The laboratory of the future is digital, networked, and automated. But the clue is in the name: in most cases it’s still in the future.

In an unusual study, researchers brought vampire bats from distant Panamanian populations together for four months in a laboratory setting and tracked how the bats’ gut microbes changed over time. They found that bats that interacted closely with one another shared much more than body heat.

The sharpest images ever of living bacteria have been recorded by UCL researchers, revealing the complex architecture of the protective layer that surrounds many bacteria and makes them harder to be killed by antibiotics. The study reveals that bacteria with protective outer layers — called Gram-negative bacteria — may have stronger and weaker spots on their surface.

While expectations for any tangible results achieved at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference are low, Australian scientists have outlined a strategy for limiting global warming to 1.5°C. For the first time, sector allocations of the global carbon budget have been provided for both hard-to-abate and all other sectors — twelve main macro industry sectors in total, reporting scope 1, 2 and 3 breakdowns.

What are the hallmarks of a modern laboratory, and what do manufacturers expect? We spoke to Wolfgang Why, CTO of WILD Gruppe, a company that develops and manufactures laboratory instruments and equipment.

Point-of-care test solutions can provide immediate on-site insights into the patient’s condition and thus can save hassle with logistics, time and money. In this interview with MEDICA-tradefair.com, Jürgen Neumann from LRE Medical explains how this helps in emergency medicine – and beyond.

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have succeeded in creating tiny vehicles powered by nothing but light. By layering an optical metasurface onto a microscopic particle, and then using a light source to control it, they succeeded in moving the tiny vehicles in a variety of complex and precise ways — and even using them to transport other objects.

McGill University researchers have discovered a new way to track genetically modified animals using the artificial transgenes they leave behind in the environment. The discovery provides a powerful new tool to locate and manage genetically modified animals that have escaped or been released into the wild.

The life science group Sartorius and Brain Biotech intend to jointly research novel CRISPR-Cas genome editing nucleases. The goal is to find suitable solutions for specific applications in the life sciences sector.

Most of the chemical elements in a sample can be determined using two analytical techniques: ICP-MS and ICP-OES — as long as they are in solution. Most samples, however, are solid and must be dissolved before they can be analyzed. Here, gravimetry can provide valuable services.