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Sober October is back for 2026, and people across Ireland are signing up to go alcohol-free for 31 days. In Ireland, Sober October is run in support of Coolmine, a Dublin-based charity providing drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services, with money raised helping to fund addiction recovery services across the country. The idea is […]
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Kinship Care Week 2026: Recognising kinship families across Ireland
Across Ireland, grandparents, aunts, uncles, older brothers and sisters, and close family friends are raising children who can’t live with their parents. Sometimes it’s planned, and sometimes it happens almost overnight. Either way, it means a child grows up surrounded by people who already know and love them. Kinship Care Week (5-9 October) is a […]
Top 10 Drug & Alcohol Testing Myths – Busted!
Myth #2: It’s difficult to conduct drug & alcohol testing on someone with little or no head hair
We’re continuing our myth-busting series with the misconception that it’s difficult to perform a drug or alcohol test if the sample donor has little or no head hair. It isn’t. Whether a donor has a shaved head, short hair or no hair at all, other validated testing methods are available to ensure you can still […]
Ketamine use in Ireland: What the latest data reveals, and why it matters for drug testing
The HSE has stated that ketamine use in Ireland is “experiencing its largest and most sustained increase on record”, shifting from a niche club drug to one now used widely across nightlife and festival settings. New wastewater analysis from the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) shows that ketamine detections at Dublin’s Ringsend treatment plant […]
The importance of expert interpretation in hair testing
Hair testing is an established tool in family proceedings, providing a retrospective view of drug and alcohol exposure over several months and is particularly useful when combined with tests for recent use, using samples such as blood, oral fluid, or urine. However, laboratory analysis is only part of the process. Here, we look at why […]
Top 10 Drug & Alcohol Testing Myths – Busted!
Myth #1: Hair strand testing works the same for drugs and alcohol
Drug and alcohol testing carries real weight in family law, informing decisions on contact, custody and safeguarding. But misconceptions about how laboratory testing works are common, even among the most experienced social workers and family law professionals. In this series, we’re setting the record straight on the top 10 drug & alcohol testing myths that […]
International FASD Day 2026: Raising awareness and supporting recovery
Each year on the 9th day of the 9th month, the world marks International Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Day, a date chosen deliberately to symbolise the importance of remaining alcohol-free throughout all nine months of pregnancy. In Ireland, September is also FASD Awareness Month, a dedicated period for shining a light on FASD and […]
AlphaBiolabs attends 31st Congress of the International Society for Forensic Genetics (ISFG)
AlphaBiolabs was delighted to attend the recent 31st Congress of the International Society for Forensic Genetics (ISFG), held in Montréal, Canada. Our Director of Genetics, Casey Randall, represented AlphaBiolabs at this year’s congress, which brought together academics, researchers and forensic science professionals from around the world, alongside leading suppliers in the field. As Ireland’s No.1 […]
International Overdose Awareness Day 2026: Understanding and Preventing Overdose
Every year, on 31 August, communities across more than 40 countries come together to mark International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD), the world’s largest campaign dedicated to ending overdose. Led since 2012 by the Penington Institute, a public health non-profit, IOAD began as a single event and has since grown into a global day of action. […]
Friends for 30 years before DNA testing revealed they were sisters
The popularity of home DNA testing has grown significantly in recent years, with these tests being used to answer some of life’s most important personal questions. Sometimes those questions are asked quietly, at home, by someone with a private doubt. And sometimes, they’re answered by accident, decades later, in the most unexpected way. That was […]