Laboratory

The medical laboratory is a supporting pillar of modern healthcare. Laboratory findings with analyses of blood, urine and other body fluids provide valuable insights from infection diagnostics and innovative screening procedures to therapy monitoring. Here you will find information on sample management, pre- and postanalytics, clinical chemistry, haematology and much more.

News • Unexpected weight loss

Blood test trends may help identify increased risk of cancer

Monitoring blood test trends alongside unexplained weight loss can provide further clues about a patient’s risk of developing cancer, according to a new study.

Article • Reshaping laboratory efficiency

From bottleneck to breakthrough: a step-by-step path to lab automation

The growing demand for diagnostic testing is pushing laboratories to rethink how they operate – and automation is emerging as the answer. At the Laboratory Equipment and Technology Trade Fair –…

News • Beyond antibiotics

3D micro-bladder model to test phage therapy on recurrent UTIs

A new study shows that phage therapy could help reduce recurrent infections, which happen when the bacteria responsible for UTIs ‘hide’ in the tissue of the bladder.

News • Microbiome map reveals complex interactions

Frenemies in the gut: how bacteria help and hinder each other

A new study sheds light on the complex competition and cooperation between bacteria in the gut microbiome. These insights could be leveraged for targeted manipulation of the microbiome.

News • Neuroscience

Possible biomarker for suicidal thoughts identified

Researchers identified a possible biomarker linked to severe suicidal thoughts. It may also help explain why some people recover, opening a new path for research into resilience and prevention.

News • iPSC-derived assembloids

Heart valve organoid to advance understanding of cardiac conditions

In a first for the field, a team has grown heart valves on organoids. This work is an important step toward better understanding—and treating—a number of serious heart disorders.

Putting β-glucan testing into everyday practice for fungal infections

Invasive fungal infections are notoriously hard to catch early, and even harder to rule out with confidence. At CHU Bordeaux, Dr Frédéric Gabriel has spent years refining how his lab uses β-D-glucan (BDG) testing to sharpen that judgement call – including with the Wako β-glucan test. In this interview, he explains what the guidelines say, what actually happens at the bench, and where he…

Article • The future of the EU Medical Device Regulation

MDR and IVDR: Navigating the rocky road

Perfectly viable medical devices disappearing from the European market, manufacturers walking away from the EU rather than navigating regulatory demands, patients losing access to products with long, well-documented safety records. The implementation process for the MDR and IVDR has been challenging, to put it mildly – and the journey is far from over. Ahead of the EAAR’s MDR/IVDR Summit…

News • Immunoassay limitations

Sickle cell trait could throw off diabetes test, study finds

A common diabetes test could miss the condition in people with sickle cell trait, new research suggests. Understanding this limitation of immunoassay testing could help guide protocols and policies.

News • Elevated urea levels

Does ‘toxic waste’ build-up in the brain drive dementia and ALS?

In a study, researchers found unusually high levels of urea in the brains of people with frontotemporal dementia and ALS. The findings raise questions about how the brain clears harmful substances.

News • Stain-Free Histology

Nanophotonic slides add color to tissue samples

Researchers have developed a method to enhance the cellular features in pathology slides based on “structural color” – the same effect that gives peacock feathers their unique sheen.

News • Neuroprotective antiviral state in the CNS

Remarkable early warning system helps the brain prepare for a viral attack

Virus-associated molecules in the foot are enough to trigger the network: Research reveals a remarkable mechanism, in which the brain prepares for a potential viral attack within hours of infection.

News • Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy

New technique could aid targeted lung cancer treatment

Detecting genetic mutations associated with lung cancer via laboratory tests can be expensive and time-consuming, and use up valuable tissue from small biopsy samples. A new approach aims to fix this.

News • Biological scaffolds of cellulose and soy

Sustainable material to regenerate cartilage damage

Researchers have developed structures for cartilage regeneration based on cellulose, gelatin and soy proteins obtained from food industry by-products, with promising properties for tissue engineering.

News • Mechanical stress-induced tissue remodelling

How asthma permanently alters the airways

Asthma attacks induce mechanical forces that permanently alter airway tissue – independently of inflammation. New research used advanced lung-on-a-chip technology to show how this damage occurs.

News • CRISPR-Cas9-based approach

New laboratory tool to find better treatments for resistant melanomas

Researchers have developed a new lab model to study BAP1-deficient melanomas, a rare type of melanoma that evade the immune system once they metastasize and are resistant to current immunotherapies.

News • Treatment-resistant tumours

Researchers tear off "invisibility cloak" of colon cancer

A study from the University of Calgary shows that removing a single gene makes colon cancer cells a target for immunotherapy — a fundamental breakthrough.

Article • Pros and cons of academic-industry partnerships

Computational pathology: Building bridges between labs and business

Academic-industry partnerships are playing a crucial role in advancing computational pathology. At the Digital Pathology and AI Congress: Europe in London in December, Liron Pantanowitz outlined the benefits and risks of such collaborations – and why he believes the advantages outweigh the potential pitfalls.

Early Detection of Invasive Fungal Infections: The β-D-Glucan Test on the LIMUSAVE MT-7500

Invasive fungal infections are silent, fast-moving, and notoriously hard to catch in time. The FUJIFILM Wako β-D-Glucan Test on the LIMUSAVE MT-7500 gives clinical laboratories a quantitative, LAL-based tool to detect (1→3)-β-D-glucan in serum or plasma – enabling earlier diagnosis where it matters most.

News • Post-injury axon regrowth

Lab-grown model shows ‘irreversible’ spinal cord damage may be reversed

When the spinal cord is damaged, the resulting paralysis is usually considered permanent. Now, a new research approach using lab-grown organoid models suggests that it actually might be reversed.

News • Combination of complementary approaches

New dual antiviral strategy against Covid-19 pathogen

A new study proposes a new antiviral strategy against SARS-CoV-2 based on a treatment that combines two complementary approaches, capable of attacking the virus simultaneously.

Article • Avoiding mistakes in design, equipment, validation, and operation

Laboratory cleaning: Breaking the hidden chain of contamination errors

Microbiological cleanliness in laboratories demands far more than routine disinfection – it requires a comprehensive contamination control strategy from the very first design stage. At the Labs Expo trade fair in Poznań, Poland, industry experts Jerzy Kustra and Piotr Caban outlined the most common mistakes organisations make and how to avoid them.

News • Focal cortical dysplasia

Lab-grown mini-brains shed light on childhood epilepsy

Why does the same genetic mutation cause FCDII in some patients but not in others? Researchers developed organoids to model a brain malformation responsible for drug-resistant epilepsy in children.

News • Ependymoma and medulloblastoma tumoroids

New organoids offer deeper insights into pediatric brain cancer

Patient-derived organoids (PDOs), or tumoroids, for pediatric brain cancer show promise in helping researchers find new drugs and better understand the different responses of the tumor.

News • Dynamic in vitro platform

“Breathing” organoid offers new insights into lung disease

A new type of “breathing” lung organoid enables quantitative measurement of how easily the lung expands - and may provide a new way to study diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis.

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