general interest

As technology advances, a digital transformation has begun in laboratories around the world. Driven by the need to improve data quality and increase the value derived from the investment in generating those data, data management systems, devices, and their workflows are becoming more connected and integrated, ushering in the age of the digital laboratory. The digital laboratory is one where paper lab notebooks are replaced with fully digital data, complete with rich metadata, and generated using integrated workflows. Such data are easy to find, reuse, and reproduce. Further digitization and workflow integration to operate laboratory instruments will advance the burgeoning digital laboratory.

It is hoped that the development of biosimilars will lead to more accessible and cost-effective treatment options. Here we explore the current opportunities for biosimilars in rheumatoid arthritis and discuss the opportunities and concerns tied to their use.

Biosimilars are gaining in popularity and estimates predict that the U.S. could save between $40–250 billion in healthcare costs over the next decade by switching from biologics to biosimilars. See how biosimilars have gained in popularity recently, the challenges the U.S. faces in developing them, and what the future holds.

In 2017, Bioradiations published a wide variety of general interest articles, tips, podcasts, and application notes. Revisit the technological advancements and growth in technology that researchers experienced this year. Here are the highlights of what we learned this year.

Explore the most watched Bio-Rad videos in 2017. From understanding CRISPR gene editing to generating better qPCR data to selecting antibodies for fluorescent western blotting, these videos highlight how we continually strive to help our customers do better science.

2017 saw the launch of Bioradiations’ first-ever podcast! Here you can listen to the top five podcasts we published this year, and learn about a variety of topics from CRISPR gene editing to what biomarkers and biosimilars are.

Stem cells possess the remarkable potential to self-renew and to differentiate into many different types of cells. Due to their unique ability to regenerate, they are being used in regenerative medicine and offer great hope for treating diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. However, since stem cells represent a rare population of cells, they are not always easy to study. See how the simplicity, efficiency, and flexibility of cell sorting is making it possible to isolate pure populations of stem cells for downstream analyses.

Cancer kills eight million people annually worldwide; this number will increase to 13 million by 2020. Lung, breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer are the four most commonly diagnosed cancers. Meaningful developments in immuno-oncology, or cancer immunotherapy, treatments are important now more than ever. Learn about some of the newer immunotherapies, including BiTE Antibodies and vaccines, and the companies developing them.

Apolipoproteins bind to lipids to form lipoproteins, which transport lipids throughout the lymphatic and circulatory systems. In addition to cardiovascular disease, apolipoproteins are now being linked to other diseases such as cancer, autoimmunity, and neurodegeneration. Learn more about the different types of apolipoproteins and see how they serve as biomarkers for these diseases.

Immunotherapy is not a new concept; it has, in fact, been around for more than 125 years. However, recent scientific advances have led to the emergence and rapid evolution of the field, especially immuno-oncology. Get an introduction to this exciting emerging field, learn about the different personalized therapies currently available, and see what the future of cancer immunotherapy looks like.