Flashback

A birthday just isn’t a birthday without a good helping of nostalgia, so we thought we’d take a romp through the archives and look at some of the Highlights, lowlights and peculiarities that Laboratory News has covered over the past 40 years

January 1973

There are many potential dangers to be faced in the modern laboratory - the chemicals we use, the pathogens we work on or the radiation to which we are exposed to name but a few - but hijacking is not something you’d find in the average lab risk assessment. No amount of PPE or COSH preparation can really handle that effectively.  According to this report in our January 1973 issue, a plane carrying Dan Lodge from Bryans Southern Instruments was hijacked. A gun battle between the hijackers and security guards ensued and “since the security guards were not identifiable in any way, no-body was quite sure who had won!”

February 1988

With the Olympics fast approaching doping and drug testing will undoubtedly be hitting the headlines again soon. Back in February 1988, Laboratory News reported on the use of GC-MS to detect banned substances – including for the first time, beta blockers and diuretics – at the Calgary Winter Olympics. Over 25 scientists analysed urine samples from 450 competitors – including all medal winners – to check they weren’t using performance enhancing drugs.

The technique – which appeared to be a fairly new occurrence in this field – was also used in the Summer Olympics in Seoul. There technicians expected to screen around 9000 competitors plus horses used in the equestrian events.

May 1994

Contraception was in the news back in May 1994 with scientists ruling out the possibility of the male pill by the end of the century. They were quick to blame pharmaceutical companies for their lack of interest in contraception research.

Today, we’re still not much closer to a male contraceptive pill, but have achieved near optimum contraception for women.

We also reported that scientists had embarked on a full-scale trial to test the efficacy of condoms against HIV. While no condom was 100% effective, the worst example – from the US – was taken off the market. Now, condoms are routinely recommended to protect against the disease.

September 1995

In September 1995, the Wellcome Trust commissioned an evaluation of their equipment scheme – the results didn’t look so good. University research staff revealed they were hampered in their ability to carry out innovative research because they didn’t have access to advanced instrumentation. If part of a project grant included equipment, the grant often wouldn’t cover the cost of the equipment and the application was turned down. Plus, the equipment portion of the standard project grant application was often deleted for cost-saving purposes.

But how have things changed today – what’s it like in your lab? Let us know at phil.prime@laboratorynews.co.uk

March 2000

“Academics are twice as likely to move in and out of a job as are bar staff,” according to our report of The Labour Force Survey in January 2000. Nothing much has changed since then – research and academia are still fairly unstable and rely hugely on funding. Interestingly, the story also says that those working on a building site are four times as likely to have some sort of future job security than those working in academia, where 23% are categorised as temporary workers. “Because academics have a vocation, it is no reason to subject them to this miserable exploitation,” said David Triesman, general secretary of the AUT. Then in March, we reported that one in two scientists or engineers was looking for a job because their chances for promotion were slim and rare, and because they would be better paid in another job. Although 67% of respondents to a survey were qualified as PhDs or post-grads, 60% earned less than £30,000 and 16% less than £20,000. Pay was the only aspect of work respondents were dissatisfied with, but 48% would not recommend science as a career.