Human Genetic Variation Alters Anthrax Toxin Sensitivity
Martchenko, Candille et al., PNAS
Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine show that genetic variation affecting capillary morphogenesis gene 2, or CMG2, dramatically alters toxin sensitivity in humans. In its analysis, the team reports on "a CMG2 single-nucleotide polymorphism occurring frequently in African and European populations [that they found] independently altered toxin uptake." The group goes on to suggest "testing of genomically characterized human cell populations may offer a broadly useful strategy for elucidating effects of genetic variation on infectious disease susceptibility."
UCSD Team Frees Protein Identification From Database Searching Via 'Spectral Networks'
The UCSD approach does away with the database-searching step altogether by relying on the concept of spectral pairs: sets of spectra that occur naturally in most mass spec experiments as the result of overlapping peptides or from modified and unmodified versions of the same peptide.
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