Cloud laboratory

A cloud laboratory is a heavily automated, centralized research laboratory where scientists can run an experiment from a computer in a remote location.[1][2][3] Cloud laboratories offer the execution of life science research experiments under a cloud computing service model, allowing researchers to retain full control over experimental design.[4][5] Users create experimental protocols through a high-level API and the experiment is executed in the cloud laboratory, with no need for the user to be involved.[1][5]

Cloud labs reduce variability in experimental execution, as the code can be interrogated, analyzed, and executed repeatedly.[2] They democratize access to expensive laboratory equipment while standardizing experimental execution, which could potentially help address the replication crisis[4][6][7]—what might before have been described in a paper as "mix the samples" is replaced by instructions for a specified machine to mix at a specified rpm rate for a specified time, with relevant factors such as the ambient temperature logged.[8] They also reduce costs by sharing capital costs across many users, by running experiments in parallel, and reducing instrument downtime.[7] Finally, they facilitate collaboration by making it easier to share protocols, data, and data processing methods through the cloud.[6]

  1. ^ a b Jessop-Fabre, Mathew M; Sonnenschein, Nikolaus (Feb 11, 2019). "Improving Reproducibility in Synthetic Biology". Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. 7. Frontiers Media SA: 18. doi:10.3389/fbioe.2019.00018. ISSN 2296-4185. PMC 6378554. PMID 30805337.
  2. ^ a b Groth, Paul; Cox, Jessica (Nov 8, 2017). "Indicators for the use of robotic labs in basic biomedical research: a literature analysis". PeerJ. 5: e3997. doi:10.7717/peerj.3997. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 5681851. PMID 29134146.
  3. ^ Arnold C (2022). "Cloud labs: where robots do the research". Nature. 606 (7914): 612–3. doi:10.1038/d41586-022-01618-x. PMID 35697877.
  4. ^ a b Bates, Maxwell; Berliner, Aaron J.; Lachoff, Joe; Jaschke, Paul R.; Groban, Eli S. (Sep 2, 2016). "Wet Lab Accelerator: A Web-Based Application Democratizing Laboratory Automation for Synthetic Biology". ACS Synthetic Biology. 6 (1). American Chemical Society: 167–171. doi:10.1021/acssynbio.6b00108. ISSN 2161-5063. PMID 27529358.
  5. ^ a b "Laboratories in the cloud". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 3 July 2019. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved Dec 9, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Robotic Cloud Laboratories Allow Scientists to Work from Home". The New Stack. April 3, 2020. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved Dec 9, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Wykstra, Stephanie (Jun 30, 2016). "Robotic Cloud Labs May Be One Way to Make Research More Reproducible". Slate Magazine. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved Dec 9, 2021.
  8. ^ Ireland, Tom (11 September 2022). "Cloud labs and remote research aren't the future of science – they're here". The Guardian.