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Download PDF If you have cereal in the morning, the nutritional labeling you’re bound to see on the side of the box is due to the efforts of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This is just one example of inter-agency cooperation. The USDA is made up of 29 agencies and offices with…

In the simplest terms, scalability means that something can be changed in size or scale. When referring to a laboratory information management system (LIMS), scalability means the system doesn’t need to be redesigned to handle the increased workload. It can evolve with a laboratory as it has an uptick in concurrent users, the need for more storage capacity, increased sample…

Download PDF In an earlier article, “LIMS In Manufacturing,” we looked at the role laboratory information management systems (LIMS) played in manufacturing/production operations, as well as their relationship to other control/database systems. This article is going to shift the focus to the source of those manufactured/production operations: research and development. Before we get into informatics, let’s look at the working…

It’s late in the evening and you’ve been working non-stop all day. You have one last sample to test so you can email the final report to your customer, but your screen is frozen. You know the drill. First, you try to refresh, but that only makes the screen turn black. Everyone else has gone home, so you can’t confirm…

With all that’s going on in the world and its economies today, there’s no better time for manufacturers to turn to robotics solutions. From labor shortages and inflated material costs to supply chain backups and a potential recession, manufacturers are faced with many challenges. Those manufacturers who must design, produce, and test their products in controlled laboratory environments are no…

Collecting personally identifiable information (PII) increases your lab’s cybersecurity risk. Even if you don’t deal directly with the public, your business clients may send PII with their orders. You also keep data about your lab’s employees and contract staff. Storing this sensitive information in databases and spreadsheets with limited access control opens your lab to financial, legal, and regulatory repercussions.…

Download PDF Can a laboratory operate successfully without the use of laboratory informatics? To some, the answer is always “yes, informatics makes it easier, but it isn’t a requirement”, and that is true in a technical sense, but in reality, the practical answer is “not anymore”. The use of informatics in the environmental industry is an example we’ll be looking…

No matter where you stand on the impact of global warming, you can’t discount the shift in thoughts and actions to protecting the environment, addressing climate change, and pursuing sustainability. President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act on August 16, 2022, which allocates more than $300B to be invested in energy and climate reform. Not only are consumers giving…

Download PDF Cybercrime is so pervasive that new data breaches seem to scatter personal information across the internet every day. An attack can hit any organization at any time. Laboratories face a particular challenge as they balance security with collaboration. Should hackers breach a laboratory’s systems, the resulting data loss can have severe financial, legal, and reputational consequences. This guide…

In over two decades, we find the real consequences of cross-contamination in the food supply have added up. Note the following representative examples as published by Eat This, Not That!1: 1998: Fifteen million pounds of Sara Lee meat were recalled due to Listeria, infecting 101 people. This caused six miscarriages and 15 deaths. 2006: Natural Selection Foods saw bagged and…