Blogs
The Lead
Opening Pandora's Box
March 7, 2013 | by Tim Studt, Editorial Director | Comments
In these times it's not difficult to come up with a story idea for a new book, movie or TV series. All a writer has to do is look at one day's headlines.
Lab Safety: Must We Learn from our Mistakes?
May 13, 2013 8:19 am | by Brendan Kenny | CommentsLooking at recent laboratory accidents and tragedies, it seems that chemists are still learning lab safety the hard way. By analyzing these students’ mistakes, many chemists can avoid these types of occurrences in the future.
Fifty Years of Us
May 6, 2013 4:06 pm | by Tim Studt, Editorial Director | CommentsThis issue of Laboratory Equipment celebrates the 50th anniversary of our publication. Over that half century, we're proud to say we haven't changed our basic overall mission of providing you with the latest information on new products, technologies and materials that allow you to do your job better. We continue to do our job better by providing you with faster information, more detail and in a broad range of formats.
Greener 2013 or Not?
April 5, 2013 12:12 pm | by Tim Studt, Editorial Director | CommentsAs much as we'd like to say that we're working toward creating a greener environment, we apparently are a long way away from actually making much of an impact in 2013. We're learning more about the potential impact of what we're doing to the environment, but we need to be more aggressive in actually changing what we do.
Lab Automation is Happening Faster than You Think
April 1, 2013 8:42 am | by Gil Cavado, Product Development Technologies | CommentsAutomation technology is revolutionizing the healthcare and food industries. From infusion pumps to 24/7 temperature control and real-time testing and analysis, the development of embedded smart technologies is leading to better care and safety, new growth and vastly improved research and analysis.
Ever Faster Technological Change
February 8, 2013 8:47 am | by Tim Studt, Editorial Director | CommentsI am constantly amazed at the speed at which technology seems to be changing and how fast we're catching up with the future. Two recent publications bring this fact home: a Brookings Institution research article and the “The Future Issue” (January 14, 2013) of Fortune magazine.
Combining and Creating New Knowledge
January 3, 2013 10:31 am | by Tim Studt, Editorial Director | CommentsTechnologies continue to advance across a wide range of areas. Two that are particularly intriguing are space and computer technologies.
Collaboration in the Information Age
December 7, 2012 3:06 pm | by Michelle Longo, Managing Editor | CommentsCollaboration is, unfortunately, not as common as hoped for in the scientific community. Some researchers are quick to point out the detrimental effects and the increase of scientific capability in non-traditional powerhouse countries, like China and Russia, raises additional concerns . But like most things, there is a time and place for collaboration—and that’s in genomics.
RIP Scientific Revolution: 1543-2012
November 5, 2012 2:54 pm | by Michelle Longo, Managing Editor | CommentsAlmost 400 years after Galileo was jailed for his groundbreaking observations of a heliocentric universe, the Italian courts seem to be up to their old tricks again, now persecuting nationally recognized scientists for something completely out of their control.
Biodiversity Loss and Opportunity
October 1, 2012 3:40 pm | by Tim Studt, Editorial Director | CommentsA recent news report by the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced the award of 14 new grants for the third year of its Dimensions of Biodiversity program. Partnering with the Sao Paulo State Research Foundation of Brazil, the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation and NASA (for remote sensing), this program is expected to transform our understanding of the scope and role of life on earth by 2020.
Increasingly Risky Research
September 5, 2012 4:07 pm | by Tim Studt, Editorial Director | CommentsEvery research manager knows that most research projects are fraught with risk. But, with today's high-performance computer modeling, simulation, analytical and technological proficiency capabilities, there are times when to fail in a research endeavor is now considered unacceptable.
Check Out Our New Website
August 1, 2012 8:10 am | by Tim Studt | CommentsLaboratory Equipment has a new website with much more than just a new look—it has dramatically improved and new functionalities, speed, and user-friendliness.
Election Year Blues
July 31, 2012 3:28 pm | by Tim Studt, Editorial Director | CommentsIt is indeed a pity that the political election will affect a finalization of the government's R&D budget. The Budget Control Act of 2011 might have been the impetus needed to at least identify those agencies where R&D budgets will be trimmed or maintained. But, as it is, there is the continuing uncertainty for another full year.
The Global Warming Modeling Brouhaha
July 5, 2012 9:48 am | by Tim Studt, Editorial Director | CommentsDespite all manner of mostly political statements about how countries should reduce their CO2 emissions to lessen greenhouse gas emissions, these emissions continue to grow on a global basis with no study group denying that they will even level off anytime within the next century. Whether or not CO2 is responsible for global warming or if it’s solar activity-based or some other combined effect, we need to adjust for it.
The 2012 Sci-lympics
May 31, 2012 7:23 am | by Tim Studt, Editorial Director | CommentsScience and technology have become a large part of the Olympic Games to ensure the fairness of the winners, to optimize the competing athletes’ physical capabilities and to ensure a safe and enjoyable competition.
An Imperfect Food Chain
May 2, 2012 12:39 pm | by Michelle Longo, Managing Editor | CommentsAt its core, the pink slime issue is just like every other food-ingredient obsession that generates a lot of media attention. It’s not the products that are harmful, it is the system. Our food comes from a flawed system that no one is quite sure how to perfect.
