Heating mantles are supposed to enable the user to heat liquids safely and quickly – even in cases of (accidental) misapplication. This is now taken into account by a modified EN Standard. And it is of great importance for users to know: a violation may have unexpected consequences

Ultimately, every analysis relies on detection, and in most cases one of the many spectroscopic procedures is used for this. What is happening in this extremely wide-ranging field, and what trends are hot right now?

A new free interactive case study to help chemical engineering undergraduate students in conducting laboratory experiments more safely has been produced by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (Icheme)’s Safety Centre.

Eleni Stavrinidou and her research group at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Linköping University, have used bioelectronics to influence transpiration in a tobacco plant, without harming the plant in any way. This is an important success, since plants do not repair damaged tissue as animals and humans do.

Understanding how tissues properly form and grow during the development of an organism is an important question in biology. Researchers were now able to show that elongated cells are the key to maintain the shape of the retinal tissue during growth of a zebrafish. This concept could also apply to other organisms.

Lab Innovations will showcase at Birmingham’s NEC, 30 & 31 October, multiple options to help visitors future-proof their laboratories — from innovative products, to waste reduction and sustainability.

Getting good and consistent results for trace element analysis can be a daily challenge. For a start, contamination lurks everywhere, ready to trip you up. Next, there is the problem of sample-to-sample washout/memory effects randomly popping up to frustrate you. Then there’s the issue of interferences, which of course are at their worst for those elements that are most important to you.

Agilent announced that UK Border Force is now using the company’s handheld Raman system, to detect bulk chemicals through opaque packages and containers. This system detects benign, hazardous, or illegal shipments.

Fruit-eating monkeys show a preference for concentrations of alcohol found in fermenting fruit, but do not seem to use alcohol as a source of supplementary calories, according to a study from Linköping University in Sweden and the Universidad Veracruzana in Mexico. The findings do not support the idea that human alcoholism originated from a predilection of primates for alcohol-containing overripe fruit.

Routine testing of laboratory balances by the user is essential to uncover malfunctions early and eliminate inaccuracies that would otherwise go undetected until your next service calibration. Download the new short guide from Mettler Toledo which explains the four pillars of balance routine testing: 1. Testing frequency, 2. Test methods and SOPs, 3. Test weight and 4. User training.