Laboratory News and Research

RSS

Scientists discover water-triggered reactions that may explain microplastic harm

Researchers found that six common types of microplastics spontaneously generate reactive oxygen species at their interfaces with water, with more hydrophobic plastics showing greater chemical activity. Laboratory experiments also linked these surface properties to biomolecular adsorption, protein aggregation, and mouse red blood cell damage, although the implications for human health remain uncertain.

15 Oct 2026

Women with low bone density reported less pain after taking pine bark extract

A randomized clinical trial involving 67 women with osteopenia or stable osteoporosis found that three months of Pycnogenol® supplementation improved self-reported bodily pain and vitality scores compared with placebo. However, overall disease-specific quality of life did not significantly improve, and the six-month findings were insufficient to establish long-term benefits or safety.

15 Oct 2026

Highly sensitive people react to social cues over physical environments

Environmental sensitivity may be a misleading name for a personality trait that appears to have less to do with how people respond to their physical environments and more to do with how they are affected by social experiences and perceived threats.

15 Oct 2026

Light-activated experimental opioid eliminates dangerous side effects

Opioid painkillers are some of the strongest analgesic medicines, but they are also the riskiest owing to a range of side effects, including addiction.

15 Oct 2026

Parents invent home safety fixes for medically complex children

Approximately 1 in 20 U.S. children younger than 18 years of age are medically complex, meaning they have multiorgan system conditions like cerebral palsy and depend on implanted tube-related medical technology.

15 Oct 2026

Researchers identify molecular pathway that improves ultrasound-based bone defect healing

Researchers from Capital Medical University, Beijing, China, have identified a CaN/NFATC3/Id3/E2A/Bmp4 signaling pathway that helps explain how low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) promotes bone regeneration.

15 Oct 2026

New study reveals how Candida auris evades antifungal drugs

New research has revealed an unexpected new mechanism through which the killer fungus Candida auris is resisting antifungal drug treatment.

15 Oct 2026

Leading life science organizations collaborate for second London Bio-Innovation Week

One Nucleus, The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS), and ELRIG today announced that they will be collaborating during the second London Bio-Innovation Week, to facilitate multi-event and community networking and partnering opportunities for life science companies, academic researchers, bio-entrepreneurs, investors and advisers.

From Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) 15 Oct 2026

Breast milk antibodies show promise against multiple respiratory viruses

Yona Tugg and colleagues show that a polyclonal secretory immunoglobulin A preparation, purified from breast milk pooled from multiple donors, neutralized respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human adenovirus type 5, and H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses in laboratory assays.

14 Oct 2026

Does the type of hand sanitizer matter? A study involving 568 people suggests it might

In a 72-day randomized trial involving 568 participants in Japan, an experimental hand sanitizer containing ethanol, benzalkonium chloride, and lactic acid was associated with a 40% lower cumulative incidence of upper respiratory symptoms than a commercial ethanol-based sanitizer. Participants using the experimental formulation also experienced fewer illness-related work restrictions, although infections were not laboratory-confirmed and the proposed residual antimicrobial mechanism was not directly tested.

14 Oct 2026

Recurrent brain tumors undergo unique genetic changes after treatment

When patients are diagnosed with certain brain tumors, one of the biggest unanswered questions is what happens when the cancer returns.

14 Oct 2026

Experimental gene therapy offers non-surgical option for hydrocephalus

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine have published the first proof-of-concept study showing the potential of an experimental gene therapy for hydrocephalus.

14 Oct 2026

WEHI study reveals a new immune pathway for fighting small cell lung cancer

Researchers have uncovered a previously overlooked immune cell that can recognize and kill small cell lung cancer, the most aggressive form of the disease globally.

14 Oct 2026

New project receives $2.3 million to develop a database and AI model to identify therapeutic peptides

A group of scientists led by Joseph Brown, assistant professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, has received $2.3 million USD in funding to develop a database and AI training model to identify peptides with therapeutic potential.

14 Oct 2026

Aged aircraft exhaust poses a rising threat to human health

Fine particulate matter consists of tiny particles with diameters in the nanometer range. They are produced, for example, by fuel combustion, remain suspended in the air and can penetrate deep into the respiratory tract.

14 Oct 2026

Sex hormones dictate how skin stem cells renew themselves

For a long time, differences between females and males were mainly associated with the reproductive organs. Yet organs that have nothing to do with reproduction, such as the skin, can also be shaped by sex.

14 Oct 2026

Common blood pressure drug boosts brown adipose tissue activity and metabolism

Scientists have discovered that the drug losartan, commonly prescribed for high blood pressure, boosts brown adipose tissue activity in mice, enhancing their metabolism.

14 Oct 2026

UC San Diego study achieves mind control by stimulating neurons

When learning how to perform new movements, our brains etch the details in our minds as we master the new task.

14 Oct 2026

Novel bioprinting technique successfully replicates mature human fat tissue

A research team has developed a support-bath bioprinting method that enables fragile, mature human adipocytes to be incorporated into geometrically defined three-dimensional (3D) constructs while retaining their viability, characteristic lipid-filled morphology, and metabolic activity.

14 Oct 2026

CSHL researchers find way to make immunotherapy effective against colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer has become the leading cause of cancer-related death for people under 50. Its most common forms generally aren't treatable, either through conventional means like chemotherapy or newer immunotherapy drugs.

14 Oct 2026