A system comprising: a scientific instrument; an associated computer, associated with the scientific instrument; and a data hub; wherein the associated computer and the data hub are configured for communication with each other via a wireless personal area network connection according to a PAN protocol; wherein the data hub comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the data hub's processor is configured to execute a plurality of instructions stored in the data hub's memory that are configured, upon execution by the data hub's processor, to cause the data hub to wirelessly send a command over the wireless PAN connection to the associated computer, the command configured to control an aspect of operation for the scientific instrument; and wherein the scientific instrument is configured to acquire scientific data, and wherein the associated computer comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the associated computer's processor is configured to execute a plurality of instructions stored in the associated computer's memory that are configured to: receive the command wirelessly sent by the data hub over the wireless PAN connection, control the scientific instrument in accordance with the received command, receive scientific data acquired by the scientific instrument in response to the received command, generate metadata about the scientific data, wherein the metadata indicates the scientific instrument, and wirelessly send the scientific data and metadata to the data hub over the wireless PAN connection; and wherein the data hub's instructions are further configured, upon execution by the data hub's processor, to cause the data hub to: receive the scientific data and the metadata wirelessly sent by the associated computer over the wireless PAN connection, analyze the sent metadata to determine the scientific data type for the sent scientific data based on the scientific instrument indicated in the metadata, determine an end location for the sent scientific data based on the determined scientific data type, and communicate the sent scientific data and the sent metadata to the determined remote end location over a network. a scientific instrument; an associated computer, associated with the scientific instrument; and a data hub; wherein the associated computer and the data hub are configured for communication with each other via a wireless personal area network connection according to a PAN protocol; wherein the data hub comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the data hub's processor is configured to execute a plurality of instructions stored in the data hub's memory that are configured, upon execution by the data hub's processor, to cause the data hub to wirelessly send a command over the wireless PAN connection to the associated computer, the command configured to control an aspect of operation for the scientific instrument; and wherein the scientific instrument is configured to acquire scientific data, and wherein the associated computer comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the associated computer's processor is configured to execute a plurality of instructions stored in the associated computer's memory that are configured to: receive the command wirelessly sent by the data hub over the wireless PAN connection, control the scientific instrument in accordance with the received command, receive scientific data acquired by the scientific instrument in response to the received command, generate metadata about the scientific data, wherein the metadata indicates the scientific instrument, and wirelessly send the scientific data and metadata to the data hub over the wireless PAN connection; and receive the command wirelessly sent by the data hub over the wireless PAN connection, control the scientific instrument in accordance with the received command, receive scientific data acquired by the scientific instrument in response to the received command, generate metadata about the scientific data, wherein the metadata indicates the scientific instrument, and wirelessly send the scientific data and metadata to the data hub over the wireless PAN connection; and wherein the data hub's instructions are further configured, upon execution by the data hub's processor, to cause the data hub to: receive the scientific data and the metadata wirelessly sent by the associated computer over the wireless PAN connection, analyze the sent metadata to determine the scientific data type for the sent scientific data based on the scientific instrument indicated in the metadata, determine an end location for the sent scientific data based on the determined scientific data type, and communicate the sent scientific data and the sent metadata to the determined remote end location over a network. receive the scientific data and the metadata wirelessly sent by the associated computer over the wireless PAN connection, analyze the sent metadata to determine the scientific data type for the sent scientific data based on the scientific instrument indicated in the metadata, determine an end location for the sent scientific data based on the determined scientific data type, and communicate the sent scientific data and the sent metadata to the determined remote end location over a network.