View source for The Laboratories of Our Lives: Labs, Labs Everywhere!/Discussion and closing remarks/Closing remarks

===7.2 Closing remarks===
The introduction posed questions such as "Why should I care that a laboratory was somehow involved in a product's creation?" and "How is a laboratory involved with the ink pen on my desk or water I drink?" Through the previous examples and the contents of this guide, the goal has been to 1. help readers answer those questions, and 2. help paint a picture showing how laboratories have, within a couple of centuries, rapidly transformed from somewhat rare place of individual study and notoriety to ubiquitous location for analysis, research, development, quality control, and calibration efforts that drive society forward towards new frontiers. Hopefully this guide has been successful on both fronts. 

What is the state of laboratories in 2022? To be sure, they have been put under a variety of stressors on many fronts over the past few years, from personnel shortages<ref name="NadeauBest22">{{cite web |url=https://www.mlo-online.com/management/article/21264293/best-practices-for-lab-management-in-2022 |title=Best Practices for Lab Management in 2022 |author=Nadeau, K. |work=Medical Laboratory Observer |date=20 April 2022 |accessdate=06 July 2022}}</ref><ref name="RohdeTheOmi22">{{cite web |url=https://www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/careers/012222/medical-lab-tech-shortage |title=The omicron variant is deepening severe staffing shortages in medical laboratories across the U.S. |author=Rohde, R.E. |work=ASBMB Today |date=22 January 2022 |accessdate=06 July 2022}}</ref><ref name="StoneWere22">{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2022/04/28/were-facing-a-critical-shortage-of-medical-laboratory-professionals/ |title=We’re Facing A Critical Shortage Of Medical Laboratory Professionals |author=Stone, J. |work=Forbes |date=28 April 2022 |accessdate=06 July 2022}}</ref> and supply shortages <ref name="NadeauBest22" /><ref name="ASMSupply20">{{cite web |url=https://asm.org/Articles/2020/September/Clinical-Microbiology-Supply-Shortage-Collecti-1 |title=Supply Shortages Impacting COVID-19 and Non-COVID Testing |author=American Society for Microbiology |publisher=American Society for Microbiology |date=19 January 2021 |accessdate=06 July 2022}}</ref><ref name="WilliamsSupply21">{{cite web |url=https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/supply-shortages-hit-life-science-labs-hard-68695 |title=Supply Shortages Hit Life Science Labs Hard |author=Williams, S. |work=The Scientist |date=21 April 2021 |accessdate=06 July 2022}}</ref> to reimbursement issues<ref name="NadeauBest22" /><ref name="TelcorFour22">{{cite web |url=https://telcor.com/four-challenges-facing-labs-in-2022/ |title=Four Challenges Facing Labs in 2022 |publisher=TELCOR, Inc |date=n.d. |accessdate=06 July 2022}}</ref> and cybersecurity issues.<ref name="DuttonSolu22">{{cite web |url=https://www.labmanager.com/big-picture/solutions-for-key-challenges-in-biotech-labs/solutions-to-security-challenges-for-life-science-labs-28214 |title=Solutions to Security Challenges for Life Science Labs |author=Dutton, G. |work=Lab Manager |date=10 June 2022 |accessdate=06 July 2022}}</ref> But the importance of laboratories in our lives will largely mean that they will overcome these challenges out of necessity.

What will the future hold for the humble laboratory, and how will its status within the fabric of our society change, if at all? Optimistically, they will increasingly be viewed as spaces that assist scientists with rational and safe discoveries that provide benefits for the whole of society. Laboratories and their denizens will undoubtedly also continue to play important roles in maintaining the safety and well-being of the populace, from product quality control to disease tracking and analysis. Technologies such as cloud computing and data management systems may further streamline how laboratory research data is produced, handled, and stored<ref name="Saliah-HassaneLabAtHome11">{{cite journal |title=Lab@Home: Remote laboratory evolution in the Cloud Computing Era |journal=Proceedings of the 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition |author=Saliah-Hassane, H.; Saad, M.; Ofosu, W.K. et al. |pages=22.995.1-22.995.13 |year=2011 |url=https://peer.asee.org/18691}}</ref>, and data sharing policies—if they can overcome some inherent challenges<ref name="MarcusNew17">{{cite web |url=https://www.statnews.com/2017/06/06/data-sharing-rules-disappoint/ |title=New science data-sharing rules are two scoops of disappointment |author=Marcus, A. |work=STAT |publisher=Boston Globe Media |date=06 June 2017 |accessdate=30 June 2022}}</ref>—may positively shape laboratories even further. In the end, one way or another laboratories will continue to play a pivotal role in society, obvious or not.