From the Editor
No Slowdown in Scientific Innovation
In the midst of 2009's market upheaval and economic turbulence, one thing has remained consistent, and more to the point, consistently positive: the rapid advancement of mass spectrometry technology and techniques. While the overall spectroscopy market has been predicted by many to show continued decline and by many others to have a major rally by year's end, the debate over the science behind the marketplace has never been in doubt.
David Walsh
Rapid advancements in MS instrumentation, the development of novel techniques, and even quantum leaps in software and data handling have all marked a year of great progress for practitioners of mass spectrometry and its numerous and varied hyphenated techniques.
Even a cursory glance at this issue's table of contents illustrates that there has been no slowdown in scientific innovation. An updated and expanded glossary of MS terms and acronyms leads off the issue, and even though Spectroscopy columnist Ken Busch last published this invaluable resource only three years ago, there have been so many changes in terminology in the interim that he needed an additional four pages to include them all. In addition, you'll find articles covering all of the hottest techniques and application areas, with research on food safety, pesticide analysis, and metabolite identification in pharmaceutical research, as well as research involving MS-based techniques from ICP-MS to LC–MS-IT-TOF.
If there is a hot technique or application area in the field of mass spectrometry, chances are you will find it covered here or in a future issue in the Current Trends in Mass Spectrometry series. And as always, we value not only your feedback but your contributions as well. As this series has grown, the amount of unsolicited content from the scientific community has also grown by leaps and bounds, so feel free to contact us with not only your opinions but with your own research ideas as well.
We look forward to hearing from you soon — enjoy the issue.
David Walsh
Editor-in-Chief
Newsletter
Get essential updates on the latest spectroscopy technologies, regulatory standards, and best practices—subscribe today to Spectroscopy.
Rapid Sweetener Detection Achieved Through Raman Spectroscopy and Machine Learning
July 10th 2025Researchers at Heilongjiang University have developed a rapid and accurate method for detecting sweeteners in food using Raman spectroscopy combined with a Random Forest machine learning algorithm, offering a powerful tool for improving food safety.
PNNL and BaySpec Launch Compact Mass Spectrometry System for Rapid Narcotics Detection
July 8th 2025The U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL) VaporID, which is a newly developed portable air sampling system incorporating a miniaturized mass spectrometer (MS), can detect trace levels of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and even explosives like TNT with great accuracy.
How Spectroscopy Drones Are Detecting Hidden Crop Threats in China’s Soybean Fields
July 8th 2025Researchers in Northeast China have demonstrated a new approach using drone-mounted multispectral imaging to monitor and predict soybean bacterial blight disease, offering a promising tool for early detection and yield protection.
