Effect of removal of organic material on stable isotope ratios in skeletal carbonate from taxonomic groups with complex mineralogies.

Rationale: Stable oxygen and carbon isotope ratios are one of the most accurate ways of determining environmental changes in the past, which are used to predict future environmental change. Biogenic carbonates from marine organisms are the most common source of samples for stable isotope analysis. Before they are analyzed by mass spectrometry, any organic material is traditionally removed by one of three common pretreatment methods: roasting, bleaching, or with hydrogen peroxide at various strengths and durations.

Snake modulates constriction in response to prey's heartbeat.

Many species of snakes use constriction-the act of applying pressure via loops of their trunk-to subdue and kill their prey. Constriction is costly and snakes must therefore constrict their prey just long enough to ensure death. However, it remains unknown how snakes determine when their prey is dead.

Quantification of diacylglycerol species from cellular extracts by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry using a linear regression algorithm.

Diacylglycerols (DAGs) play significant roles in both intermediate metabolism and signal transduction. These lipid species are second messengers involved in modulating a plethora of cellular processes. Evaluation of DAG species concentrations has been hampered by the lack of a reliable method for molecular species analysis within a complex mixture of cellular lipids.

LIPID arrays: new tools in the understanding of membrane dynamics and lipid signaling.

Phospholipids are the structural building blocks of the membrane bilayer, which retains and regulates intra-cellular content. In addition to creating a protective barrier around the cell, lipids modulate membrane trafficking and are themselves precursors of important intracellular signaling molecules. Identification and quantification of these molecular species is essential for a more complete understanding of cell signaling pathways, and more reliable and sensitive methods are needed for determining membrane phospholipid content.

Computational lipidomics: a multiplexed analysis of dynamic changes in membrane lipid composition during signal transduction.

Recent successes in defining the roles of lipids in cell signaling have stimulated greater interest in these versatile biomolecules. Until recently, analysis of these molecules at the species level has required labor-intensive techniques. The development of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) has made possible the detection and identification of thermally labile biological molecules, such as phospholipids.

Overview of the Alliance for Cellular Signaling.

The Alliance for Cellular Signaling is a large-scale collaboration designed to answer global questions about signalling networks. Pathways will be studied intensively in two cells--B lymphocytes (the cells of the immune system) and cardiac myocytes--to facilitate quantitative modelling. One goal is to catalyse complementary research in individual laboratories; to facilitate this, all alliance data are freely available for use by the entire research community.