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Upon completing my undergraduate degree, I worked in an analytical research and development R&D laboratory. Its role was to conduct the routine testing of polymers, devise methods of analysis, provide support to production-based quality control labs, support pilot plant R&D, and carry out special projects. Those special projects could range from analyzing competitive materials to analyzing unusual samples brought in …

Implementing a laboratory information management system (LIMS) can streamline every aspect of your lab’s operations. From sample management to client communications, and from workflow efficiency to regulatory compliance, a LIMS automates processes to improve consistency, accuracy, and productivity. But finding a LIMS that works with your lab’s unique combination of services and clients can be challenging. Changing processes to fit …

When I was younger, we had black and white TV (three channels!) and were told that oil came from dinosaurs; it said so in the TV commercials. Now we have color displays and different ideas about where oil comes from (or how much is left). There are different theories about oil’s origins. The prevailing theory has oil coming from decaying …

In Murfreesboro, Arkansas you can visit Crater Diamonds State Park and with a little digging, you’ll walk out with a diamond1. One visitor walked out with an 8.52-carat gem. In Franklin, New Jersey and nearby Sterling Hill, you can find 350 different mineral species, two dozen of which haven’t been found anywhere else2. The Jade Cove Trail in Big Sur, …

Lasagna noodles are characterized by a long, rectangular shape with rippled edges. If those edges aren’t rippled properly (e.g., spacing, height, etc.) the correct weight of the product won’t fit into the box designed for it and the customer won’t get the amount of product they paid for. That’s just one small detail of product packaging, which makes up one …

Laboratory work depends upon highly skilled people and sophisticated equipment to produce knowledge, information, and data. The cost, value, and ROI for those products are affected by the methods used to record and manage them. Paper-based systems are high-cost (once you account for the labor in their use) and have a lower return on your investment, while electronic systems provide …

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 nearly 100,000 …

In an earlier article1, 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 environment. Figure 1 shows the …

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 at in …

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 provides an …

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 as the …

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 situations, LIMS …

Analytical mistakes represent a shrinking share of errors in well-run laboratories. In multiple studies of clinical testing laboratories, more than 90% of errors occur before or after tests are performed. [1] Relatively error-free testing should not be surprising. After all, the bench is where laboratories can exert the most control using: Standards-based processes, Instrument maintenance and calibration, Professional certification, Proficiency …

There is a progression in technology utilization that many labs go through on their way to choosing LIMS software. A lot depends on the size of the organization, the resources it has available to it, and its experience in lab operations. Smaller groups in particular may begin with paper-based workflows and documentation (e.g., for test methods, etc.). As they tire …

A forensics and medical examiners lab may analyze anything from body fluids and bone fragments to metals and fire debris as part of their broad commitment to answering questions of interest to a legal system. These laboratory-based investigations see forensic scientists collect, preserve, and analyze these types of samples (i.e., evidence) using a variety of special laboratory equipment and techniques. …