Move over, genome, transcriptome, proteome. The latest ome aims to map every metabolite linked to human health and disease. Metabolomics, although still a nascent field, offers hope for biomarkers and treatments in neurodegenerative disease. The field's current task is to standardize experimental procedures while scientists are pursuing pilot studies in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. As reporter Amber Dancediscovered, scientists are following up on hints of new molecules involved in these conditions without knowing just yet what most of these molecules are. The full import of these experiments will not be realized until biochemists name the pieces and figure out how they fit into the body's myriad metabolic and catabolic pathways. Read Dance's four-part exposé. [Image of Rima Kaddurah-Daouk courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.]
Series
Metabolomics Comes of Age
Metabolomics: The Fourth Great Ome
You could say biological researchers have been binging on omes this past decade. In February 2001, they finished off the human genome, then proceeded to gorge on the transcriptome and the proteome, not to mention the connectome, secretome, variome...
Metabolomics: All the Fish in the Sea
The human body contains thousands of metabolites, and metabolomics scientists plan to measure them all (see Part 1). But how to do so remains rathe...
Metabolomics: Metabolism and Omics in Alzheimer’s Disease
Metabolomics holds the promise of giant metabolite screens, leading to a bounty of clues to Alzheimer’s disease (see Part 1). Alzheimer’s res...
Metabolomics: Seeking Biomarkers for ALS, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s
Metabolomics—the sum of every small molecule linked to health or illness—is a young field (see Part 1 and ...