarker discovery and drug development. This article explains why MSI is the technique of choice in many labs, discusses its use in research, and covers how some inherent challenges are being addressed.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI IMS) is a powerful analytical technique that enjoys the sensitivity of mass spectrometry coupled with spatial distribution information.