Fluorescence microscopy of a zebrafish larva probed by a glass micro-sensor

imOmics International Alliance · formerly the NMT International Alliance

imOmics

The Science of Life–Environment Fluxes

Life is an open system. Every physiological process — signaling, nutrition, stress, disease — is written in the real-time fluxes of ions and molecules across the boundary between life and environment. We call this dynamic exchange the imOme. The science that studies it is imOmics (Ionic & Molecular Omics).

Explore the Science Join the Alliance Open imOme Database

Why imOmics

A shared identity.

imOmics stands on a half-century of international science — the vibrating probe (1974), ion-flux theory (1986), MIFE (Tasmania), SIET/SERIS (MBL), and NMT (2001–). All of these techniques measure the imOme; all of their communities are founding citizens of imOmics.

A missing omics.

Genomics, proteomics and metabolomics describe what life contains; ionomics maps its static elemental composition. imOmics records life's dynamic conversation with the world — adding the time dimension to the omics family: DNA → RNA → Protein → imOme → Phenotype.

A neutral home.

The imOmics International Alliance (formerly the NMT International Alliance) is a non-profit, scientist-governed organization. Instrument makers are welcome partners — but the alliance bears the name of a scientific question, not of any product.

DNA RNA Protein imOme Phenotype

imOmics adds the time dimension to the omics family.

Why scientists trust imOmics

Built on proof, not promises.

A young field deserves old questions: will this last? Who stands behind it? Is the theory sound? We answer with history, not slogans.

A proven track record.

From YoungerUSA (2001) to Xuyue Beijing (2005) to the Alliance (2020), the founding team has delivered for twenty-five years: 782 SCI papers enabled — 19 in CNS-tier journals — and a testing network spanning 300+ institutions, with a national "internationally leading" technology review in 2021.

Endorsed at the highest level.

Academician Tingyun Kuang — pioneer of chloroplast membrane research in China, honoured in December 2025 with the naming of asteroid 29509 "Kuang Tingyun Star" — personally co-authored the imOmics definition and serves as Chief Scientist of GiP. She guided NMT into China in 2005 and has shaped it for three decades.

A complete theoretical arc.

From the philosophy "Life ≡ f(Environment, t)" to the extended central dogma — DNA → RNA → Protein → imOme → Phenotype — to a living pipeline of technology (NMT), discipline (imOmics) and program (GiP): a closed loop from idea to data.

782

SCI papers enabled by NMT

19

CNS-tier journal papers

300+

institutions in the testing network

25 yrs

of delivery, 2001–2026

Enabling Technologies

One science, many instruments

One science, many instruments. Every technique that reads ion & molecule fluxes at the living boundary measures the imOme — and every one of their communities is a founding citizen of imOmics.

NMT

Non-invasive Micro-test Technology — commercialized from 2001 by YoungerUSA and Xuyue (Beijing); today the largest body of live flux data worldwide. The Alliance's primary enabling technology.

MIFE

Microelectrode Ion Flux Estimation — developed at the University of Tasmania (Newman laboratory, 1993–); more than 200 papers from 40+ laboratories across 17 countries.

SIET

Scanning Ion-selective Electrode Technique — systematized at the MBL BioCurrents Center, Woods Hole, an NIH-funded national resource (1996–).

SERIS

Self-Referencing Ion-Selective technique — the MBL "self-referencing" sensor family named and advanced by Peter J. S. Smith and colleagues.

SVET

Scanning Vibrating Electrode Technique — mapping extracellular current density; the direct descendant of Jaffe & Nuccitelli's 1974 vibrating probe.

Lineage

1974–2026 · A half-century of international science

  1. 1974

    Vibrating Probe

    Jaffe & Nuccitelli invent the vibrating probe at MBL, Woods Hole.

  2. 1986

    Ion-Flux Theory

    Lucas & Kochian establish in-situ ion-flux measurement; validated by Newman et al. (1987).

  3. 1993

    MIFE

    The University of Tasmania builds the MIFE instrument system.

  4. 1996

    SIET / SERIS

    MBL BioCurrents (NIH national resource) systematizes self-referencing techniques.

  5. 2001

    NMT

    Yue (Jeff) Xu commercializes Non-invasive Micro-test Technology (YoungerUSA; Xuyue Beijing, 2005).

  6. 2020

    NMTIA

    The NMT International Alliance is founded.

  7. 2023

    imOmics defined

    Ionic & Molecular Omics formally defined in peer-reviewed literature (Xu et al.).

  8. 2026

    imOmics International Alliance

    NMTIA expands and becomes the imOmics International Alliance; GiP advances.

Global imOme Project

GiP — the Global imOme Project

Join the network of standardized monitoring nodes building the first cross-species, open database of life–environment fluxes.

Explore GiP Open imOme Database

A flagship scientific program of the Alliance · data.imOmics.org

Non-profit organization

A registered non-profit organization — a convener and coordinator, never a competitor with researchers or institutions for funding.

Scientist-governed — academic majority

An internationally elected board in which academic directors hold at least two-thirds of seats.

Open standards & open data

Methodology standards, open data formats and inter-laboratory comparisons — published openly, for everyone.

Conflict-of-interest disclosure

A public conflict-of-interest registry for all board and committee members.

From the Alliance

Latest News

All news & position papers

Membership

Join the Alliance

Founding-board invitations are open to representative scholars of the MIFE, SIET and SERIS communities. Membership is open to every scientist and institution studying life–environment fluxes.

Apply to Join Community