Features

Reliable, precise and trusted – however, a pipette performs only as well as the operator’s technique allows. As demand accuracy and precision increases, the importance of understanding and developing optimal...

Biological Sciences, Biology, Biotech, Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, In Depth, Pharmaceutical, Pharmacology

Ruling in CRISPR patent battle

February 20, 2017

As a key verdict in the legal battle over exploitation of the CRISPR-Cas9 technology is handed down disagreement still abounds…

Biological Sciences, Biology, Biotech, Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, In Depth, Pharmaceutical, Pharmacology

An instrument-free future?

February 16, 2017

Molecular diagnostics requires dedicated equipment and electricity – this can present a barrier to access to those without sufficient resources. But what if we could visually analyse diagnostic tests without...

Biological Sciences, Biology, Biotech, Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, In Depth, Pharmaceutical, Pharmacology

Never break the chain

February 14, 2017

The importance of data integrity is becoming enshrined by the pharmaceutical regulatory agencies – but how is this related to laboratory culture?

One world, one health

February 9, 2017

With recent worldwide disease outbreaks including Ebola and SARS all potentially having multi-species involvement, it is becoming increasingly urgent that governments and global health organisations adopt a ‘One Health’ approach.

The prognosis of UK pathology services

February 7, 2017

NHS pathology laboratories are under immense pressure to do more with less or face closure. Yet it is precisely these vital services which will be key to improving healthcare in...

Biological Sciences, Biology, Biotech, Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, In Depth, Pharmaceutical, Pharmacology

A very Jovian affair

February 2, 2017

It’s not just the monstrous gravity which gives Jupiter a unique hold over humankind. It has worked its way into our mythologies and become embedded in our imaginations over hundreds...

Physics & Engineering

Astronomy, In Depth, Physics

#Wonderdrug?

January 26, 2017

As the list of medical issues that Cannabis can potentially treat grows – a resistance to fully legalise the drug means questions remain over quality and safety. Using the US...

Let’s get real

January 24, 2017

The humble petri dish has been a stalwart of the lab for as long as cells have been cultured – but does 2D cell growth really represent the environment of...

Biological Sciences, Biology, Biotech, Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, In Depth, Pharmaceutical, Pharmacology

Mass spec goes 2D

January 19, 2017

No longer side-lined as a computationally-hungry scientific curiosity, two-dimensional mass spectrometry is becoming a fully-fledged analytical technique says Maria van AgthovenOne of the cornerstones of biomedical research is proteomics, which...

Who owns CRISPR?

January 17, 2017

As CRISPR establishes a firm foothold as the gene editing technique of choice, the patent lawyers are braced for what may shape up to be science’s bloodiest commercial battle.

Not just another brick in the wall

January 12, 2017

Far from being an inert capsule, chemical profiling screenings have revealed that the bacterial cell wall is the seat of bacterial defence mechanisms. Understanding them could help us in the...