The increased uptake and wider application of molecular biological methods requires assurance of the accuracy, reliability and comparability of the techniques, to permit the technology to be taken up and used with confidence. Resources for analyst training, method validation, calibration and assessment of overall analytical performance are valuable tools for developing and maintaining good practice and accurate measurement systems. However, the use of reference materials and proficiency testing as tools to improve the quality and comparability of data, although established in some testing areas, is not yet generally applied to nucleic acid analyses.
Work under the previous and current VAM programmes addresses the need to increase confidence in DNA-based measurements by providing the resources to build core molecular biology skills, tools to assess laboratory performance, and routes to establishing a well-structured environment for the performance of quality molecular biological analyses. Reports on novel technology also provide information to help end-users in choosing fit-for-purposes analytical approaches. To facilitate the flow of information generated from the current Bio-Measurement projects an interactive user group/forum, the ' Bio-Measurement Network', has been set up and operates via the VAM website and by e-mail. The network is free to join, and a number of project-related reports are available for download.
Further information and outputs from the projects can be found using the links below, and work is ongoing in the Measurements for Biotechnology programme in the project 'Comparability and Consisitency of Genetic Measurements'.
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