Drosophila is strongly associated with scientific discovery, but this model organism also represents practical advantages for sustainability from research to industry. When you look at the field you can’t help being impressed by the resources conserved by the approach.
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My Green Lab launches Impact Laboratories to enhance its advocacy and help meet new eco-label and research grant requirements
Biologists should be aware of two trends related to this update from My Green Lab. First, lab sustainability accreditations have emerged as requirements in research grant funding policies, and second, government regulators have raised the bar across the board for green claims and certifications to overcome a loss in public trust.
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The First PLA Plastic Plates Offered for Tissue Culture
It’s always exciting when a maverick hits the mark. The first polylactic acid (PLA) Petri dish product is a one-to-one replacement for labs using fossil fuel-based plastic plates for cell culture. The maker, a small privately owned company called Diversified Biotech, Inc., collaborated with researchers from Brandeis University to develop it. Fostering eco-justice with a simple swap sounds good, but could this specialized PLA material even improve cell culture?
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Why do most new biosafety cabinets still have UV lights?
If ultraviolet light decontamination is not supported for class II biosafety cabinets in BSL-2 labs, and UV bulbs consume so much energy, why are most new BSC cabinets still ordered with UV lamps? Spoiler alert: some burgeoning bioscience applications require it, and fortunately, there are some options to improve its sustainability.
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A New Approach to Sustainability - A Conversation on the Re-Advance Initiative
Often, the validation work involved in establishing new protocols holds us back from improving the sustainability of lab work. Patrick Penndorf, a cofounder of the Re-Advance initiative, explains their efforts to overcome barriers to sustainable science and gives scientists a chance to join their Innovator Team.
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Five Biotech Products Helping to Meet Global Sustainability Goals
Policymakers are looking to biotechnology as they seek better ways to meet the needs of nearly eight billion people while conserving resources and protecting nature - all in the context of volatile economic conditions. Let’s cheer on five biotechs delivering products to improve sustainability and then touch on integrity in life science.
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Recap of the My Green Lab Summit 2023
More scientists than ever are working to make sustainability the ‘default mode’ for lab work - but this transformation will accelerate when everyone has access to best practices. Twelve hundred people from fifty-nine countries registered for the My Green Lab Annual Summit. We’ll take a look at a few of the summit sessions pertinent to life science and show you where to view all the sessions.
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Q and A with Polycarbin - The Closed-Loop Lab Plastic system sweeping Life science
If one sustainability conundrum vexes biologists, it is the environmental consequences of single-use lab plastic waste generated by laboratory work. In this conversation with Noah Pyles, we hear what sets Polycarbin apart from typical lab plastic recycling, how their system works, and why it matters…
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