New Scientist reports that researchers in the UK are stockpiling some reagents and equipment that they are worried might be in short supply if a no-deal Brexit comes to pass. Currently, the UK is slated to withdraw from the European Union at the end of October, a move that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said would occur "do or die."
This, New Scientist says, has fueled concerns that it might be difficult to import certain goods into the UK after that deadline and, to ensure they can continue their work after then, researchers have been ordering extra supplies in advance. For instance, Imperial College London's Laurence Bugeon tells it that she has been stockpiling food and equipment she needs to support the 1,000 zebrafish she has in her aquariums, as those supplies come from across the Europe Union. Other researchers, New Scientist says, declined to name what they've been getting extra of so as to not spark a run on those goods.
Institutions themselves have also gotten in touch with manufacturers to discuss what might occur with Brexit."We have also encouraged individual faculties, departments, and labs to take some proportionate responses themselves," a University College London spokesperson tells New Scientist.