Inspired by technologies used in aerospace engineering, scientists have developed a way to capture the brain’s intricate structures using X-rays without destroying the samples.

The prebiotic potential of ocean worlds such as Europa and Enceladus, while not well constrained, is vital in the search for potential life elsewhere. To better understand this potential, laboratory studies provide experimental insight into the chemical environment(s) of ocean worlds and any constraints to hold prebiotically relevant systems. However, simulated ocean world solutions present a technical challenge for analytical techniques such as mass spectrometry (MS), as the high saline content required for simulating ocean world environments results in ion suppression and reduced sensitivity. Here, we compare three sample preparation techniques, C4 ZipTips, C18 ZipTips, and on-plate washing, for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization – time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) MS of saline solutions similar to environments expected in ocean worlds. We determined that using C18 ZipTips was optimal when paired with 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) matrix, whereas on-plate desalting was optimal when paired with α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA) matrix. The methodology described here presents simple, low-volume sample preparation strategies for MALDI-TOF MS of model prebiotic reactions in saline solutions.

Free fatty acid (FFA) production in bacteria is a key target for metabolic engineering. The knockout of the acyl-ACP synthetase (AAS) prevents reincor…

Chancellor suggests deportations could begin ‘in the near future’ as government seeks to counter rise of AfD

Acknowledgment shows shift in tone after six years of diplomatic spats over colonial-era abuses

The blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae infects plants using a specialised infection structure called an appressorium that generates physical force to break the rice leaf cuticle. Appressorium development...

Diatoms are major phytoplanktonic algae with secondary endosymbiotic plastids that differ in cellular and regulatory traits from those of the green lineage. Here we exploited the heterotrophic growth ...