Exhibit 5.1

		12636 High Bluff Drive, Suite 400
		San Diego, California 92130-2071
		Tel: +1.858.523.5400 Fax: +1.858.523.5450
		www.lw.com
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April 24, 2013

Life Technologies Corporation

5791 Van Allen Way

Carlsbad, California 92008

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as special counsel to Life Technologies Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the proposed issuance of 13,000,000 shares (the “Shares”) of common stock of the Company, pursuant to the Company’s 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”). The Shares are included in a Registration Statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on April 24, 2013 (the “Registration Statement”). This opinion is being furnished in connection with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Act, and no opinion is expressed herein as to any matter pertaining to the contents of the Registration Statement, other than as expressly stated herein with respect to the issuance of the Shares.

As such counsel, we have examined such matters of fact and questions of law as we have considered appropriate for purposes of this letter. With your consent, we have relied upon certificates and other assurances of officers of the Company and others as to factual matters without having independently verified such factual matters. We are opining herein as to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, and we express no opinion with respect to any other laws.

In our examination, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals and the conformity to authentic original documents of all documents submitted to us as copies.

Subject to the foregoing and the other matters set forth herein, it is our opinion that, as of the date hereof, when the Shares have been duly registered on the books of the transfer agent and registrar therefor in the name or on behalf of the recipients, or certificates representing the Shares (in the form of the specimen certificate filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 filed with the Commission on February 28, 2013) have been manually signed by an authorized officer of the transfer agent and registrar therefor, and subject to the Company completing all actions and proceedings required on its part to be taken prior to the issuance of the Shares, when the

April 24, 2013

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Shares have been issued by the Company in the circumstances contemplated by the Plan against requisite payment therefor, the issuance and sale of the Shares will have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and the Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. In rendering the foregoing opinion, we have assumed that the Company will comply with all applicable notice requirements regarding uncertificated shares provided in the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

This opinion is for your benefit in connection with the Registration Statement and may be relied upon by you and by persons entitled to rely upon it pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Act. We consent to your filing this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

Very truly yours,

/s/ Latham & Watkins LLP