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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…

In the twenty-first century, ensuring food and water security remains one of humanity’s most critical jobs, especially in light of mounting worries about the adverse effects of climate change. Many segments of the global population face the dismal reality of inadequate food supplies, constrained access to clean water, and hunger if food and water security are not continuously prioritized. This…

Download PDF During the first week of August 2022, the Houston Astros played the Red Sox in Fenway Park (the Sox’s home field). Christian Vazquez had been a catcher playing on that field since 2014. On August 1, he found himself playing on the same field but in a different uniform, that of the Astros. He had been traded just…

Many research and development centers increasingly generate and process massive amounts of data. As such, because of the volume and processing of data, in addition to the advancement of technology, laboratories need to upgrade their laboratory management and technology strategies to improve operations and minimize costs. Within regulated labs, there has been a significant emphasis on data protection in recent…

Download PDF The history of laboratory informatics began in earnest with the commercialization of instrument data systems and LIMS software, the latter having the larger impact since it could affect the entire lab’s productivity and benefit the organization it supports. That software found a home in both industrial Research & Development, Manufacturing, and Healthcare (clinical laboratories). In each of these…