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Material Measurement Laboratory

Chemical Sciences Division

News and Updates

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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

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

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-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 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

How Refreshing: NIST's Natural Air Standards Support Accurate Greenhouse Gas Measurements

February 19, 2016

When it comes to tallying emissions of greenhouse gases, there is no better substitute than directly measuring the atmosphere. But this important accounting can

Researchers Find Organic Pollutants Not Factor in Turtle Tumor Disease

July 15, 2014

For nearly four decades, scientists have suspected that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) contributed to a green turtle's susceptibility to the virus that

High school student Jessica Young checking the packing density of random aggregates of plastic spheres in a cylinder.

Snowballs to Soot: The Clumping Density of Many Things Seems to Be a Standard

June 10, 2014

Particles of soot floating through the air and comets hurtling through space have at least one thing in common: 0.36. That, reports a research group at the

A New NIST Online Database: The NIST Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Structure Index

January 6, 2014

Recently, a new website containing a wealth of information on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was made publicly available by NIST. PAHs are compounds

NIST Nose a Hit When They Smell It: A New Generation of Odor-Releasing Materials for Training Dogs

September 17, 2013

Traditionally, the training of bomb-sniffing dogs has been a hazardous job, but newly developed odor-releasing materials could take the risk out of that work

Innovation in Spectroscopy Could Improve Greenhouse Gas Detection

May 14, 2013

Detecting greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could soon become far easier with the help of an innovative technique* developed by a team at the National

New Reference Material to Help Get the Lead Out of Paints for Children's Products

October 16, 2012

To help manufacturers adhere to new regulations intended to reduce the risk of lead poisoning in children, researchers at the National Institute of Standards

A hawksbill sea turtle swims above a coral reef in waters off the British Virgin Islands.

Pollutants Could Pose Health Risks for Five Sea Turtle Species

June 27, 2012

Researchers at the Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML) and four partner organizations have measured for the first time concentrations of 13 perfluoroalkyl

SRM 2907: Reference Material for Explosive Traces

New NIST SRM Supports the Fight Against Terrorist Bombings

May 29, 2012

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a new standard reference material (SRM) to aid in the detection of two explosive

Researchers Find Reducing Fishmeal Hinders Growth of Farmed Fish

May 2, 2012

When it comes to the food used to raise fish in aquaculture "farms," it seems that you may get what you pay for. In a new study,* researchers from the National

NIST Releases Two New SRMs for Monitoring Human Exposure to Environmental Toxins

January 10, 2012

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has developed two new

Marine Lab Research Tracks Pollutants in Dolphins and Beluga Whales

May 10, 2011

Bottlenose dolphins* and beluga whales**, two marine species at or near the top of their respective food webs, accumulate more chemical pollutants in their

Travel Hazards: Two Studies Start to Map Pollutant Threats to Turtles

April 26, 2011

In a pair of studies—one recently published online* and the other soon-to-be published**— researchers at the Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML), a government

NIST, ASTM Land a One-Two Punch to Fight Explosives Terrorism

March 30, 2011

Trace-explosives detectors (TEDs) are an increasingly common sight at airports and on loading docks, and emergency response personnel carry them to evaluate

Eggs Show Arctic Mercury Cycling May Be Linked to Ice Cover

January 19, 2011

An international research team working with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) scientists at the Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML) in

New NIST Dietary Supplement Reference Materials Could Be 'Berry' Useful

November 9, 2010

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers have developed new certified reference materials for measuring amounts of organic acids in

Archaeologists routinely use radiometric dating to determine the age of materials such as ancient campfires and mammoth teeth.

Research Shows Radiometric Dating Still Reliable (Again)

September 14, 2010

Recent puzzling observations of tiny variations in nuclear decay rates have led some to question the science of using decay rates to determine the relative ages

NDE Methods for Evaluating Ancient Coins Could be Worth Their Weight in Gold

May 25, 2010

Demonstrating that chemistry sometimes can inform history, researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Colorado College and

Marine Lab Hunts Subtle Clues to Environmental Threats to Blue Crabs

January 26, 2010

The Atlantic blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, long prized as a savory meal at a summer party or seafood restaurant, is a multi-million dollar source of income

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