Lab disaster destroys Karolinska samples worth millions
11 Feb 2024
Sweden’s prestigious Karolinska Institutet has launched an investigation after a malfunctioning freezer destroyed millions of pounds-worth of research samples dating back decades.
It is believed the incident took place in the run up to Christmas period, which meant that samples that might have survived long enough for cooling to be restored perished because they were unattended for longer period.
The samples in question were being kept in cryogenic tanks that were supplied with liquid nitrogen.
While none is believed to have been used for direct patient care, they were due to be employed again for research into a variety of conditions. Many of the samples were supplied from other institutions.
The news follows a previous incident at New York’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute when key research was lost after a freezer switch was turned off. It led to a major court action against the firm contracted to clean the laboratory. For details see Laboratory News, page 38
NEWS: Research at Belgium’s Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) has identified genetic factors underlying the increased risk of low birth weight of babies born from IVF and related technologies.
Professor Claudia Spits, of the institution’s reproduction and genetics research group, said lower weight risk was associated with mutations in mitochondrial DNA. This affected not only babies born following assisted reproductive treatment but also spontaneous pregnancies after the birth of an older sibling via assisted treatment. The large-scale study involved the Brussels IVF centre for reproductive medicine, the centre for medical genetics and Maastricht University Medical Centre.
