On January 5, the EPA released a new “transparency” regulation that has scientists and experts worried the federal agency has taken a page out of the tobacco industry’s playbook, leveraging the rule in a way that could harm both new and established environmental research, including COVID-19 data. read more

While scientists at Colorado State University were continuing their research into B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia in English bulldogs, they uncovered something unexpected—despite presenting with common clinical indications, some dogs did not actually have the cancer. read more

The trafficking of counterfeit and illegal medicines is a growing challenge, especially in the face of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. This year, INTERPOL has seen a rise in fake medical products ranging from counterfeit face masks, sub-standard hand sanitizer to unauthorized antiviral medication. read more

While climate change is expected to make many grape-growing regions too hot and dry to produce high-quality wine from traditional varieties, scientists have found a silver lining—wine grape varieties from regions that are more prone to stress have traits that could help them cope with climate change. read more

In 1872, Darwin published The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals in which he argued that all humans and even animals show emotion through remarkably similar behaviors. At the time, Darwin didn’t have YouTube or machine learning to test that theory. Now, nearly 150 years later, researchers at UC Berkeley and Google do have that technology—and they used it to show, perhaps unsurprisingly, that the father of modern biology was right all along. read more

This morning, an ICU nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens became the first person in the United States to receive the first and only FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine. Over the weekend, the FDA and CDC approved Pfizer and BioNTech’s BNT162b2, an mRNA-based vaccine to fight COVID-19. The timing is apt as the U.S. hit record-high COVID-19 hospitalizations on Friday. read more

As a 14-year-old intern at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Aspyn Palatnick identified a gap in the genomics industry. Eight years later, he has now filled that gap with an iPhone app he named iGenomics. read more

Researchers believe they have solved the long-standing mystery of why and how Venus was created during a time when there were practically no models for such art—and the culprit may surprise you. read more

With Thanksgiving now firmly in our rearview, the gift-giving holiday season is upon us! If you have a scientist, science-lover and even budding scientist on your list this year, check out the top 10 gifts on Laboratory Equipment’s 8th annual Holiday Gift Guide. But get a move on—express shipping costs are expensive! read more

About 40 to 50 hours of science can be performed each week during missions with three crew members. Now, with a seven-astronaut crew, NASA expects scientific working hours to increase to 80 to 100 hours per week. read more