Research Division

The Research Division is of the main sections of the XCOM base.

Overview
Established to enhance XCOM's equipment and tactics from extraterrestrial threats, every key technological development has been due to the staff working within the Research Division. The department is headed by a Chief Scientific officer, responsible for overseeing all active research projects and the staff involved. Projects range from dissection and analysis of alien tissues to reverse engineering of extraterrestrial weapons and equipment. The division consists of a number of specialised labs, dedicated to specific forms of investigation, not only does this improve overall efficiency but also allows for effective containment protocols when handling dangerous materials.

Alien Containment
The Alien Containment facility is located on the same floor as autopsy and path labs, it doubles as both a holding area and interrogation.

Decontamination
A key facility in maintaining the safety of the base, alien artefacts are brought through here after being offloaded in secure containers. Inside they are screened for potential pathogens and sterilised to render them safe for handling. Due to their organic nature, alien cadavers cannot be sterilised as thoroughly and are delivered to secure wetlabs. Live specimens also suffer this issue and thus must be handled with utmost care, ensuring they are kept in isolated containment until delivered to the alien containment facility.

Genetics Lab
Located on sublevel two, the genetics lab is a specialised facility built for applying genetic modifications to humans. The lab relies on the bioinformatic and genetic analysis facilities to create new grafts and modifications. To ensure the safety of personnel undergoing procedures, the lab liaises with the Infirmary who monitor all volunteers throughout the procedure.

While technically banned by international law, XCOM have been given permission by the Council to circumvent this on a number of conditions. The abilities granted by these mods must be solely used in Council-sanctioned operations and must be removed if and when the XCOM project is terminated.

Research Labs
A hive of labs spanning multiple floors makes up the core of the section, the uppermost level contains the Chief Science Officer's office as well as several bioinformatics labs for investigating alien genetics.

The second sublevel contains labs for handing "dry" artefacts, these are non-organic items which are safe to handle, typically salvaged hardware and weapons.

Floor three starts dealing with biological materials, observing level 1 and 2 biohazard protocols and investigate alien genetics, cybernetics and small tissue samples.

The forth sublevel is reserved for alien autopsies, a level 4 biohazard protocol is in place at all times do protect staff from any unforeseen pathogens. A pathology lab is also located on this floor for running analysis on blood samples and other biopsy samples, a cold storage room is also on this floor for keeping cadavers.

History
The first XCOM facility also possessed a research facility fully capable of analysing alien specimens and extraterrestrial technology. However, efforts were slightly hampered by the base's "ad hoc" construction, resulting in a slightly scattered research department. During Project Rebirth a new headquarters was constructed for XCOM to operate from, this time designed to be more streamlined and efficient than the previous base. Most notably the new research division has been centralised around a single part of the base while retaining all functionality of the previous labs.