In this op-ed piece, Michael S. Kinch, director of the Centers for Research Innovation in Biotechnology and Drug Discovery at Washington University in St. Louis, explores the issue of eliminating patent protection for COVID-19 vaccines.

Before the safety and efficacy of a new vaccine can be evaluated in a Phase I clinical trial with human subjects, it must first undergo nonclinical safety evaluation in animal models. This article explores the full process.

As the pandemic enters its second year, the case for optimism has grown shakier. SARS-CoV-2 has been mutating. New variants have arisen in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa, and seem intent on evading our remarkable new vaccines before we’ve even fully rolled them out.

The advancement of liquid biopsies in the clinic have made these processes invaluable in the search for disease biomarkers in a minimally invasive manner. While a wide variety of biomolecules can be isolated from bodily fluids, free-floating nucleic acids are particularly useful when it comes to the detection of clinically relevant biomarkers in blood. In this article, we will define what circulating free DNA are and how these biomarkers are analyzed in the clinic.

Coupling liquid chromatography (LC) with mass spectrometry (MS) has provided scientists with a powerful tool to meet stringent analytical demands and their versatility and efficiency means LC-MS instruments have become desirable in many laboratories. In this article, we consider how LC-MS works, what it tells us and highlight some of the technique's strengths and weaknesses.

We examine three studies that pushed the limits of what experimental scientists can consider ethical in the wake of the Deep Time experiment's conclusion.

This article delves into the ins and outs of MS clinical trials, focusing on reasons for participation, eligibility and the evolution of MS clinical trials.

In this article, we explore why academia and research can be hard on an individual's mental health, speaking directly with the individuals and organizations that are championing mental health discussions in this space, and highlight areas where we're perhaps falling short and could improve.

New to cell culture? Then look no further. Here you will find a basic overview of all things cell culture, from setting up a cell culture lab to understanding basic principles and fundamental techniques. A great starting point to springboard into the world of cellular biology.

The transition from manufacturing vaccines in smaller quantities required for academic research to the mass production that is required to protect the global population can be a daunting task. In this article, we discuss key challenges related to the large-scale production of vaccines and also highlight ways to overcome these.