So Many Proteins, So Much Promise, Northwestern University Study

The human genome has been mapped. Now, it’s on to proteins, a much more daunting task. There are 20,300 genes, but there are millions of distinct protein molecules in our bodies. Many of these hold keys to understanding disease and targeting treatment. A team led by Northwestern University chemical biologist Neil Kelleher has developed a new “top-down” method that can separate and identify thousands of protein molecules quickly. Many have been skeptical that such an approach, where each protein is analyzed intact instead of in smaller parts, could be done on such a large scale.

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