Rise of the Machines

Curious how robots help scientists make discoveries faster? Today’s labs use smart liquid handling robots to pipette tiny samples with incredible accuracy. Some systems even move liquids without touching them. Robots can now link together chains of lab steps—like preparing DNA or testing new medicines. With AI to help design and check robotic workflows, labs are becoming more efficient than ever. This talk explores how automation and good data practices are reshaping science behind the scenes, making research faster, cleaner, and more reliable. Let’s peek into the lab of the future!

Every breath we take contains an invisible world of microbial life, stretching from fungal spores to pollen and bacteria. In this talk, we will explore the NorfolkSeq project from the Earlham Institute, which reveals how DNA sequencing is used to study airborne microbes across Norfolk and Suffolk. Here we show what can be found in the air at local woodlands, beaches, farms and several other environments in the region. Through this, we investigate how the air microbiome affects local agriculture and biodiversity.