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Oh, good, some specific suggestions! I like both the NIST and wiki
ideas. Let's keep this going.

Mahalo,
Tina

> All,
> I recently attended a workshop at NIST
> http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/confpage/080501.htm where the open forum
> discussion centered around image metadata. The OME folks were there (amongst
> others) and there was a consensus that there needs to be a formal way to
> record metadata. Interesting suggestions were that each instrument in future
> would contain a unique ID and this would be recorded along with images.
> Unique codes embedded in images could identify "raw data". There could be a
> way to record all image manipulations - at the instrument and subsequently -
> by careful use of metadata. Some of the discussion was concerned with
> availability of raw data for others to access and mine as new methods become
> available or a new perspective was desired. There are of course many issues
> surrounding this but note the way that protein structures have to be lodged
> with the pdb as a condition of e.g. NIH funding.
> 
> Representatives from the microscopy community who attended also agreed that
> NIST may have a role to play with the production of "best practice"
> guidelines for microscopists. Whilst NIST does not have a mandate to enforce
> standards it is their core business and they have a lot of experience.
> 
> Another thread to the discussion was the development of the "semantic web"
> see e.g. the wiki at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_Web
> 
> Eventually, data mining will be web-based but it will rely entirely on
> having confidence in and records of how data was produced.
> 
> I am sure there will be wider discussion over time.
> 
> Chris
> 
> 
> Christopher J Gilpin Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor
> Director, Molecular and Cellular Imaging Facility
> K1.A04
> UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
> 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard
> Dallas, TX 75390-9039
> Phone +1 214 648 2827
> Fax +1 214 648 6408
> 

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* Tina (Weatherby) Carvalho               * [log in to unmask]           * 
* Biological Electron Microscope Facility * (808) 956-6251                 *
* University of Hawaii at Manoa           * http://www.pbrc.hawaii.edu/bemf* 
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