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Material Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

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NIST Patents First DNA Method to Authenticate Mouse Cell Lines

February 23, 2017

“A case of mistaken identity” may drive the plot of the latest spy film or crime novel, but it’s only a tale of trouble for geneticists, oncologists, drug...

Climate-Friendlier Air Conditioning Chemicals Hard to Find, Study Shows

February 23, 2017

In response to a recently published study in Nature Communications about options for low-global-warming-potential refrigerants from NIST, Inside Climate News...

Diving Deep into the Dolphin Genome Could Benefit Human Health

February 22, 2017

In movies and TV shows, dolphins are often portrayed as heroes who save humans through remarkable feats of strength and tenacity. Now dolphins could save the...

‘Start Codons’ in DNA and RNA May Be More Numerous Than Previously Thought

February 21, 2017

For decades, scientists working with genetic material have labored with a few basic rules in mind. To start, DNA is transcribed into messenger RNA (mRNA), and...

NIST Quest for Climate-Friendly Refrigerants Finds Complicated Choices

February 17, 2017

BOULDER, Colo. – Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have just completed a multiyear study to identify the “best”...

NIST Standard Story: No Humans Were Harmed

February 15, 2017

NIST scientists have thoroughly measured and characterized more than 1,300 physical products, NIST Standard Reference Materials ®, to help people in industry...

A Message from the MML Director

February 15, 2017

" A Message from the MML Director" appears in each edition of Material Matters, the quarterly magazine of NIST's Material Measurement Lab. This letter from MML...

Illustration of setup for separating nanoparticles from organisms

NIST Updates ‘Sweet’ 1950s Separation Method to Clean Nanoparticles from Organisms

January 26, 2017

Sometimes old-school methods provide the best ways of studying cutting-edge tech and its effects on the modern world. Giving a 65-year-old laboratory technique...

President Obama Honors Federally-Funded Early-Career Scientists

January 10, 2017

On Jan. 9, 2017, President Obama named 102 scientists and researchers as recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE...

Fracture surface of additive manufactured titanium alloy

NIST Releases Findings from the NIST/ASTM Workshop on Mechanical Behavior of Additive Manufacturing Components

January 6, 2017

The worldwide market for additive manufacturing (AM) products and services is projected to exceed US$6.5 billion by 2019 [1]. Despite this prediction, there are...

NIST Research Enables Enhanced DNA “Fingerprints”

December 15, 2016

As the new year approaches, forensic labs across the country are gearing up for a big change in the way they generate DNA profiles, the genetic fingerprints so...

New Arsenic Sensor Prize Challenge

December 14, 2016

The Bureau of Reclamation has launched phase one of the Arsenic Sensor Challenge. Arsenic in water can affect human health and limit water supplies. NIST...

Materials Extrusion Additive Manufacturing

NIST Releases Roadmap for Polymer-Based Additive Manufacturing

December 12, 2016

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a high-priority technology growth area for U.S. manufacturers. Innovative AM processes that fabricate parts layer-by-layer...

Odor Detection with An Artificial Dog Nose

Sniffing Like a Dog Can Improve Trace Detection of Explosives

December 1, 2016

By mimicking how dogs get their whiffs, government and university researchers have demonstrated that “active sniffing” can improve by more than 10 times the...

Universe’s Constants Now Known with Sufficient Certainty to Completely Redefine the International System of Units

November 22, 2016

Fundamental constants are physical quantities that are universal in nature. For example, the speed of light in vacuum and the charge of a single electron are...

NIST Standard Story: A Fish Story

November 18, 2016

NIST scientists have thoroughly measured and characterized more than 1,300 physical products, NIST Standard Reference Materials ®, to help people in industry...

A Message from the MML Director

November 18, 2016

" A Message from the MML Director" appears in each edition of Material Matters, the quarterly magazine of NIST's Material Measurement Lab. This letter from MML...

NIST Researchers Use a Standardized Caenorhabditis elegans Toxicity Test to Assess Nanomaterial Toxicity

November 4, 2016

Toxicity assays are an important component in identifying potential health or environmental hazards associated with chemicals. The development of robust...

NIST Unveils Forensic Technique to Measure Mechanical Properties of Evidence

November 1, 2016

You may have seen it on CSI: The star examines hair from a crime scene and concludes its color or texture looks like the defendant’s hair, or maybe his dog’s...

Retinal Pigment Epithelium on nanofiber scaffold

New Public-Private Partnership to Develop Standards for Regenerative Medicine

October 26, 2016

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has partnered with the Standards Coordinating Body for Gene, Cell and Regenerative Medicines and Cell-based...

Novel 3-in-1 “Rheo-Raman” Microscope Enables Interconnected Studies of Soft Materials

October 4, 2016

An innovative three-in-one instrument that allows scientists to correlate the flowability of soft “gooey” materials such as gels, molten polymers and biological...

NIST-Made ‘Sun and Rain’ Detail How Nanoparticles Can Escape from Plastic Coatings into the Environment

September 30, 2016

If the 1967 film “The Graduate” were remade today, Mr. McGuire’s famous advice to young Benjamin Braddock would probably be updated to “Plastics … with...

NIST Team Suggests Nanoscale Electronic Motion Sensor as DNA Sequencer

September 27, 2016

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and collaborators have proposed a design for the first DNA sequencer based on an...

This electron micrograph shows an oral squamous cancer cell being attacked by two cytotoxic T cells.

NIST Releases New 'Family' of Standardized Genomes

September 16, 2016

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—With the addition of four new reference materials (RMs) to a growing collection of “measuring sticks” for gene sequencing, the National...

NIST Releases Expanded "Fractography" Guide for Analyzing, Understanding Brittle Material Failures

September 16, 2016

Studying the fractures of industrially important materials such as ceramics and glasses provides important clues on why these materials can fail and how to make...

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