By Gwyneth Astles
BRINGING YOU THE LATEST NEWS & EVENTS FROM THE SCIENCE INDUSTRY
The inaugural Labmate Awards for Excellence 2025
Following 2024’s year-long celebrations of the 50th anniversary of International Labmate, this year marks the launch of the inaugural ‘Labmate Awards for Excellence 2025’ – a celebration of all that is great and good within the lab sector, highlighting its achievements and an opportunity to showcase excellence around the world. The Labmate Awards for Excellence 2025 will recognise innovation, quality and achievement within the laboratory sector. Nominations are now open.
This year there are eleven voting categories chosen to reflect the broad range of noteworthy contributions made across our industry in the past 12 months.
In addition, there will also be a further award presented – the Michael Pattison Award for Overall Winner of the Year 2025 – which will be selected by the Labmate Awards for Excellence 2025 judging panel.
You can nominate your candidates for the Labmate Awards for Excellence 2025 in these categories:
• Innovation of the Year for a product or service • Best supplier and end-user partnership • Best customer service • Best marketing campaign • Best IT solution
• Best sustainability initiative – the GreenLab Award • Best lab safety product or solution • Best bench top innovation • Best separation science innovation • Best portable technology product • Best imaging or optics
Once nominations have closed, there will be an initial process of shortlisting conducted by the Labmate Awards for Excellence 2025 judging panel, and then the finalists in each category will go forward to a public vote which will be
Research identifies strategies to cut emissions in UK beef farming
Researchers have identified multiple strategies that could significantly reduce the carbon footprint of UK grass-fed beef production, with potential reductions of up to 26%. The study [1], conducted using data from Rothamsted’s North Wyke Farm Platform in Devon, modelled various mitigation interventions to assess their impact on greenhouse gas emissions.
open to all Labmate’s readers, contributors and partners. All International Labmate Limited decisions are final.
Important dates for your diary in the Labmate Awards for Excellence 2025 are:
• The nomination period closes on 17 April • The shortlist of finalists is announced on 6 May • Voting opens on 12 May • Voting closes on 16 June • Winners are announced on 30 June
The Labmate Awards for Excellence 2025 will be presented during the Solutions in Science (SinS) conference, Brighton, UK, on 16 July 2025
Talk to your marketing team, your brand or product manager and get them involved. Entry is free and the winners will be invited to the SinS conference in Brighton to receive their prize at a gathering of the industry peers. Make your nominations now.
More information online:
www.labmate-online.com/landing/ labmate-awards-for-excellence-2025/80
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New magnetism lab to transform medical diagnostics
The University of Glasgow has established a cutting-edge magnetism laboratory designed to drive innovation in biomedical research and sensing technologies. The facility, featuring a state-of-the-art magnetically shielded room known as MuRoom, was officially unveiled on 24 February at the James Watt School of Engineering.
Developed with a £250,000 investment, the lab is specifically engineered to eliminate magnetic interference from external sources, including electronic devices and the Earth’s natural magnetic field. This controlled environment allows researchers to develop highly sensitive devices capable of detecting the faint biomagnetic signals generated by human muscles (magnetomyography, MMG) and organs such as the heart (magnetocardiography, MCG) and brain (magnetoencephalography, MEG).
These magnetic-based technologies have the potential to revolutionise medical diagnostics and monitoring. Unlike traditional electrical methods, which require direct skin contact and are susceptible to interference, magnetic signals can be detected without direct contact, providing higher spatial resolution and enabling detailed 3D imaging of biological activity. This could lead to advancements in prosthetic limb control, wearable health monitoring devices, and human-computer interaction.
The lab is designed to foster collaboration between academia and industry, supporting research initiatives such as SUPREMISE, a project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) that is exploring new applications of MMG. It will also serve as a
development hub for Neuranics, a University of Glasgow and University of Edinburgh spinout focused on creating advanced spintronics-based sensor solutions for health, fitness, and extended reality (XR) applications.
Professor Muhammad Imran, Head of the James Watt School of Engineering, emphasised the lab’s importance: “This facility is a significant step forward for biomedical and sensing research in Scotland. By providing the highest level of magnetic shielding, we can explore new frontiers in medical technology and forge stronger partnerships between academia and industry.”
Professor Hadi Heidari, the lab’s lead researcher and CTO of Neuranics, highlighted its transformative potential: “Three-dimensional measurements of magnetic signals could uncover medical conditions that traditional methods miss, such as ‘silent’ strokes. Our goal is to develop highly sensitive MMG sensors that could one day be integrated into everyday health monitoring devices, from credit card-sized heart monitors to wristbands controlling prosthetic limbs.”
The launch event brought together key figures from the University of Glasgow, including Vice-Principal for Economic Development and Innovation, Uzma Khan, Vice- Principal for Research and Knowledge Exchange, Professor Chris Pearce, and Eric Yeatman, Head of the College of Science & Engineering.
More information online:
ilmt.co/PL/7bq7 64106pr@reply-direct.com
The study also explored the effects of reducing livestock density by 50%, revealing an unintended consequence. While a lower stocking rate might intuitively seem beneficial for reducing agricultural emissions, the carbon footprint per unit of weight gain actually increased by 24.5%. This was attributed to the fact that soil-related emissions remained unchanged despite the drop in production, leading to a higher environmental impact per unit of output.
Agriculture accounts for approximately 10% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions, with livestock production responsible for 56% of that figure. Within this sector, beef cattle contribute 30-40% of total emissions, making targeted interventions in beef farming a critical component of climate change mitigation efforts.
Lead researcher Asma Jebari from Rothamsted emphasised the significance of these findings, highlighting that practical on-farm changes could yield substantial reductions in emissions. She also noted the importance of considering factors beyond direct emissions, such as soil organic carbon, when evaluating the environmental impact of different farming practices.
While the proposed measures offer promising pathways to reducing the carbon footprint of beef farming, researchers stress the need for further analysis and long- term field trials to determine the broader feasibility and effectiveness of these strategies.
More information online:
ilmt.co/PL/Ql1z
1. AJebari, A., Takahashi, T., Lee, M.R.F. et al. Carbon footprints of greenhouse gas mitigation measures for a grass-based beef cattle finishing system in the UK. Int J Life Cycle Assess (2025).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-025-02428-9
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Findings suggest that adopting nitrification inhibitors could lower emissions from beef farming by 7.5%, while integrating nitrogen-fixing leguminous white clover into pasture systems could achieve a reduction of 12%. The most effective intervention involved anaerobic digestion of cattle manure, which demonstrated the potential to cut emissions by as much as 26%.
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