10 remarkable products accelerating science in the life sciences

As part of our Accelerating Science Special Feature, in celebration of our 25 year anniversary, we’ve gathered a selection of the top products in life sciences to help you revolutionize your lab. The products have been voted for by our life science community in our annual Scientists’ Choice Awards over many years.

Life sciences and the research conducted in the surrounding fields have profound implications for human health, technological advancements, and the understanding of life itself. Investing in and supporting these areas of study is crucial for the advancement of human health, and for our fundamental scientific understanding. SelectScience^® provides trusted information for laboratory scientists on life science lab products and techniques.

The annual Scientists' Choice Award for Life Sciences celebrates the top products that have made the most significant impact in advancing science and research in the field. Representing the industry’s top technological innovations, the award gives scientists and healthcare professionals the chance to recognize the instruments, assays, consumables, and services that have had the biggest impact on their work.

Read on to explore the winners of this prestigious award and discover their unique contributions to advancing life sciences.

The top 10 products accelerating science in the life sciences

Mastercycler^® pro – Eppendorf

Award: Best New Life Sciences Product of 2008

The Mastercycler^® pro from Eppendorf, winner of the 2008 best new product award, featured a special vapo.protect-technology to reduce evaporation whilst still offering excellent homogeneity and very fast ramp rates. While common PCR instruments press a metal plate onto the PCR consumables, the vapo.protect lid was designed to cover the PCR consumables with a cushion fitted to shape.

HiSeq 2000/1000 Sequencing System - Illumina

Award: Best New Life Sciences Product of 2010

The release of the HiSeq 2000 sequencing system offered a system with at the time, unprecedented output and a breakthrough user experience. HiSeq 2000 delivered the industry's highest sequencing output and fastest data generation rate using reversible terminator-based sequencing.

QX200™ Droplet Digital PCR System – Bio-Rad

Award: Best New Life Sciences Product of 2013

The revolutionary Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR™) System featured Bio-Rad's unique digital PCR technology which was able to provide absolute quantification of target DNA or RNA molecules without the use of standard curves. This ddPCR technology addressed the lack of scalable and practical technologies for digital PCR implementation.

Agilent BioTek Synergy Neo2 Hybrid Multimode Reader – Agilent Technologies

Award: Best New Life Sciences Product of 2015

The Agilent BioTek Synergy Neo2 multimode microplate reader featured patented Hybrid Technology, with independent optical paths that ensured excellent performance in all detection modes.

TwistAmp^® Liquid Kits - TwistDX

Award: Best New Life Sciences Product of 2017

The TwistAmp^® Liquid Kits enabled DNA amplification in a flexible liquid format with kits containing all enzymes and reagents necessary for the amplification of DNA, so the user only needed to supply primers, dNTP, and templates. These kits are still perfect for end-point gel electrophoresis DNA detection, downstream applications (e.g. sub-cloning), and facilitating the use of different RPA reaction volumes.

Corning^® Cell Counter – Corning Life Sciences

Award: Best New Life Sciences Product of 2018

The new Corning^® Cell Counter was the first automated benchtop cell counter that combined the benefits of both manual cell counting and automated image-based cell counting. Using state-of-the-art optics and image analysis software, the Corning Cell Counter can accurately and precisely measure cell concentrations and viability – live, dead, and total cells – using the standard Trypan Blue technique.

DeNovix CellDrop Cell Counter – DeNovix

Award: Best New Life Sciences Product of 2019

The DeNovix CellDrop™ automated cell counter, winner of the best new product award in 2019, allows users to count cells without slides. DirectPipette™ technology eliminates plastic slides and hemocytometers from routine cell counting by adding a simple Load, Count, and Wipe Clean workflow.

LUNA-FX7™ Automated Cell Counter – Logos Biosystems

Award: Best New Life Sciences Product of 2020

The LUNA-FX7™ cell counter is popular as it displays unmatched cell counting accuracy, new 1, 3, and 8-chamber slide options, state-of-the-art optics, dual fluorescent and brightfield detection, and precision autofocus. New features such as the Bioprocess mode, Quality Control mode, and the CountWire™ (21 CFR Part 11 compliant) software helps users meet and surpass quality and regulatory requirements.

CytoFLEX SRT Benchtop Cell Sorter – Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

Award: Best New Life Sciences Product of 2021

CytoFLEX SRT Cell Sorter is a benchtop sorter capable of meeting requirements for a wide range of sorting needs, including innovative technologies that simplify the setup and operation. The Violet-Blue-Yellow Green-Red (V-B-Y-R) Series has 15 fluorescent detectors when fully activated and is capable of complex sort logic with different combinations of sort settings on each of four streams, including the ability to catch aborts of one of the other streams.

SeqStudio Flex Genetic Analyzers – Thermo Fisher Scientific

Award: Best New Life Sciences Product of 2022

The Applied Biosystems SeqStudio Flex Series recently won the best new product award. These genetic analyzers deliver high-level Sanger sequencing and fragment analysis data quality and display increased flexibility, easier operation, enhanced connectivity, and remote serviceability.

Links to more top 10 lists

• The top 10 products accelerating science in analytical chemistry
• The top 10 products accelerating science in clinical diagnostics
• The top 10 products accelerating science in pharmacology

Find more news and resources in our Accelerating Science Special Feature>>