laboratory research

Roche has outlined plans to move towards autonomous laboratories powered by artificial intelligence, where research experiments could be designed, run and analysed with minimal human involvement. The Swiss pharmaceutical group's roadmap points to AI systems handling much of the drug discovery workflow. Details of timelines and investment were limited in the initial reporting, leaving analysts awaiting specifics.

The International Space Station is focusing on advanced health research this week while it awaits the arrival of NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 mission. Experiments aboard the orbiting laboratory are examining how the human body responds to long-duration spaceflight, work that supports future deep-space missions. Attention now turns to the upcoming crew launch and docking at the station.

Researchers report a discovery with implications for understanding how life began, made in a modest $80-a-night motel room rather than a laboratory. The unlikely setting has drawn attention alongside the scientific claim itself, with readers discussing how simple, low-cost conditions could produce findings relevant to one of science's biggest open questions.

A California company has licensed potent anti-measles antibodies from Vanderbilt Health to develop them for clinical testing. The agreement moves laboratory research on measles-fighting antibodies toward potential treatments, at a time when measles cases have been resurging in parts of the United States and abroad and health officials are pressing for stronger tools to prevent and treat outbreaks.

A laboratory at Caltech in Pasadena has been awarded $2.4 million to investigate where infertility may begin. The funding will support research into the earliest biological roots of infertility, an issue affecting many people worldwide. Details on the specific researchers or lines of study involved have not yet been made widely available.

The Air Force Research Laboratory is highlighting technology developments that span both lifesaving applications and systems designed to destroy hostile drones. The work reflects the lab's dual focus on protecting service members in the field and countering the growing threat of small unmanned aircraft, which has become a central concern for US forces in recent conflicts.

Laboratory management professionals are highlighting the need for formal biosafety oversight when artificial intelligence systems direct wet-lab experiments. The concern is that AI-designed protocols could bypass traditional risk review, creating biological safety and security gaps. Discussion centres on updating institutional biosafety committees and lab protocols to cover AI-generated experiment designs before they are carried out in facilities.