Two New Startups Aid Scientists
Research organizations have two potential new services to enlist for research or lab management. The two companies have been launched by Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley-based funding and mentorship program that has funded more than 300 startups since 2005, including Reddit and Posterous.
Science Exchange, is an online marketplace for science experiments, letting researchers outsource their experiments to other labs for a fee. From DNA sequencing to chemical analysis, research can be outsourced to scientists at core facilities of major research universities who have the capacity to conduct the experiments. Once an experiment is listed, scientists bid for it, allowing the poster to choose the best price or level of service. Once a bid is accepted, the site provides tools to help track project from start to finish, including payment transaction.
The service aids researchers who don’t have access to needed equipment or expertise or who simply want to save time and get more done. Its goal is to eliminate the inherent challenges in outsourcing research: difficult and time consuming process finding qualified providers, followed by an often inconvenient payment arrangements.
Another startup, Quartzy, is a lab management service designed to help lab managers track their inventories, timetable the use of resources and rate or order new supplies. The site allows new members to import inventories from current Google Docs or Excel systems. Standard services are offered for free and Quartzy also offers customized online lab management solutions for a fee. An interesting fact about the business is that the name Quartzy was chosen because it is the highest possible scoring opening word in the game of Scrabble, with 126 points.
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