This hydrogen generator is used to make small amounts of hydrogen for chemical reactions in the analytical chemistry lab at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where scientists are searching for compounds that disrupt the growth of childhood cancers.

There was a time when chemistry labs stored large amounts of hydrogen–which is highly flammable when mixed with air–in tanks inside a facility. But small hydrogen generators now let chemists make as little or as much hydrogen as they need for a particular reaction. It’s less wasteful, and a lot safer, cheaper, and cuter.

Not as cute.