Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Material Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

Keyword

Topic Area

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

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

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

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 research chemist Jeanita Pritchett extracts nicotine and tobacco-specific compounds from a candidate Standard Reference Material (SRM)

New NIST Reference Material Helps Assure Accurate Measurement of Constituents in Tobacco Products

September 12, 2016

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued a reference material with certified amounts of nicotine and two carcinogens to help ensure

Perfluorinated Compounds Found in African Crocodiles, American Alligators

August 25, 2016

American alligators and South African crocodiles populate waterways a third of the globe apart, and yet both have detectable levels of long-lived industrial and

Three-dimensional culture of human breast cancer cells, with DNA stained blue and a protein in the cell surface membrane stained green.

NIST and Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research Help Ensure Accurate Clinical Measurements of HER2 Breast Cancer Gene

August 17, 2016

A new measurement standard developed by the National Institute of Standards of Technology (NIST) has been used successfully by the Frederick National Laboratory

A Message from the MML Director

August 15, 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

NIST Standard Story: For Laboratory Use Only

August 15, 2016

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

Let’s Roll: Material for Polymer Solar Cells May Lend Itself to Large-Area Processing

August 12, 2016

For all the promise they have shown in the lab, polymer solar cells still need to “get on a roll” like the ones employed in printing newspapers so that large

An Extraordinary Standard: New NIST Protein Could Spur Biopharmaceutical Innovation

July 28, 2016

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued one of the world's most intricate measurement standards: an exhaustively

NISTmAb: Portrait of an "Anchor Molecule"

July 28, 2016

Companies will continue to generate and maintain their own in-house standards for each specific monoclonal antibody therapeutic drugs, but the new NIST

New Model May Help Solve the Mystery of How Lithium Stabilizes Moods

July 27, 2016

New measurements may have lifted the veil on the vexingly elusive interactions through which lithium can moderate the manic highs and debilitating lows

NIST–FDA Workshop Report: Standards for Pathogen Detection via NextGeneration Sequencing

July 25, 2016

October 27-28, 2015 NIST Gaithersburg, MD Organizers: Scott Jackson 1, Heike Sichtig 2, Brittany Goldberg 2, Chelsie Geyer 2, Jason Kralj 1 1 National Institute

Illustration of prefilling a carbon nanotube with a desired chemical of known properties.

Simpler, Faster and Cheaper: A Full-filling Approach to Making Carbon Nanotubes of Consistent Quality

July 15, 2016

Just as many of us might be resigned to clogged salt shakers or rush-hour traffic, those working to exploit the special properties of carbon nanotubes have

With New CRADA, NIST Ups Its Measurement R&D In Support of Precision Medicine Diagnostics

July 14, 2016

NIST efforts to support accurate diagnostic testing so that cancer treatments can be tailored to the tumor DNA and other characteristics particular to

When efavirenz binds to CYP46A1 at the site shown, it increases the flexibility of the protein in the region around cholesterol.

Shape-Changing Enzyme Suggests How Small Doses of Anti-HIV Drug Might Treat Alzheimer's Disease

June 28, 2016

For a promising pathway to treating Alzheimer's patients, "aim here." That's what National Institute of Standards of Technology (NIST) researchers advised

A Call for Developing—and Using—Consensus Standards to Ensure the Quality of Cell Lines

June 14, 2016

Mainstays of biomedical research, permanent lines of cloned cells are used to study the biology of health and disease and to test prospective medical therapies

NIST and Stanford Launch Long-Term Measurement Initiative to Boost the U.S. Bio-Economy

May 20, 2016

STANFORD, Calif.—The U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Stanford University announced today that they are

NIST Forensic Scientist Helps Vietnamese Counterparts Identify Wartime Remains

May 18, 2016

In a Hanoi, Vietnam, hotel conference room, Mike Coble led a group of scientists through a series of calculations. Coble's presentation was heavy on the

Advanced communications
-Open Radio Access Network (Open-RAN)
-Quantum communications
-Spectrum sharing
-Wireless (RF)
Bioscience
-Bioeconomy
--Biological data
-Bioimaging
-Bioinformatics
-Biomanufacturing
-Biomaterials
-Biometrology
-Biosecurity
--Biosurveillance
--Genomic cybersecurity
--Nucleic acid sequence screening
-Cell measurements
-Engineering / synthetic biology
--Biofabrication
--Cell-free systems
--Genome engineering
--Protein engineering
-Gene delivery systems
-Genome editing
-Genomics
-Glycomics
-Metabolomics
-Microbial measurements
-Proteomics
-Transcriptomics
Buildings and Construction
-Building codes and standards
-Building control systems
-Building damage and repair
-Building economics
-Building materials
-Energy efficiency
-Heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment
-Indoor air quality
-Structural engineering
-Thermal comfort
Chemistry
-Analytical chemistry
-Chemical engineering and processing
-Chemical thermodynamics and chemical properties
-Molecular characterization
-Theoretical chemistry and modeling
-Thermochemical properties
Electronics
-Electromagnetics
-Flexible electronics
-Magnetoelectronics
-Optoelectronics
-Organic electronics
-Semiconductors
-Sensors
-Superconducting electronics
Energy
-Alternative energy
-Conventional energy
-Electric power / smart grid
-Fuels
Environment
-Air / water / soil quality
-Climate Measurements
-Environmental health
-Greenhouse gas measurements
-Marine science
-Sustainability
Fire
-Fire detection
-Fire dynamics and science
-Fire fighting
-Fire modeling
-Fire risk reduction
-Materials flammability
-Structural fire resistance
-Wildland urban interface fire
Forensic Science
-Digital evidence
-Drugs and toxicology
-Firearms and toolmarks
-Forensic biometrics
-Forensic genetics
-Trace evidence
Health
-Biopharmaceuticals
-Cell and gene therapy
-Clinical diagnostics
--Cancer
--Medical imaging
-Food and nutrition
-Human microbiome
-Precision medicine
-Regenerative medicine and advanced therapy
--Flow cytometry
Information technology
-Artificial intelligence
--AI measurement and evaluation
--Applied AI
--Fundamental AI
--Hardware for AI
--Machine learning
--Trustworthy and responsible AI
-Biometrics
-Cloud computing and virtualization
-Complex systems
-Computational science
-Conformance testing
-Cyber-physical systems
--Smart cities
-Cybersecurity
--Cryptography
--Cybersecurity education and workforce development
--Cybersecurity measurement
--Identity and access management
--Privacy engineering
--Risk management
--Securing emerging technologies
--Trustworthy networks
--Trustworthy platforms
-Data and informatics
--Human language technology
--Information retrieval
--Natural language processing
-Federal information processing standards (FIPS)
-Health IT
-Internet of Things (IoT)
-Interoperability testing
-Location based services
-Mobile
-Networking
--Mobile and wireless networking
--Network management and monitoring
--Network modeling and analysis
--Network security and robustness
--Network test and measurement
--Next generation networks
--Protocol design and standardization
--Software defined and virtual networks
-Privacy
-Software research
--Software testing
-Usability and human factors
--Accessibility
-Video analytics
-Virtual / augmented reality
-Visualization research
-Voting systems
Infrastructure
Manufacturing
-Additive manufacturing
-Factory communications
-Factory operations planning and control
-Interoperability in manufacturing
-Machining
-Manufacturing economics
-Manufacturing quality assurance
-Manufacturing systems design and analysis
-Monitoring, diagnostics and prognostics
-Process improvement
-Process measurement and control
-Product data
-Robotics in manufacturing
--Agility and adaptability
--Collaborative robots
--Dexterous grasping
--Manipulation
--Mobility and industrial autonomous vehicles
--Navigation / actuation / control
--Sensing and perception
-Supply chain
-Sustainable manufacturing
-Systems engineering
-Systems integration
-Technology commercialization
Materials
-Ceramics
-Composites
-Concrete / cement
-Materials characterization
--Composition and structure
--Mechanical properties
--Thermal properties
-Metals
-Modeling and computational material science
-Polymers
-Superconductors
Mathematics and statistics
-Experiment design
-Image and signal processing
-Modeling and simulation research
-Numerical methods and software
-Statistical analysis
-Uncertainty quantification
Metrology
-Amount of substance
-Dimensional metrology
-Electrical / electromagnetic metrology
-Flow metrology and rheology
-Force metrology
-Humidity metrology
-Ionizing radiation metrology
-Mass metrology
-Metric
-Optical / photometry / laser metrology
-Pressure and vacuum metrology
-Thermometry metrology
-Time and frequency metrology
-Weights and measures
Nanotechnology
-Nanobiotechnology
-Nanochemistry
-Nanoelectronics
-Nanofabrication / manufacturing
--Lithography
--Self-assembly
-Nanofluidics
-Nanomagnetics
-Nanomaterials
-Nanomechanics
-Nanometrology
-Nanophotonics
-Nanophysics
-Nanoplasmonics
Neutron research
Performance excellence
-Assessment tools and services
-Baldrige award
-Baldrige examiners
-Baldrige Framework and Criteria
-Best practices
-Leadership development
Physics
-Atomic / molecular / quantum
-Biological physics
-Condensed matter
-Electron physics
-Magnetics
-Nuclear physics
-Optical physics and communications
-Quantum information science
-Radiation
-Spectroscopy
-Thermodynamics
-Time and frequency
Public safety
-Chemical / Biological / Radiological / Nuclear / Explosives (CBRNE)
-First responder preparedness
-Law enforcement
-Public safety communications research
-Response robots
Resilience
-Community resilience
--Recovery
--Resilience metrics
-Disaster and failure studies
-Earthquake risk reduction
-Resilience economics
-Resilient materials
-Windstorm impact reduction
Standards
-Accreditation
-Calibration services
-Conformity assessment
-Documentary standards
-Frameworks
-Quality assurance
-Reference data
-Reference instruments
-Reference materials
-Standards education
Technology transfer
Transportation
-Aerospace
-Automotive