Nearly 80 percent of disease in developing countries is linked to bad water and sanitation. Now a scientist at Michigan Technological University has developed a simple, cheap way to make water safe to drink, even if it’s muddy.

Managing the pace of technological change that defines next-generation sequencing (NGS) isn’t just an issue for NGS labs. It also challenges the makers of NGS instrumentation. The pressure to stay ahead of the curve is particularly felt in vendor sequencing services labs.

Automated biological testing can take on many forms, ranging from individual instruments performing a single task to large, room-sized, custom-robotic systems capable of automating very complex tasks. In between these two extremes are simple modular automated systems designed to automate a select series of tasks necessary for a specific assay technology.

In recent years, research labs have been a notable beneficiary as a variety of highly functional and specialized apps have gained the acceptance and even gratitude of a broad spectrum of laboratory managers, research scientists and bench technologists.