As we prepare to move into a new year, let’s take a look back at Laboratory Equipment’s most popular news of the year, while reflecting on how far science has come in not only the last 12 months, but the previous 3 years overall. It may have been an uphill battle, but science persevered in the end—making our knowledge more robust than ever.
1. Women in Science: The $40 M Cloud Investment that COVID-19 Proved was Needed
In this Q&A feature, Rebecca Doerge, dean of Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Science, outlines her decision to invest $40 million to build the world’s first university cloud lab. The lab, which officially launched in the fall of this year, provides increased access to world-class research resources without the previous limitation of availability of equipment.
2. T Cells from Common Cold Protect Against COVID-19 Infection
Is it allergies, a common cold, the flu or COVID-19? These are the questions individuals find themselves asking nowadays when they wake up with a runny nose and sore throat. Doctors recently confirmed it could actually be both the flu and COVID-19 simultaneously, a condition termed “flurona” that can wreak havoc on a person’s immune system. Conversely, researchers have discovered a common cold does the opposite—it protects the immune system from SARS-CoV-2 infection.
3. New DNA Sequencing Technique Can Diagnose Rare Genetic Diseases in 5 Hours
An ultra-rapid genome sequencing approach developed by Stanford Medicine scientists and their collaborators was used to diagnose rare genetic diseases in an average of eight hours. In one of the cases, it took a snappy 5 hours and 2 minutes to sequence a patient’s genome, which set the first Guinness World Records title for fastest DNA sequencing technique.
4. mRNA Vaccine for Skin Cancer Effective in Mouse Model
In a study, researchers from Oregon State University showed—in a mouse model— that an mRNA vaccine that promotes production of the protein TR1 in skin cells was effective in mitigating the risk of UV-induced cancers and other skin problems.
5. The First Step Toward a Dog Allergy Vaccine
Scientists at Osaka Prefecture University in Japan laid the groundwork critical to the development of an epitope-focused vaccine against dog allergies. If the work succeeds through the experimental and clinical phases, the “hypoallergenic vaccine” would not only be a world-first in respect to dogs, but would also open the door to treating a broad range of allergies.
6. ISS to ‘Retire’ into The Pacific Ocean in 2031
NASA revealed it will begin slowly lowering the operational altitude of the ISS beginning in October 2026. If all goes well, by September 2030, the ISS will reach an altitude of 280 km—the point of no return. In January 2031, the ISS will fall to Earth in an area known as the South Pacific Oceanic Uninhabited Area, also known as Point Nemo. Approximately 3,000 miles off New Zealand's eastern coast and 2,000 miles north of Antarctica, Point Nemo is the spot in the Pacific Ocean that is farthest from land. Literature suggests Point Nemo is the final resting place of more than 263 pieces of space debris since 1971.
7. Study: Metabolic Conditions Increase Ventilation Risk By 45% In COVID-19 Patients
A study published in January 2022 showed patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who had a combination of high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, or other conditions associated with metabolic syndrome were at much higher risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and death. The study, one of the largest to examine the link between metabolic syndrome and outcomes for COVID-19, examined records of more than 46,000 patients admitted in 181 hospitals across 26 countries.
8. Just 5 Universities Train Majority of Academics
A September 2022 study showed 80% of all domestically trained faculty are from just 20% of universities. That means just five U.S. universities have trained 1-in-8 tenure-track faculty members serving at the nation’s institutions of higher learning. The study captured data on nearly 300,000 tenure-track faculty at more than 10,000 university departments at 368 PhD-granting institutions from 2011 to 2020.
9. Researchers Warn of Risks of Using AI in Agriculture
AI and ML have been used for the in situ assessment of soil composition, disease diagnosis, prediction of yield, post-harvest handling and traceability and more. However, a global team from the UK, Colombia and Nigeria raised the alarm regarding data acquisition, access, quality and trust. While national and international agricultural research institutions collect abundant data that can, in principle, support ML models, the researchers say these data are too often not discoverable, interpretable or reusable.
10. New MRI Machine Overcomes Technical, Logistical Challenges
Ohio State University researchers collaborated with Siemens to expand essential imaging access to all patients by designing the first FDA-approved MRI machine that bypasses previous limitations. The Free.Max has a lower magnetic field strength of 0.55 Tesla, allowing it to accommodate patients with implanted devices and provide better imaging than a traditional MRI, specifically when working with the heart. It can as be used for lung imaging without X-ray radiation.