News and Updates

Displaying 1 - 25 of 93

Sam Schaffter poses sitting in his office with a shoebox modified with craft supplies to be an educational model of an E. coli cell.

Social Spotlight: Engineered Cells as a Shoebox

October 19, 2024

Scientists often face a challenge in explaining their highly technical research to the general public.

NIST Awards Up to $1.5 Million to Support Development of Regenerative Medicine Standards Curricula

October 8, 2024

The awardees will create training programs on the standards, protocols and measurements underpinning the field.

Now Live: Living Cells Can Be Seen With Infrared Light

September 9, 2024

NIST researchers use new method to measure biomolecules in live cells.

Sierra Miller sits at a desk facing a computer screen.

Spotlight: For Bioinformaticist Sierra Miller, the Scientific Breakthrough Is Hidden in the Data

May 13, 2024

Sometimes, the scientific breakthrough isn’t an “aha” moment in a lab; it’s hidden in the data produced by the experiment.

NIST, Nonprofit Research Consortium to Develop Safety Tools for Synthetic Biology to Defend Against Potential Misuse of AI

February 16, 2024

The cooperative agreement is the next step in NIST’s fulfillment of the White House Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence.

Illustration shows a gloved hand holding a puzzle piece that fits into the center of a puzzle showing the letter Y.

Researchers Fully Sequence the Y Chromosome for the First Time

August 23, 2023

What was once the final frontier of the human genome — the Y chromosome — has just been mapped out in its entirety.

A hand in a purple glove turns a metal dial on a plate holding tiny vials of purple liquid.

NIST Develops New Nondestructive Method for Assessing Bioengineered Artificial Tissues

May 5, 2023

Real-time technique noninvasively counts the number of live cells in a 3D artificial scaffold.

NIST Develops Yeast Material for Training First Responders on Biothreats

January 4, 2023

Researchers based the material on baker’s yeast because it is harmless and a living biological material.

Molecules Have an Orientation, and Scientists Have a New Way to Measure It

December 8, 2022

Molecular orientation is key to designing better materials.

An illustration of a Scrabble board, including the words "CRISPR," "EDIT," and "TEMPLATE."

Genome Editing Terminology Is Standardized in NIST-Led Effort

August 11, 2022

It’s good to be clear about your intentions, especially if you intend to edit someone’s DNA.

A gloved hand is holding up a small plastic vial labeled "RGTM plasmid."

NIST Develops Genetic Material for Validating Mpox Tests

July 27, 2022

NIST is making the new material freely available to testing laboratories and diagnostic test manufacturers worldwide.

Petri dish holds brown material with several different types of circular microbes.

Spotlight: Going With the Gut for the Future of Health

June 27, 2022

NIST researchers are developing a human gut microbiome reference material.

Where Once Were Black Boxes, NIST’s New LANTERN Illuminates

June 22, 2022

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new statistical tool that they have used to predict protein function.

NIST Study Gives Animal Testing Alternatives a Confidence Boost

May 17, 2022

Researchers at NIST have worked with the CPSC and Inotiv Inc. to produce a new protocol for screening skin allergens.

An open black box with foam inserts holds plastic vials labeled SRM 2917.

NIST Collaborates With EPA to Develop a Standard to Improve Fecal Pollution Measurements in Recreational Waters

April 6, 2022

As we approach summer beach season, you may occasionally encounter a "keep out" sign indicating that the area is temporarily closed. If fecal pollution is

First Complete Human Genome Poised to Strengthen Genetic Analysis, NIST Study Shows

March 31, 2022

Alongside the newly updated human genome, which fills in long-standing gaps to fully spell out the more than 3 billion letters that compose our genetic code, a

Revamped Design Could Take Powerful Biological Computers From the Test Tube to the Cell

March 23, 2022

Tiny biological computers made of DNA could revolutionize the way we diagnose and treat a slew of diseases, once the technology is fully fleshed out. However, a

New Benchmark Could Improve Detection of Genetic Variants Linked to Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Other Diseases

February 7, 2022

The stretches of DNA that differ from person to person, called variants, are a major part of what makes us unique, but they can also put us at greater risk of

Ana Barrios poses for a selfie wearing safety glasses.

Spotlight: Ana Barrios Is Listening to Her Gut and Replicating Yours

January 18, 2022

Gut reactions — NIST postdoctoral researcher Ana Barrios is preparing a cell-based model of the human gut for future animal-free experiments with nanoplastics

A woman (Diane Nelson) in a mask and lab coat works with plastic test tubes at a lab bench.

Spotlight: Taking a Closer Look at Human Lungs With Postdoctoral Researcher Diane Nelson

December 9, 2021

A breath of fresh air — Diane Nelson recently joined NIST as a postdoctoral researcher, open to opportunities and committed to her craft. The inner workings of

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

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

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

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.

Spotlight: Putting NIST at the Forefront of Genome Editing

February 23, 2021

We started from the bottom and now we’re here — geneticist and molecular biologist Samantha Maragh brought NIST into a revolution for the biomedical sciences

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