NIST RM 8398: Standardizing Discoveries

Steel, concrete, peanut butter, and genetic testing all have something in common: all have reference material established in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce (Pear, 2015). On May 21, 2015, NIST announced that they made “the world's first reference material to help ensure laboratories accurately ‘map’ DNA for genetic testing, medical diagnoses, and future customized drug therapies” (“‘Measuring Stick’ Standard,” 2015). To do so, the FDA and NIST scientists facilitated a working relationship between NIST and stakeholders from the Genome in a Bottle consortium, a collection of professionals committed to reference standards, data, and methodology (Genome in a Bottle Consortium).