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Material Measurement Laboratory

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Spotlight: Ashlee Aiello and the Challenge of Cotton

September 28, 2021

The touch, the porosity of cotton, the biopolymer of postdoctoral associate Ashlee Aiello’s life. Cotton is the most abundant biopolymer (naturally produced...

Spotlight: Tracking Methylmercury, a Toxic Substance in Natural Waters

August 16, 2021

Mercury — the only metal that exists in liquid form at room temperature — may move like water, but its effect on the environment certainly isn’t replenishing...

NIST Reference Material for Hydrogen in Titanium Now in Pin Form

August 16, 2021

Hydrogen in titanium and other metal alloys can cause embrittlement, leading to fractures in manufactured parts. A popular NIST reference material for...

Multicolored plastic polymers on a pink background, as shown through a microscope.

Spotlight: The Behavior of Polymers in Our Recycled Plastics

August 10, 2021

Not all plastics are the same, and they don’t all blend together well during recycling. At NIST, researchers are looking for ways to make recycled plastic...

NIST’s Reference Material Supports Anti-Doping Efforts in International Sports

August 4, 2021

This summer has been exciting for sports enthusiasts: Many athletic events are back in full swing, and the Olympic Games are finally taking place after being...

A man in a lab coat and safety glasses looks up at petri dishes he is holding.

Spotlight: Scott Jackson’s Living in a Microbial World

August 4, 2021

Scott Jackson is not alone in this picture. It’s him, and his microbiome. The human microbiome is defined as all the microbes that live in and on the human body...

Two New Reference Materials Assist Supplement Makers with Measurements of Isoflavones in Kudzu

August 3, 2021

Kudzu, a member of the pea family native to East Asia and considered an invasive weed in the American South, has been used for centuries in Chinese medicine and...

A multicolored sphere made up of a dense network of colored ribbons against a black background.

New Collaboration Aims to Improve Measurement of Viral Vectors Used in Cutting-Edge Gene Therapies

July 27, 2021

ROCKVILLE, Md. — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing...

Gold-colored rectangle has circles and screws of various sizes.

Spotlight: One Small Step for SRM 610 Aboard the Mars Perseverance Rover

July 20, 2021

3, 2, 1 … blast off! One of NIST’s very own standard reference materials traveled through space and landed on the Red Planet in February as part of the National...

An Aid for Instrumentation for Measuring Active Compounds in Ginseng

July 12, 2021

Ginsenosides are thought to be the active compounds in ginseng, a plant long used in Chinese medicine that is now a popular supplement and the subject of...

NIST Researchers Use Novel Method to Understand the Molecular Underpinnings of a Tumorlike Disease Affecting Coral Reefs

July 9, 2021

Coral reefs are a favorite spot for scuba divers and are among the world’s most diverse ecosystems. For example, the Hawaiian coral reefs, known as the...

New NIST Reference Material Aids in Measurement of Cocoa's Active Molecules

July 1, 2021

Cocoa, the substance from which chocolate is made, is thought to have benefits to the human cardiovascular system and so has been the focus of many clinical...

A New Control for Measuring Active Compounds and Contaminants in Ginger Root

June 30, 2021

A new NIST reference material for ginger, a popular remedy for nausea, provides values for arsenic, mercury, and lead, helping manufacturers ensure that their...

Two New NIST Reference Materials for Assuring Measurements of Nutrients in Formula

June 30, 2021

To help ensure that babies and patients get all the essential amino acids and other nutrients that they need, infant and prescription adult nutritional formulas...

First-Ever Reference Material for Measuring Conversion of Heat to Electrical Energy at High Temps

May 27, 2021

Standard Reference Material (SRM) 3452 enables, for the first time, instrument validation and interlaboratory data comparison to support the research...

cartoon cow and chicken using slingshots to fling pairs of entangled photons through a glass of milk and a chicken cutlet

Spotlight: Two Photons Walk Into a Chicken

May 26, 2021

In weird but potentially practical news, NIST researchers headed to the grocery store to find out. Not as a joke, but as a step toward better imaging methods...

NIST, Collaborators Develop New Method to Better Study Microscopic Plastics in the Ocean

May 20, 2021

If you’ve been to your local beach, you may have noticed the wind tossing around litter such as an empty potato chip bag or a plastic straw. These plastics...

New Research Could Help Manufacturers Avoid 3D-Printing Pitfall

May 19, 2021

A research team has found that a method commonly used to skirt one of metal 3D printing’s biggest problems may be far from a silver bullet. For manufacturers...

Five fragments of moon dust glow in bright colors on a black background.

Measuring the Moon’s Nano Dust Is No Small Matter

April 28, 2021

Like a chameleon of the night sky, the Moon often changes its appearance. It might look larger, brighter or redder, for example, due to its phases, its position...

microscopic, cross-section view of a defect within a 3D-printed titanium part

Spotlight: Getting Familiar With the Lifespan of 3D-Printed Parts

April 26, 2021

All manufactured materials have defects that can ultimately lead to their failure. But even with that known truth, people are turning away from a new...

A woman wearing purple gloves adjusts tubing inside a scientific device.

Spotlight: Screening for Kidney Disease With Accurate Measurements

April 15, 2021

If you have a fear of needles, getting a urine test is a pain-free way for doctors to screen for kidney disease or any signs of kidney damage. Clinicians...

An illustration of a green sphere made of puzzle pieces against a dark background.

Scientists Develop Cell With Synthetic Genome That Grows and Divides Normally

March 29, 2021

New findings shed light on mechanisms controlling the most basic processes of life.

NIST Puts New Biopharmaceutical Quality Control Method to the Test

March 29, 2021

A new method for monitoring biopharmaceutical product quality was recently put to the test by The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and 28...

NIST Quality Assurance Program for Health Assessment Measurements Open for Registration

March 26, 2021

The latest exercise in NIST's Health Assessment Measurements Quality Assurance Program ( HAMQAP) is open for registration. HAMQAP, a collaboration with the...

Study Indicates That Humidity in Breath Makes Cotton Masks More Effective at Slowing the Spread of COVID-19

March 9, 2021

Researchers have come up with a better way to test which fabrics work best for masks that are meant to slow the spread of COVID-19. By testing those fabrics...

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