test-tube

The RNA used in experiments are usually produced in test tubes, a costly process often patented by US companies.

It reveals the structural traits that work under real environmental conditions rather than just in test tubes.

But the majority of studies looking at the effects of herbal supplements like these on parasites have been conducted in test tubes or culture dishes — not in humans.

It comprised a brick-coloured concoction bubbling away in a test tube.

The suspects had concealed the creatures in "specially modified test tubes and syringes" which would have enabled the insects to survive for two months, the KWS said.