This title appears in the Scientific Report :
2014
Please use the identifier:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2014.03.006 in citations.
Quantitative metabolomics: a phantom?
Quantitative metabolomics: a phantom?
‘Mass specs are precise but biology is not!’ is a frequently heard argument when quantitative experimental data do not fit into the overall picture. The problem with this opinion is that the significance of measured biological data becomes a matter of gut feeling. Doubtlessly, the measurement precis...
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Personal Name(s): | Noack, Stephan |
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Wiechert, Wolfgang (Corresponding Author) | |
Contributing Institute: |
Biotechnologie; IBG-1 |
Published in: | Trends in biotechnology, 32 (2014) 5, S. 238 - 244 |
Imprint: |
Amsterdam [u.a.]
Elsevier Science
2014
|
PubMed ID: |
24708998 |
DOI: |
10.1016/j.tibtech.2014.03.006 |
Document Type: |
Journal Article |
Research Program: |
ohne Topic |
Publikationsportal JuSER |
‘Mass specs are precise but biology is not!’ is a frequently heard argument when quantitative experimental data do not fit into the overall picture. The problem with this opinion is that the significance of measured biological data becomes a matter of gut feeling. Doubtlessly, the measurement precision of modern mass spectrometers is far better than the reproducibility of biological experiments. However, precisely for this reason, technical reproduction of mass spectrometric measurements neither characterizes the whole experiment from cell cultivation to producing biological data nor says anything about systematic errors in the overall measurement procedure. Taking quantitative metabolomics as a fruitful example, we deal with the question of why it is so difficult to say something precise about imprecision in biology. |