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Material Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

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A Light Bright and Tiny: NIST Scientists Build a Better Nanoscale LED

August 14, 2020

A new design for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) developed by a team including scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may hold the

Two birds with black heads and white bellies stand on a rock.

Climate Variability May Alter Pollutants in Some Sub-Arctic Birds

August 11, 2020

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Emory University have discovered that some bird species in the sub-Arctic tend to ingest

woman stands at mass spectrometer machine

NIST Expands Database That Helps Identify Unknown Compounds in Milk

July 27, 2020

Got milk? Most people have seen the famous ads featuring celebrities that highlight the importance of drinking milk for building strong bones. Research shows

Green leafy material inside a graduated cylinder.

NIST to Help Labs Achieve Accurate THC, CBD Measurements

July 21, 2020

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has launched a program to help laboratories accurately measure key chemical compounds in marijuana

Micrograph shows coiled fibers on yellow background with inset of lighter yellow square.

Face Coverings Made From Layered Cotton Fabric Likely Slow the Spread of COVID-19 Better Than Synthetics, New Study Finds

June 29, 2020

Researchers have completed a new study of how well a variety of natural and synthetic fabrics filter particles of a similar size to the virus that causes COVID

Vapor-Liquid Equilibria Article- the #1 Most Downloaded paper from the Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data

June 25, 2020

A paper from members of the Applied Chemicals and Materials Division has 762 downloads from the Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data in the last 30 days

Woman uses gas analysis mass spectrometer at NBS for chemical analysis of gas or vapor mixtures

NIST Adds New 'Fingerprints' to Chemical Identification Database

June 17, 2020

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has updated its database of chemical fingerprints, called mass spectra, that are used to identify

A scientist stands in front of a book, which represents the human genome, and tries to identify the missing pieces or chapters.

NIST Develops Benchmark for Accurately Detecting Large Genetic Mutations Linked to Major Diseases

June 15, 2020

Many serious diseases, including autism, schizophrenia and numerous cardiac disorders, are believed to result from mutation of an individual’s DNA. But some

A man wearing safety goggles leans over a scientific device.

Spotlight: Collaboration With CHiMaD to Build New Materials That Can Take a Hit

June 8, 2020

Impact in 3 … 2 … 1 … Meet Marcos Reyes-Martinez, a NIST researcher working to build new materials that could protect fragile items in transit, spacecraft

Spotlight: Elijah Petersen's Professional Journey in Chemical Toxicity

May 28, 2020

Particles, big or small: NIST’s Elijah Petersen is ready to investigate them all. Walk through the phases of his professional journey in chemical toxicity

A large brown seal is in the snow. It has whiskers that look like a beard on a human male.

NIST Helps Expand Genome Sequencing of Marine Mammals

May 7, 2020

Researchers will soon have access to the full genomic sequences for 23 marine mammal species preserved by the National Institute of Standards and Technology

$an opalescent close up of Roman glass. There is a clear semi-circular fracture in the center of the piece.$

Spotlight: George Quinn and Roman Glass Fractography

May 2, 2020

Cracking the code for artifacts of antiquity — NIST guest researcher George Quinn is applying his expertise in fractography to ancient Roman glass. Our world is

In Glowing Colors: Seeing the Spread of Drug Particles in a Forensic Lab

April 22, 2020

When two scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) brought black lights and glow powder into the Maryland State Police crime lab

Calibration of a Commercial Rheometer for Orthogonal Superposition Measurement

March 12, 2020

NIST researchers have addressed crucial calibration procedures for an advanced rheological technique that can make measurements on the structural dynamics of

Small variations in bottlebrush polymers result in measurable changes

February 24, 2020

NIST scientists have found that very small changes in the structure of bottlebrush polymers prepared by “precision synthesis” result in measurable differences

NIST researcher in a laboratory room looking at tall vertical microscope with multicolored wires emanating from it.

A Simple Retrofit Transforms Ordinary Electron Microscopes Into High-Speed Atom-Scale Cameras

February 24, 2020

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their collaborators have developed a way to retrofit the transmission electron

A large whale is halfway out of the water, about to breach.

A Better Pregnancy Test for Whales

February 20, 2020

It’s not easy to do pregnancy tests on whales. You can’t just ask a wild ocean animal that’s the size of a school bus to pee on a little stick. For decades, the

Micrograph shows several connected trenches of metal on dark background.

Spotlight: Bottoms-Up Metal-Filling

February 19, 2020

A method worth its metal — filling microscopic holes with gold can be tricky, but NIST scientist Daniel Josell is up for the challenge. A type of medical

A man in a hard hard is holding a clipboard and looking towards a large wind turbine.

An Early Warning System for Damage in Composite Materials

February 18, 2020

A team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a tool to monitor changes in widely used composite materials known as fiber

$Electron backscatter diffraction for additive manufacturing, 1 of 2$