General Introduction

Abstract

From the moment she entered the laboratory, Dr M. had the feeling that it would be a difficult day. Two persons were already waiting in front of her office. One of the visitors, the representative of the firm Cybcell which produced media for the culture of mammalian cells, was quickly sent to the researcher responsible for reagents’ orders, and then to the administrator who negotiated prices and delays. Dr M. was obliged, however, to receive immediately the second visitor, a scientist from the biotechnology firm where Dr M. was a consultant. The young man had come to discuss some urgent technical problems which had occurred during the production of highly purified antibodies crucial for the research conducted in the laboratory and destined for a medical test which was instrumental in making pronostics for brain tumors. The team working in the company could not replicate the specificity assessments completed in the laboratory. Dr M. and her visitor sat down to talk and try to decide who was right, but they were soon interrupted by a graduate student who stuck her head in to remind Dr M. that she had promised to attend the demonstration of a new machine for analysing DNA molecules and to discuss with the Automaton engineer possible ways of adapting their model to local needs. This was an important issue: the laboratory intended to buy several of these machines and open a DNA sequencing unit.