Research should move into the field, into real life. But this creates a lot of problems. For example, studies related to stress have to obtain saliva samples. But swift freezing of these samples is not always possible, and samples must be returned to the laboratory for further processing. Therefore, scientists from Bochum and Hamburg tested their samples with multiple cycles of freezing and thawing, under bitter cold and scorching heat conditions, lengths of days of transport, or settings of postal delivery. By this, they developed a guideline of boundary conditions within which samples stay stable. So, now it’s time to move to the field for study!

Heyers, K., Pfeifer, L. S., Walusiacki, K., Reinke, P., Moser, D., Ocklenburg, S., Wolf, O.T., Stability and durability of salivary alpha-amylase across different storage conditions, Psychoneuroendocrinology 161 (2024) 106929.