A unit of RM 8048 consists of four vials each from two dietary pools: omnivore and vegetarian.
Credit: NIST
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a human stool reference material that will help scientists accurately measure the gut microbiome. The initiative aims to speed progress in a cutting-edge field of medical research targeting some of humanity’s most serious and intractable diseases.
The human gut microbiome is a rich, teeming ecosystem of microorganisms and their byproducts that line the human gastrointestinal tract. Over the last decade, scientists have linked activity in the gut microbiome to obesity, diabetes, mental illness, cancer and other medical conditions. Researchers believe that a new class of drugs targeting the gut microbiome can treat many of these conditions.
NIST’s human gut microbiome reference material consists of eight frozen vials of exhaustively studied human feces suspended in aqueous solution, along with more than 25 pages of data identifying the key microbes and biomolecules the material contains. Scientists, including those working at biopharmaceutical and biotech companies, can use this material to further their research and develop new drugs that target the microbiome, including new treatments that contain living bacteria. bacteria.
NIST’s stool reference material is “the most precisely measured, scientifically analyzed and richly characterized human fecal standard ever produced,” said NIST molecular geneticist Scott Jackson. “We hope our reference material will lay the foundation for gut microbiome research to thrive and reach its full potential.”
Gut Microbiome Medicine
NIST researchers remove a fecal sample from deep freeze for analysis. Samples were stored at minus 80 Celsius.
Credit: D. Elli ..
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