Recent advances in our understanding of the genomics of the human metabolome have shed light on the pathways involved in metabolic and cardiovascular disease. Such studies crucially depend on the interpretation of complex molecular spectra. A recent study by Suhre and colleagues provides a way to identify potentially clinically relevant biomarkers without a priori information, such as reference spectra, thus aiding the discovery of additional spectral features and corresponding genomic loci associated with metabolism and disease.