Whether they are developing a new drug, dish detergent, airplane parts or computer chips, companies with heavy R&D requirements face a number of tough challenges. The ongoing economic recession means that businesses everywhere need to rein in spending and do more with less.

Tips for managing your laboratory research dollars.

A fume hood is an essential piece of equipment found in almost all laboratories, from teaching labs to research labs to industrial labs.  Learn the history of this important part of the lab.

Translational science is a relatively simple concept. By taking a targeted point of view, the biomedical community can translate what it has learned in the laboratory into the diagnosis and treatment of patients.

Crystallization is the most common method used for final purification and isolation of the active pharmaceutical ingredient, or API, when synthesizing a drug at commercial scale. Molecules can and do adopt more than one type of crystal structure upon precipitation.

James Gibson, Ph.D., Director of the Office of Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S), and Nancy Wayne, Ph.D., Professor of Physiology and Associate Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), discuss the recently formed UC Center for Laboratory Safety, its mission and its goals.

This column over the last year has dealt with many lab-related workforce issues, but one constant running through them has been the need for versatilability™—not just when it comes to the people managers hire, but in every aspect of a lab's business.

First try to understand why they do what they do.

When you walked into your lab today, did you notice your environment? Or did you take for granted the open, airy spaces, floor-to-ceiling windows, fabulous views of the outdoors, art work and potted plants?

The National Safety Council reports that about 1000 people are electrocuted each year in the United States. That means grounded plugs on all electrical equipment in the lab are very important.