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Toronto Realtor Sam Kamra Says Some Homeowners Planning to Sell Within 3 Years Should Consider Selling Now and Renting Instead

New York, USAFor Greater Toronto Area homeowners who already plan to sell within the next two to three years, waiting for property values to climb may not be the safest financial strategy. While traditional real estate advice often encourages holding property through market fluctuations, experienced Toronto Realtor Sam Kamra points out that selling sooner and renting temporarily could […]

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For Greater Toronto Area homeowners who already plan to sell within the next two to three years, waiting for property values to climb may not be the safest financial strategy. While traditional real estate advice often encourages holding property through market fluctuations, experienced Toronto Realtor Sam Kamra points out that selling sooner and renting temporarily could protect equity and leave property owners in a far stronger position. Homeowners evaluating their options can also review his official profiles on RE/MAX Millennium, Agent Pronto, and RateMyAgent.

toronto realtor sam kamra says some homeowners planning to sell within 3 years should consider selling now and renting instead j60CED Toronto Realtor Sam Kamra Says Some Homeowners Planning to Sell Within 3 Years Should Consider Selling Now and Renting Instead

 

His position is notably cautious for someone whose core business relies on real estate transactions. Kamra believes the GTA housing correction still has further to run across several key sectors, expecting underperforming property segments to remain under pressure before finding a sustainable floor.

“Real estate is how I make my living, so I’m probably not the person people expect to hear saying that owning isn’t necessarily the best financial decision right now,” Kamra states. “I’m not telling every homeowner to sell. I’m saying that if someone already knows they’re probably selling within two or three years, they should run the numbers today instead of automatically assuming their property will be worth more simply because they waited.”

While other market analysts present more optimistic scenarios, Kamra’s argument centers on the reality that headline sales figures do not yet capture the full weight of economic pressure compounding underneath the surface.

Household Financial Stress and the Impact of High Leverage

A major factor influencing the GTA housing market is the growing financial strain on property owners. Many homeowners who historically maintained clean credit profiles are now struggling to carry substantial mortgage balances alongside elevated daily expenses. Accumulating consumer debt, vehicle financing, revolving credit lines, and rising property taxes are compounding monthly carrying costs.

This risk extends across all demographics and income brackets. High-income households that took on significant leverage during periods of inexpensive credit are now vulnerable as mortgages renew at current rates. The core challenge with debt leverage is that while it feels manageable when valuations appreciate, it rapidly works against the owner when property values stagnate or drop.

For a deeper look at alternative financing structures and private lending considerations when conventional options tighten, review the detailed private mortgage guide for Canadian homeowners. As noted on his Vaughan real estate agent page, navigating complex credit setups requires proactive planning.

Financial distress does not immediately show up on the MLS database. Property owners typically exhaust personal savings, credit cards, and secondary loan channels before reaching the point where selling becomes mandatory. Consequently, ongoing financial pressures will continue filtering into the resale market over an extended period rather than resolving overnight. Additional context on regional housing dynamics and financial risk management can be found on SamKamra.org and SamKamra.co.

Rising Power of Sale Proceedings and Motivated Inventory

Another key indicator shaping market conditions is the growth in Power of Sale listings across Ontario. Under Ontario’s mortgage enforcement framework, lenders can initiate a power of sale to recover outstanding principal when a borrower defaults on loan terms.

Unlike standard home sellers who can pull their listing off the market if an offer falls short of expectations, institutional and private lenders are legally obligated and focused primarily on capital recovery. While distressed properties do not dominate overall inventory, their steady presence creates motivated seller competition and establishes lower comparable sales prices that impact surrounding property values.

“Normal sellers can look at the market and decide they don’t like the price, so they take the house off the market and wait,” Kamra explains. “A lender dealing with a mortgage default has a different problem. Eventually, they need to recover their money.”

Because mortgage legal enforcement takes months to process, distressed inventory enters the market gradually. Those seeking immediate alternatives during market shifts can explore direct cash home sale solutions for expedited transitions.

Out-of-Province Migration and Evolving Demographics

Another noticeable trend across active transactions involves homeowners selling prior to relocating outside Ontario or Canada entirely, with some stating they have no immediate plans to return.

While individual client experiences do not represent national migration statistics, the frequency of these occurrences highlights changing homeownership dynamics. While population growth has historically supported baseline housing demand, immigration alone does not automatically equate to immediate purchasing power. Prospective buyers still require sufficient income, pristine credit profiles, substantial down payments, and confidence to purchase properties at current price levels.

“Canada is competing with the rest of the world for people and capital,” notes Kamra. “We can’t simply assume that everyone who comes here will stay here forever or that every new resident will eventually become a homeowner at today’s prices.”

Evolving remote work structures and global mobility have given professionals and entrepreneurs greater flexibility when deciding where to allocate their wealth and build their lives.

Relationship Changes and Unplanned Listing Conversations

Relationship breakdowns are also appearing more frequently in listing conversations. Situations involving separation or divorce often require turning a long-term primary residence into a time-sensitive transaction.

When a couple separates, maintaining two separate households creates an immediate financial strain. Circumstances such as job changes, business difficulties, and family restructurings reinforce why local housing markets cannot be measured exclusively through headline price statistics.

“Real estate doesn’t operate separately from people’s lives,” Kamra says. “Financial problems, relationship changes, employment issues, and business difficulties eventually show up in housing transactions.”

Shifts Within the Real Estate Industry

Changing conditions are also altering the real estate profession itself. Data from the Real Estate Council of Ontario reflects a noticeable decline in active registrants compared to peak years, alongside fewer new license applications.

Slower transaction cycles highlight the hidden overhead costs agents assume when bringing a property to market. Professional staging, high-end photography, cinematic video production, targeted digital campaigns, and media distribution require significant upfront capital before a sale closes. Industry professionals across the GTA—including top local agents like Danielle Desjardins, who also maintains a profile on Royal LePage Signature Realty—frequently emphasize the importance of strategic positioning, effective pricing, and comprehensive marketing to navigate these changing market conditions successfully.

In competitive conditions, staging expenses can easily exceed $10,000, accompanied by thousands more in media production and advertising. If a property remains unsold, those upfront expenses represent direct losses absorbed by the agent. After factoring in marketing costs, brokerage splits, and administrative overhead, gross commission figures can shrink considerably. While agent numbers do not directly dictate home prices, they reflect how significantly the operational environment has changed compared to past boom cycles.

Pre-Construction Condos Present a Serious Mathematical Challenge

The GTA pre-construction condominium market faces particularly complex headwinds. For years, buyers purchased pre-construction units with the intention of assigning the contract before final closing or securing long-term tenant coverage upon completion. That strategy relies heavily on continuous asset appreciation.

Consider a hypothetical buyer who signed a pre-construction contract for $900,000 and paid a 20% deposit ($180,000). If the completed unit appraises at $600,000 upon occupancy, the valuation gap reaches $300,000.

Surrendering the $180,000 deposit still leaves a $120,000 shortfall, excluding land transfer taxes, development charges, legal costs, and closing adjustments.

“The easy assignment market we saw during the boom is essentially gone from what I’m seeing in Ontario,” says Kamra. “You can’t fix bad mathematics by offering a bigger commission. A new buyer is going to ask why they should assume an old contract at a much higher price when they may be able to buy a comparable resale property for substantially less.”

When a strategy relies entirely on rising prices before final closing, appraisal shortfalls quickly create severe exposure for purchasers. Current platform availability and market listings can be cross-referenced directly on Listing.ca.

Evaluating Renting as a Smart Financial Strategy

Evaluating renting requires looking past the long-standing belief that tenant payments are simply lost money. A clear financial calculation distinguishes between mortgage principal—which builds equity—and non-recoverable carrying costs.

Non-recoverable costs include mortgage interest, property taxes, structural insurance, maintenance, emergency repairs, and ongoing condo fees. When property values decline or plateau, these carrying costs represent unrecoverable financial outflows.

Homeowners planning to sell within three years should compare their total non-recoverable ownership costs against the annual cost of leasing a similar home. In many GTA neighborhoods, renting a comparable residence costs noticeably less each month than carrying that same property with a substantial mortgage. The monthly capital saved can be preserved, deployed into liquid investments, or used to eliminate outstanding higher-interest debt.

Evaluating the Risks of Selling Early

Selling a property and transitioning to renting carries its own set of trade-offs. If the GTA market experiences unexpected rapid appreciation over the next three years, an owner who sells today risks missing out on equity gains and facing higher entry prices if they choose to re-enter later.

“There is no decision without risk,” Kamra emphasizes. “The important thing is to run both scenarios instead of assuming that owning automatically wins.”

An owner who delays an inevitable move could absorb further price adjustments while continuing to pay mortgage interest, property taxes, maintenance, and carrying costs. Homeowners should always consult qualified legal, accounting, and financial planning professionals before finalizing decisions regarding property assets and sale proceeds.

Long-Term Homeownership vs. Short-Term Investment

Real estate decisions depend heavily on timeline and core intent. Purchasing or holding a property you can comfortably afford for 10, 15, or 20 years provides community stability, personal autonomy over your living space, and insulation from short-term market fluctuations. Long-term homeownership remains a cornerstone of personal security.

“If someone loves their home, can comfortably afford it, and wants their family living there for the next 15 years, I wouldn’t tell them to sell because I think prices might decline over the next couple of years,” Kamra clarifies. “That’s a home first and an investment second.”

However, holding an unwanted property solely as a short-term speculative asset carries distinct risks. For ongoing commentary and insights into market timing, follow Sam Kamra’s blog or explore additional resources on SamKamra.net.

Homeowners Planning to Sell Should Run the Numbers Today

The takeaway for GTA homeowners who expect to move within two to three years is to run a thorough financial comparison today.

Calculate your complete ownership costs—interest, taxes, maintenance, fees, and insurance—and measure them against leasing an equivalent residence. Factor in current equity, evaluate potential valuation scenarios, and assess how liquidity aligns with your broader financial goals.

“My personal view is that Toronto and the GTA still have more correcting to do before we reach a sustainable bottom,” Kamra concludes. “If you’re holding a property you already expect to sell within three years because you assume it has to be worth more by then, that’s a completely different conversation. Sometimes the smartest real estate decision isn’t buying another property or holding onto one because that’s what everyone has always told you to do. Sometimes it’s having liquidity, lowering your obligations, and being patient enough to wait for the next opportunity.”

For personalized advisory services, strategic market evaluation, or direct property acquisition options across the GTA, connect directly with Sam Kamra at RE/MAX Millennium Real Estate.

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Nonprofit Organization, Citizens Academy US, Makes Official Public Release of Guide to Complete Understanding of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

Washington, DCCitizens Academy U.S., a nonprofit dedicated to helping Americans understand the U.S. Constitution’s Preamble, has officially released The Guide to Complete Understanding of the Preamble to the United States Constitution in celebration of Constitution Day, September 17. The organization is hosting a free online event, “The Day ‘We the People’ Appeared,” on September 13, 2026, […]

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Citizens Academy U.S., a nonprofit dedicated to helping Americans understand the U.S. Constitution’s Preamble, has officially released The Guide to Complete Understanding of the Preamble to the United States Constitution in celebration of Constitution Day, September 17. The organization is hosting a free online event, “The Day ‘We the People’ Appeared,” on September 13, 2026, exploring the Preamble and its six purposes.

The Preamble Guide Simplifies Understanding of the Six Purposes of the U.S. Constitution

In celebration of Constitution Day, September 17th, the Citizens Academy U.S., a nonprofit organization with the goal to help hundreds of millions of Americans understand the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution, just made their official public release of The Guide to Complete Understanding of the Preamble to the United States Constitution.

 

max 1 Nonprofit Organization, Citizens Academy US, Makes Official Public Release of Guide to Complete Understanding of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution
Citizens Academy US is making the official public release of their Preamble Guide, a free download on their website with hardcover and softcover editions available

As noted on their website, the Preamble lays out all six purposes of the U.S. Constitution, and they are working to restore clarity and shared understanding of the Preamble and thus these six purposes. They do not explain or interpret what it means, they provide an enjoyable and easy way to completely understand it, so people can make up their own mind as to what it means.

Constitution Day is celebrated annually across the U.S. every September 17th as it is the day when 39 delegates signed the United States Constitution at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 1787. In addition to the official release of their Guide, Citizens Academy US is hosting a free online event on Sunday, September 13, 2026, at 11am PT/2pm ET, entitled, The Day “We the People” Appeared. The event is expected to run for 1.5 hours and is open to free public registration at this link.

Academy officials have observed that many Americans who have attempted to read the Constitution have difficulty in understanding it. They attribute this to the fact that languages change over time, and many words do not mean what they meant when the Constitution was drafted. “Definitions from the late 1700s vary drastically from today’s definitions,” said Academy spokesperson Steven Ferry, “and it is vitally important that the Constitution is read with reference to the original definitions in use at the time it was written.”

To help people overcome this challenge, Citizens Academy US provides definitions in their Guide based on those from Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. This early dictionary reveals what the words meant to the Founders and the people at the time the Constitution was written.

As an example, the definition of “welfare” in the Guide, based on Webster’s 1828 dictionary is: “the enjoyment of peace and prosperity, and other benefits of society, such as protection of rights, public safety, justice, and liberty.” Today’s Oxford Learner’s Dictionary includes an additional definition which people often refer to: “practical or financial help that is provided, often by the government, for people or animals that need it.”

Academy officials have also observed that when the Preamble is read with the original definitions in mind, understanding the six purposes of the Constitution becomes simple and the results are profound. The principle that forms the basis of the Guide is a quote by best-selling author L. Ron Hubbard, who wrote, “Complete understanding depends upon freedom from misunderstood words.”

By visiting the Citizens Academy US website, you can view the Guide and download it for free or purchase the hardcover or softcover in their bookstore.

 

max 2 Nonprofit Organization, Citizens Academy US, Makes Official Public Release of Guide to Complete Understanding of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

In honor of Constitution Day, Citizens Academy US is hosting a free online event, titled “The Day ‘We the People’ Appeared” on September 13, 2026, at 11am PT/2pm ET

 

The Citizens Academy US is a fully IRS recognized 501 (c)(3) charitable organization with the mission to bring about a greater understanding in America. The goal of the Citizens Academy US is to have 100’s of millions of Americans understand the first sentence of the United States Constitution, which is called the Preamble. The Preamble contains the six purposes of the Constitution and understanding the Preamble enables Americans to grasp what the Constitution is meant to achieve.

For more information about Citizens Academy US, please visit: www.CitizensAcademy.us

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Citizens Academy US
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Website: citizensacademy.us

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Ángela Rodríguez Expands REFLEJO™ Method and Inclusive Beauty Education Initiatives

NEW YORK, USAAuthor, Beauty Educator, and founder of Divina Makeup advances international education, accessibility, and community-focused programs centered on makeup, autonomy, and women’s empowerment.

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Author, Beauty Educator, and founder of Divina Makeup advances international education, accessibility, and community-focused programs centered on makeup, autonomy, and women’s empowerment.

Colombian-born author, Beauty Educator, and entrepreneur Ángela Rodríguez is expanding her work around the REFLEJO™ Method, an educational self-makeup methodology designed to help women better understand their individual features, needs, and personal approach to beauty.

 

1000494238 Ángela Rodríguez Expands REFLEJO™ Method and Inclusive Beauty Education Initiatives

 

Ángela, founder of Divina Makeup and author of Maquíllate en 6 Pasos (Make Yourself Up in 6 Steps), is developing the next stage of her educational platform through an updated edition of her book, digital learning resources, accessibility initiatives, international outreach, and community programs focused on women’s confidence, autonomy, and inclusion.

At the center of the initiative is the REFLEJO™ Method, which is based on the principle that every woman is unique and should learn to understand her own face rather than simply reproduce makeup techniques created for someone else.

For Ángela, makeup education extends beyond teaching the application of foundation, concealer, or eyeshadow. Her approach focuses on providing women with practical knowledge that can help them make informed decisions about their appearance while developing greater confidence in their own skills.

“True transformation begins when a woman learns to see herself differently,” Ángela said.

Expanding the REFLEJO™ Method

Ángela is currently developing a new edition of Maquíllate en 6 Pasos that will incorporate the REFLEJO™ Method and expand the educational resources available to readers.

The new edition is planned to include QR codes connecting readers with complementary audiovisual learning materials. The project is also being developed with accessibility resources intended to make makeup education more inclusive for people with hearing disabilities, including sign language interpretation and subtitled content.

The initiative reflects Ángela’s broader objective of making beauty education more accessible to women with different backgrounds, ages, cultures, and life experiences.

She also intends to expand the REFLEJO™ Method internationally as an educational framework that can be used across workshops, community programs, and other learning environments.

From New York Fashion Platforms to Education

Since arriving in New York in 2020, Ángela has worked across several areas of the beauty industry while establishing herself as an educator, author, professional makeup artist, and entrepreneur.

 

1000494239 Ángela Rodríguez Expands REFLEJO™ Method and Inclusive Beauty Education Initiatives

 

Her professional experience has included participation in major New York fashion platforms, including New York Fashion Week, where she has held leadership roles within makeup teams.

Alongside her work as a makeup artist, Ángela has focused on creating professional development opportunities for emerging artists. She has supported initiatives that allow aspiring makeup professionals to gain experience at fashion shows, develop portfolios, strengthen practical skills, and gain exposure to professional working environments.

Her makeup artistry has also appeared in publications and magazine covers connected with New York and France.

As an educator and entrepreneur, Ángela has participated in events throughout the Latino community in the United States, using those opportunities to discuss makeup education, entrepreneurship, confidence, and professional development.

Bogotá International Book Fair Milestone

In 2026, Ángela participated in the Bogotá International Book Fair (FILBo), where she presented her work as an author and discussed her approach to connecting makeup education with women’s empowerment.

The appearance represented another step in Ángela’s effort to expand her work beyond traditional beauty services and develop a broader educational platform.

Her current work builds on that experience by integrating her published material with the REFLEJO™ Method, digital education, accessibility, and community engagement.

Bringing Beauty Education to Communities

Ángela is also strengthening partnerships and developing social initiatives aimed at providing free workshops focused on self-makeup, self-esteem, and empowerment.

The planned initiatives are intended to reach women in Afro-descendant, rural, and Indigenous communities in Colombia, as well as other populations that may have limited access to beauty education and related professional-development opportunities.

Through these programs, Ángela aims to apply the experience she has developed in the beauty industry to educational and community-based settings.

She has also begun collaborating with organizations and foundations that support women while developing a broader social-impact platform centered on education, leadership, inclusion, and dignity.

Connecting Beauty Education With Women’s Rights

Ángela recently participated in an event held within the context of the United Nations focused on education for peace and human rights.

She describes the experience as an important development in her work and one that strengthened her interest in participating in initiatives involving women’s rights, education, dignity, and access to opportunity.

Her long-term vision is to connect beauty education with wider social-impact initiatives and establish strategic partnerships capable of bringing those programs to additional communities.

For Ángela, women’s empowerment encompasses more than personal appearance. Her work increasingly addresses education, autonomy, inclusion, professional opportunity, dignity, and women’s ability to make informed decisions about their own lives.

An Immigrant Entrepreneur Building From New York

Ángela’s professional development also reflects her experience as a Colombian immigrant establishing a career in the United States.

Since moving to New York in 2020, she has worked to build her professional identity across makeup artistry, education, publishing, and entrepreneurship while developing Divina Makeup and the REFLEJO™ Method.

Her focus has gradually shifted from applying makeup for clients toward teaching women how to understand their individual features, develop practical skills, and approach their personal image with greater independence.

Through fashion, education, publishing, community initiatives, and international outreach, Ángela is continuing to develop a platform that brings together beauty education and social purpose.

About Ángela Rodríguez

Ángela Rodríguez is a Colombian-born author, professional makeup artist, Beauty Educator, entrepreneur, and creator of the REFLEJO™ Method. She is the founder of Divina Makeup and author of Maquíllate en 6 Pasos. Based in New York, her work focuses on self-makeup education, professional development, inclusion, accessibility, women’s empowerment, and community-focused initiatives.

Instagram: @divina.make.up

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Ángela Rodríguez
Author | Beauty Educator | Creator of the REFLEJO™ Method
Founder, Divina Makeup
New York, United States
Instagram: @divina.make.up

Photo Credit: Photos accompanying this release were taken by New York-based photographer Dong Yang.

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BTI, Cornell Develop AI Tool to Map Hidden Universe of Small Molecules

Ithaca, NYResearchers at the Boyce Thompson Institute and Cornell University have developed AIMe (AI Molecule Explorer), a neuro-symbolic AI tool that predicts, organizes, and searches mass spectra for more than 100 million known small organic molecules—creating a searchable map of chemical space roughly a thousand times larger than existing experimental libraries. Applying AIMe to gut microbiome data, the team identified a previously unknown, ring-shaped polyamine compound also found in human fecal samples, and used the tool to annotate millions of unidentified spectra in a major public mass spectrometry database.

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Researchers at the Boyce Thompson Institute and Cornell University have developed AIMe (AI Molecule Explorer), a neuro-symbolic AI tool that predicts, organizes, and searches mass spectra for more than 100 million known small organic molecules—creating a searchable map of chemical space roughly a thousand times larger than existing experimental libraries. Applying AIMe to gut microbiome data, the team identified a previously unknown, ring-shaped polyamine compound also found in human fecal samples, and used the tool to annotate millions of unidentified spectra in a major public mass spectrometry database.

Researchers at the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) and Cornell University unveiled AIMe (AI Molecule Explorer), a neuro-symbolic artificial intelligence tool that predicts and maps the mass spectra of more than 100 million known small organic molecules. The tool tackles a long-standing bottleneck in biomedical science—more than 80% of small molecules detected in a typical biological sample cannot be matched to a known structure—a gap that has stalled discoveries linking the gut microbiome, immunity, and metabolism.

 

Screenshot of AIMe results BTI, Cornell Develop AI Tool to Map Hidden Universe of Small Molecules

 

The work is a collaboration between Frank Schroeder, Professor at BTI and in Cornell’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, and Carla Gomes, Professor of Computing and Information Science and director of Cornell’s AI for Science Institute.

A different approach to an old problem

Mass spectrometry is the workhorse for small molecule identification used in a wide range of applications from toxicology to food analysis. When a compound is analyzed, the instrument fragments it and records the masses of the resulting pieces. That pattern of fragments, the tandem mass spectrum (or MS2 spectrum), functions as a molecular fingerprint. To identify an unknown compound, researchers compare its spectrum against a reference library of spectra from known compounds or develop hypotheses as to what the structure of a compound may be based on manual analysis of the fragmentation pattern.

The problem is that experimental reference libraries remain sparse, while expert, one-by-one interpretation is labor-intensive and slow. Collectively, available libraries cover fewer than 1% of known compounds, and resolving the structure of a single unknown can take days to months of iterative analysis and experimental validation. As a result, spectra without close library matches usually remain unannotated.

AIMe takes a different approach. Rather than waiting for experimental spectra to accumulate in libraries, it predicts spectra computationally—then organizes those predictions into a searchable resource called MS2KOSMOS. AIMe generated more than 800 million predicted spectra covering essentially all known small organic molecules in PubChem, the largest publicly available chemical database. That represents roughly a thousandfold expansion of searchable chemical space relative to existing experimental libraries.

“At the core of AIMe is DeepMS2Reasoner, a model that simulates how molecules fragment inside a mass spectrometer,” explained Gomes. “It builds fragmentation pathways step by step, using symbolic chemical rules to enumerate physically plausible fragmentation steps and a neural network to assign likelihoods to each step. The result is a predicted spectrum and an annotated map of how a molecule came apart—a feature that makes AIMe’s outputs interpretable in chemical terms, not just computationally useful.”

From mouse gut to human biology

To demonstrate what AIMe can do in practice, the researchers applied it to a comparative metabolomics dataset from mice. The experiment compared germ-free mice, animals raised without any gut microbiota, against mice with a normal complement of gut bacteria. Several thousand chemical features differed between the two groups, and most of the abundant ones could not be identified using standard methods.

The team used AIMe to query MS2KOSMOS with spectra from the 111 most abundant unidentified microbiota-dependent compounds. For roughly a third, AIMe retrieved close predicted spectral matches and related structural candidates, providing chemically interpretable leads for follow-up. For the rest, AIMe mapped the unknown spectra to molecular neighborhoods—sets of structurally related compounds whose shared fragmentation patterns could inform hypotheses about what the unknowns might be.

“Two compounds in particular became a case study in what AI-guided structure elucidation can accomplish,” said Schroeder. “Both produced spectra that suggested they were polyamine derivatives, a well-studied class of molecules, but the fragment patterns didn’t match anything previously described. Using AIMe’s output as a guide, our team assembled candidate structures combinatorially, predicted spectra for each candidate, and used the comparison to narrow the field.”

For the first compound, the best candidate was a linear putrescine derivative, which was then easily verified by synthesizing an authentic standard. For the second, the predicted spectra of potential candidates consistently failed to explain two prominent peaks—until the team expanded the search to include cyclized variants.

Synthesis confirmed what the predictions suggested. The second compound turned out to be a structurally unusual macrocyclic polyamine—a ring-shaped variant unlike any previously reported from mouse or human biology. Searches of a large public mass spectrometry database subsequently found the same compound in samples of human origin, detected in 57 of 99 human fecal samples examined.

Polyamines occupy an important position in biology. They sit at the intersection of diet, the gut microbiome, and immune function—and these findings suggest that the catalog of microbiota-dependent polyamines is far less complete than scientists assumed.

Annotation at scale

The researchers also tested AIMe at repository scale, applying it to more than 7 million spectral clusters from the Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking database, one of the largest publicly available repositories of mass spectrometry data. Prior annotation efforts had annotated roughly 416,000 of those clusters. AIMe returned putative annotations for approximately 2.69 million, using the same similarity threshold applied in that earlier effort.

AIMe is accessible at https://www.cs.cornell.edu/gomes/udiscoverit/kosmos/ and the source code will be made publicly available upon publication of the study. The preprint is available on bioRxiv (DOI: 10.64898/2026.08.05.743095).

About the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI)

As an independent nonprofit research institute affiliated with Cornell University, our scientists are committed to advancing solutions for global food security, agricultural sustainability, and human health. Through groundbreaking research, transformative education, and rapid translation of discoveries into real-world applications, BTI bridges fundamental plant and molecular science with practical impact. Discovery inspired by plants since 1924. Learn more at BTIscience.org.

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