Needs 60 for a bit more research speed than 32 full speed biolabs that can use a belt of research packs (14365 vs 14224 research packs/min). But! They make about 48 times less pollution (134.4/min vs 6522.8 for the same research speed using the above example) and with a lower power consumption as a bonus. Because pollution prevention is easier than fighting pollution when you have the legendary materials in late game megabasing.