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Few devices in the lab hold more precious and valuable contents than an ultra-low-temperature (ULT) freezer, which typically has a temperature range of –86 °C to –45 °C. But, as some researchers unfortunately know all too well, the samples tucked away in ULT freezers are susceptible to thawing due to power outages, mechanical failures, or mishaps such as a freezer door left slightly ajar for a prolonged period of time. Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall near Brigantine, New Jersey, in October 2012, provided a sobering reminder of the value and vulnerability of frozen samples when it knocked out the power to many East Coast research labs for a week or more. When Susan Zolla-Pazner’s lab on the 18th floor of the Veterans Affairs New York ...
