News and Updates

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Left side is a photo of a firefighter dressed in full equipment, including heavy clothing, a helmet and a breathing mask. Right side is a diagram showing the three layers typically found in firefighter gear: outer shell, moisture barrier and thermal barrier.

PFAS Found in Firefighter Gloves, Hoods and Wildland Gear

December 17, 2024

The amount of PFAS in each sample varied greatly, so it may be possible to design gear that reduces exposure.

NIST Scientists Use DNA Origami on a Chip to Detect Biomolecules

October 17, 2024

Using strands of DNA to create miniature hinges that pop open or shut when binding to specific molecules, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and

NIST Awards $15 Million to ASTM International to Establish Standardization Center of Excellence

October 15, 2024

The new center will support U.S. engagement in international standardization for critical and emerging technologies.

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.

NIST Research Leader Featured in Medical IoT Discussions

October 1, 2024

NIST researcher Dr. Edward Griffor has contributed to recent dialogs on the role of Internet of Things technologies to advance future healthcare. For a podcast

Now Live: Living Cells Can Be Seen With Infrared Light

September 9, 2024

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

Spotlight: Game-Changing Microscopy Technique for Identifying Cancerous Cells

September 3, 2024

Breast-conserving surgery, or lumpectomy, is a treatment for early-stage breast cancer. It’s important for surgeons to remove enough tissue around the tumor to

Cassie Stoffer smiles while wearing safety glasses and standing next to a large metal tank with many pipes and wires attached to it.

Spotlight: Cassie Stoffer Helps Run Calibration and Measurement Services Related to Magnetic Resonance

August 27, 2024

If you ask NIST physicist Cassie Stoffer what she finds most exciting about science, it’s seeing what she learned in a textbook have real-world applications

NIST Researchers to Test New Approach for Detecting Cannabis in Breath

August 15, 2024

The new approach involves two breath tests separated by a specified time interval.

SURF student Zainab Altamimi, who wears a hijab, stands in a lab with safety glasses and gloves on as she holds a micropipette in one hand and a vial in the other.

Spotlight: SURF Student Zainab Altamimi Spends Her Summer Researching the Capsules and Tablets in 3D Drug Printing

August 6, 2024

From antibiotics to insulin, there have been shortages of many lifesaving drugs in recent years, requiring doctors and patients to adapt treatment plans. But

NIST Participates in White House Summit on Standards for Critical and Emerging Technology

July 29, 2024

A new Implementation Roadmap provides recommendations and actions for putting the U.S. standards strategy into effect.

A high-tech laboratory with large black equipment featuring two circular insets showing detailed machinery setups. A computer workstation is in the foreground.

From Pandemics to Pedicures: NIST Rebuilds World-Class UV Calibration System

July 22, 2024

UV detectors need to be carefully calibrated to ensure that the UV light used is both safe and effective.

Illustration shows a breathalyzer device with a paper report and microscope slides.

NIST Partners With the Gates Foundation to Develop Breathalyzers for Malaria and Tuberculosis

June 26, 2024

NIST will create the standards and tools needed to ensure that the breathalyzers work.

Research Finds Dolphins With Elevated Mercury Levels in Florida and Georgia

June 12, 2024

Scientists said their study could inform future research on mercury in humans living in the affected areas.

With Some Bumps, NIST Scientists Devise a Novel Way to Extend the Wavelength Range of Microcombs

June 5, 2024

Microcombs – chip-scale devices that generate and measure frequencies of light with exquisite accuracy – have transformed timekeeping and boosted optical

NIST Awards Over $1.2 Million to Small Businesses to Advance Cybersecurity, Biopharmaceuticals, Semiconductors and More

May 15, 2024

The awards will fund research and development of new products relating to cybersecurity, quantum computing, health care, semiconductor manufacturing and other

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.

Tiny red cylinder probes are presented in front of a much larger ice cube.

Spotlight: Shape-Shifting Probes Will Help Improve MRI Imaging

April 12, 2024

Not all gems are the precious stone kind. In the field of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a type of microscopic magnetic probes called geometrically encoded

NIST Researchers Use Cellphone Compass to Measure Tiny Concentrations of Compounds Important for Human Health

April 1, 2024

Nearly every modern cellphone has a built-in compass, or magnetometer, that detects the direction of Earth’s magnetic field, providing critical information for

Researchers develop a new type of frequency comb that promises to further boost the accuracy of time keeping

March 14, 2024

Chip-based devices known as frequency combs, which measure the frequency of light waves with unparalleled precision, have revolutionized time keeping, the

Artist’s rendering of an organ-on-a-chip device

NIST-Led Working Group Developing Standards for Organ-on-a-Chip Research

February 22, 2024

When testing a new medicine, researchers must do more than assess how well that drug works. They also have to determine whether the medicine has some negative

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.