Microbial measurements

News and Updates

A man in a lab coat and safety glasses looks up at petri dishes he is holding.

Spotlight: Scott Jackson’s Living in a Microbial World

August 4, 2021

Scott Jackson is not alone in this picture. It’s him, and his microbiome. The human microbiome is defined as all the microbes that live in and on the human body

Identifying Individual Molecules: NIST Study Suggests How to Build a Better ‘Nanopore’ Biosensor

April 27, 2021

Researchers have spent more than three decades developing and studying miniature biosensors that can identify single molecules. In five to 10 years, when such

Spotlight on N-STEP Graduates

February 18, 2020

NIST’s Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Program (N-STEP) was created by the company, TEDCO, whose mission is to “Enhance economic development growth

Projects and Programs

DARPA Friend or Foe (FoF) -- Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V)

The development of new platforms for characterization of complex microbial samples are hampered by lack of reproducibility and comparability across different

Surrogate Materials to Support Training in Biological Sampling and Detection in the Field

Developing and maintaining a nationwide capability in field biological assessment requires routine training with biological materials. Attenuated biothreat

Standards for Metagenomics

Metagenomics, or identifying the organisms present in a sample through DNA-based analysis, is a revolutionary technology made possible through advances in

Pathogen Detection and Identification in the Clinical Setting: The Next Generation of Analyses

NIST and FDA are co-developing DNA-based materials for mixed microbial detection. Our annual workshop brings together private and public interests to discuss

Publications

Improving end-user trust in the quality of commercial probiotic products

September 24, 2021

Author(s)

Scott Jackson, Jean Schoeni, Buffy Stahl

In a rapidly growing global probiotic market, end-users have difficulty distinguishing between high quality and poor quality products. This threatens consumer

Current Explorations of Nutrition and the Gut Microbiome: A Systematic Review

September 23, 2021

Author(s)

Scott Jackson, Leigh A. Frame, Elise Costas

Background The ability to measure and describe the microbiome has led to a surge in information about the gut microbiome and its role in health and disease. The

An assessment of US microbiome research

September 23, 2021

Author(s)

Scott Jackson

Genome-enabled technologies have supported a dramatic increase in our ability to study microbial communities in environments and hosts. Taking stock of

Performance assessment of DNA sequencing platforms in the ABRF Next-Generation Sequencing Study

September 9, 2021

Author(s)

Justin Zook, Jonathan Foox, Christopher E. Mason

Assessing the reproducibility, accuracy and utility of massively parallel DNA sequencing platforms remains an ongoing challenge. Here the Association of