Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have demonstrated the power of a new drug discovery technique, which allows them to find—relatively quickly and cheaply—antibodies that have a desired effect on cells. The TSRI scientists used the technique to discover two antibodies that protect human cells from a cold virus.

In a 2012 report, Global Industry Analysts in San Jose, California forecast a growing market for carbon dioxide (CO2) incubators. That comes as no surprise given this technology’s laundry list of applicable fields, which includes cell and tissue culture, protein synthesis, and much more.

Freezers and refrigerators are an integral part of any laboratory that requires temperature controlled storage. 

Biological safety cabinets (BSCs) are crucial for the safety of staff and the protection of products, so it’s important to know when they should be upgraded.

CO2 incubators are designed to copy a cell’s natural environment with a relative humidity of around 95 percent, a temperature of 37°C and a pH of 7.2 to 7.5. They are most common in biology labs performing tissue or cell culture and are used in any process where cells need to be cultured for a few hours or many weeks or where cells need to be expanded or maintained.

Problem: Advancements in technology in the scientific arena have led to the requirement to store larger numbers of compounds including small molecules, potential drug candidates or biological samples.

While there aren’t often obvious signals that your ultralow freezer is about to die, the experts say there are a few things you can look for.

Since its introduction in 2011, Bio-Rad Laboratory’s Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR™) technology has demonstrated the potential to be a transformative technology, particularly in clinical applications. At the second annual CHI Digital PCR Conference in San Diego, CA, Oct. 7–9, 2013, 12 scientists using Bio-Rad’s Droplet Digital PCR systems will highlight ddPCR applications that have advanced their research.

Things to consider when starting or running a cell culture laboratory

Despite the “old tech” reputation of cold storage products, customer-driven innovation has been ongoing and steady. 

As the heart of the lab and its workflow, CO2 incubators can make or break the facility’s overall productivity. Douglas Wernerspach, business manager of CO2 and constant temperature at Thermo Fisher Scientific (Waltham, MA), says researchers depend on CO2 incubators to be reliable and provide uniform conditions for cells.