Nucleic Acid Observatory Swab Sampling Program
The Nucleic Acid Observatory (NAO) aims to detect new pandemics more quickly than currently possible. As one of our efforts, we are piloting swab-based surveillance in the Boston metropolitan area. Based on prior research, nasal swabs show high viral loads and could be a promising sample type for detecting rapidly spreading respiratory pathogens.
Here we present real-time data of our surveillance effort, displaying:
- Total samples collected to date
- Collection rate for each sampling run (samples/hour)
- Detected viral reads from human-infecting pathogens
All published sequencing data has been scrubbed of human genetic material to ensure privacy.
Swab Sampling Recruitment
Cumulative number of samples collected
Samples collected per hour
Sampling run metadata
| Date | Collection Site | Compensation | Samples collected | Sampling duration | Swabs/h | HV Reads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 19, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $4 | 48 | 0:51 | 56 | |
| March 19, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $4 | 48 | 0:51 | 56 | |
| March 18, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $2 | 59 | 0:50 | 71 | |
| February 26, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $2 | 74 | 0:58 | 77 | |
| February 12, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $2 | 47 | 0:47 | 60 | |
| February 05, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $2 | 33 | 0:42 | 47 | |
| February 04, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $2 | 57 | 0:46 | 74 | |
| January 29, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $2 | 60 | 0:56 | 64 | |
| January 27, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $2 | 44 | 0:40 | 66 | 250127-BoDT-NAS |
| January 23, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $2 | 33 | 0:46 | 43 | 250123-BoDT-NAS |
| January 22, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $2 | 37 | 0:59 | 38 | |
| January 16, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $2 | 60 | 0:52 | 69 | 250116-BoDT-NAS |
| January 15, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $2 | 58 | 0:47 | 74 | 250115-BoDT-NAS |
| January 13, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $2 | 33 | 0:49 | 40 | 250113-BoDT-NAS |
| January 09, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $2 | 25 | 0:50 | 30 | 250109-BoDT-NAS |
| January 09, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $2 | 23 | 0:50 | 28 | 250109-BoDT-NAS |
| January 07, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $2 | 37 | 0:40 | 56 | 250107-BoDT-NAS |
| November 07, 2024 | Massachussetts Institute of Technology | $2 | 33 | 0:47 | 42 | 241107-MIT-NAS |
| October 31, 2024 | Massachussetts Institute of Technology | $2 | 30 | 1:08 | 26 | 241031-MIT-NAS |
| October 10, 2024 | Massachussetts Institute of Technology | $2 | 28 | 0:43 | 39 | 241010-MIT-NAS |
| August 16, 2024 | Kendall Square | $5 | 27 | 0:36 | 45 | |
| July 16, 2024 | Kendall Square | $5 | 23 | 1:00 | 23 | |
| June 18, 2024 | Kendall Square | $5 | 27 | 0:41 | 40 | 240618-KEN-NAS |
| June 17, 2024 | Kendall Square | $5 | 26 | 0:53 | 29 | |
| May 28, 2024 | Kendall Square | $5 | 23 | 0:32 | 43 | |
| May 24, 2024 | Kendall Square | $5 | 19 | 0:40 | 29 | |
| May 21, 2024 | Kendall Square | $5 | 26 | 1:58 | 13 |