Three Subjects in Search of a Reader

Mass spectrometry is a powerful characterization technique that can identify and separate a wide variety of compounds ranging from chemical to biological entities, based on their mass-to-charge ratio (m/z). The instruments that allow this detection, known as mass spectrometers, have three components: an ion source, a mass analyzer, and a detector. These spectrometers differ based on the nature of their ion source and analyzers.Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) is a commonly...

To consistently produce healthy cells, the cell cycle—the process that generates daughter cells—must be precisely regulated.

Positive regulators allow a cell to advance through cell cycle checkpoints. Negative regulators have an equally important role as they terminate a cell’s progression through the cell cycle—or pause it—until the cell meets specific criteria.