When molecular biologists recently raised their sights from genes to proteins, from decoding entire genomes to decoding entire proteomes, the tools of their trade had to change as well. Sequencing and identifying the myriad proteins in a single tissue sample requires entirely new technologies, and so the past decade has seen mass spectrometry emerge as the technology that powers the proteomic revolution.
     The application of mass spectrometry to the biology of proteins, however, required a chemist’s insight, and it was Matthias Mann, a student of the Nobel laureate John Fenn, who made it happen. This work has propelled Mann to the top five in Thomson Scientific’s current update of Essential Science Indicators^SM listing of the hottest scientists in Molecular Biology & Genetics, and to second overall among the highest-cited scientists...read•>