Annals of Clinical Biochemistry, Ahead of Print.
The homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) is one of the most commonly applied surrogate markers for the measurement of insulin resistance; however, the use of this metric does require sex-specific, age-specific, and body mass index ...

Annals of Clinical Biochemistry, Ahead of Print.
BackgroundStatistical quality control continues to serve as the cornerstone for ensuring the accuracy and reliability of laboratory investigations. The current research aimed to evaluate the performance of biochemistry parameters using Six Sigma metrics ...

UKAS is pleased to support the AI Standards Stack podcast, a series from the AI Quality Infrastructure Consortium (AIQI) exploring how standards, assurance and governance can help build trust and confidence in artificial intelligence.

As AI systems become more widely adopted across sectors, organisations are increasingly looking for credible ways to demonstrate that they are being developed, deployed and governed responsibly. AI assurance has an important role to play in this landscape, helping organisations, regulators, customers, investors and the public understand whether appropriate controls, standards and oversight are in place. The AI Standards Stack podcast is hosted by Professor Michael Mainelli, UKAS Non-Executive Director, and Adam Leon Smith, Chair of the AIQI Consortium. Across the series, they have been joined by a range of expert guests to explore the practical, technical and ethical questions shaping the future of AI assurance.

UKAS has supported several episodes in the series, featuring guests including Christine Chow (London School of Economics), Piercosma Bisconti Lucidi (DEXAI), Nicholas Beale (City of London Corporation), Patrick Sullivan (A-LIGN Certification), James Gealy (Safer AI) and Michael Thieme (Accenture). Together, these episodes provide a broad view of the evolving AI assurance landscape, from responsible AI governance and investor expectations through to certification, AI safety standards and the practical use of international standards.

In one episode, Christine Chow considers responsible AI governance through an investor lens, highlighting why robust data governance is a foundation for effective AI governance. This perspective is particularly relevant as organisations face increasing scrutiny over how AI systems are managed, how risks are controlled, and how governance arrangements can provide confidence to stakeholders beyond the organisation itself. The series also explores the ethical and social dimensions of AI. Piercosma Bisconti Lucidi discusses generative AI, ethics and the future of social interaction, including the implications of AI systems entering human social spaces and the risks that may arise when AI systems interact with one another. Nicholas Beale brings a mathematically grounded perspective to responsible AI, considering the risks of over-reliance on single AI systems, the limitations of human-in-the-loop approaches, and the importance of appropriate guardrails.

Other episodes focus more directly on the developing assurance infrastructure around AI. Patrick Sullivan provides a certifier-led view of AI assurance and ISO/IEC 42001, exploring what third-party certifiers do, how AI management system certification can support objective assurance, and why organisations are increasingly looking to certification as part of their approach to AI governance and risk management. In an episode with Michael Thieme, the series also looks at how standards can be made practical for professionals working with AI, discussing the need for “consumable” standards that can realistically be applied in the real world, particularly as organisations respond to rapid developments in generative AI. His episode considers issues such as AI verification, validation, performance measurement, reproducibility, terminology and the changing role of human oversight as agentic AI systems evolve.

A recent episode with James Gealy has explored AI safety standards for frontier models, including risk modelling work on how advanced models could amplify cyber threats, contribute to benchmark saturation and create real-world harms. The discussion also considers developing standards work on large language model benchmarking, red teaming and the safety of AI models, systems and applications.

Taken together, the series provides a useful and accessible overview of many of the issues now shaping AI assurance. It considers not only how AI systems can be designed and governed responsibly, but also how assurance mechanisms such as standards, certification, conformity assessment and accreditation may contribute to wider trust and confidence.

UKAS’s support for the series reflects its wider interest in the development of robust, credible and internationally relevant approaches to AI assurance. Accreditation has a key role to play in helping ensure that conformity assessment activities are delivered competently, consistently and impartially. As AI assurance continues to mature, the quality infrastructure will be important in supporting confidence in both AI systems and the organisations that assess them.

For organisations involved in evaluating, assessing or governing AI systems, the AI Standards Stack podcast provides useful insight into the evolving role of standards, accreditation and quality infrastructure in supporting credible AI assurance.

Listen to the series here: https://www.aiqi.org/newsroom/category/Podcast

The post UKAS supports AI Standards Stack podcast series appeared first on UKAS.

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Testing the vagina microbiome is increasing in popularity with companies offering at-home tests

Testing the vagina microbiome is increasing in popularity with companies offering at-home tests

UKAS Chief Executive Matt Gantley joined international leaders at the 2026 TIC (Testing, Inspection and Certification) Summit to explore how accreditation and the wider Quality Infrastructure can keep pace with a rapidly changing world, with trust remaining at the heart of innovation. 

Brussels provided the backdrop for one of the TIC sector’s key events of the year, bringing together leaders from industry, policy and the global Quality Infrastructure community. For UKAS, the event was also an opportunity to champion the vital role of accreditation in building confidence, supporting innovation and helping society respond to rapid change. 

The summit focused on a key question: as geopolitics, technology, energy systems and trade continue to shift, how do we make sure innovation remains trusted? Across the day’s discussions, one message came through strongly — trust does not happen by accident. It is built through robust standards, effective conformity assessment and strong accreditation; all working together to give businesses, regulators and the public confidence in products and services. 

Speaking to delegates about the future of the global Quality Infrastructure, Matt set out both the scale of the challenge and the opportunity ahead. His message was clear: the world is changing fast and the systems that underpin trust must evolve with it. Accreditation, standards, metrology and conformity assessment cannot operate in isolation if they are to remain relevant in a more connected, complex and digital world. 

Matt said: “We are facing a bend in the road. Technologically, politically, environmentally and societally, the world is changing quickly. The challenge for all of us is to be prepared to travel in the same direction.” 

It was a powerful call for the sector to think collectively about what comes next and how the global Quality Infrastructure can stay fit for the future rather than trying to catch up after the fact. 

That future was a major theme throughout the day, especially in discussions around artificial intelligence. Delegates explored how AI is already changing the landscape for assurance, posing new questions about transparency, accountability, bias and risk. At the same time, it is opening up opportunities to modernise Quality Infrastructure itself — from smarter standards to better use of data and more responsive systems of oversight.  

In his address, Matt highlighted an important shift in how conformity assessment is understood. While compliance remains essential, the sector is increasingly being asked to do more: to help organisations manage future risk, strengthen resilience and build confidence in emerging technologies before problems arise. In practical terms, that means moving beyond retrospective checks towards more predictive, real-time and risk-based approaches — always grounded in competence, impartiality and integrity. 

There was also strong agreement at the Summit that the Quality Infrastructure community needs to speak with greater clarity and confidence about the value it brings to society. Too often, the work that underpins trust in safety, quality and fair trade happens behind the scenes. Events like the TIC Summit matter because they bring that invisible infrastructure into view and show how essential it is to industrial resilience, competitiveness and public confidence. 

In this period of rapid change, UKAS’s role safeguarding trust in conformity assessment has never been more important. If society is to embrace innovation with confidence, it needs assurance systems that are agile, aligned and fit for the future.  

The post Putting trust at the heart of innovation appeared first on UKAS.

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Dr Hilary Cass says she is "absolutely convinced that more children will be harmed if we don't do the trial than if we do."

Dr Hilary Cass says she is "absolutely convinced that more children will be harmed if we don't do the trial than if we do."

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