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On Jan. 4, President Obama signed the America COMPETES Act, which supports an array of strategies for maintaining America's leadership in science and technology. Among the Act's important provisions is one encouraging the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to expand upon its work with the private sector to develop new standards for a range of vital industries such as emergency communications and tracking, green manufacturing, high performance green building construction, and cloud computing.

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Using a new experimental test structure, biophysicists at JILA have unraveled part of a 15-year mystery in the mechanics of DNA--just how the molecule manages to suddenly extend to almost twice its normal length.

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JILA researchers have developed a laser-based source of terahertz radiation that is unusually efficient and less prone to damage than similar systems. The technology might be useful in applications such as detecting trace gases or imaging weapons in security screening.

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At a January 7 forum with Silicon Valley business and academic leaders at Stanford University, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard A. Schmidt announced plans to create a National Program Office to help foster an environment in which sensitive online transactions can be carried out with greater levels of trust.

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Quality, innovation and performance excellence will be in full bloom at the 23rd annual Quest for Excellence® Conference. Registration is now open for the April 4-6, 2011, event that will showcase the best practices and lessons learned of the seven 2010 Baldrige Award recipient organizations along with those from past awardees.

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The quantum computers of tomorrow might use photons, or particles of light, to move around the data they need to make calculations, but photons are tricky to work with. Two new papers by NIST researchers point to ways to build reliable sources of single photons for use in photon-based quantum computers.

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NIST researchers have found a novel, and potentially widely applicable, method to expand the capabilities of conventional transmission electron microscopes by adding a new twist to their electron beams.

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New measurements by NIST researchers may affect the design of devices that rely on the high mobility of electrons in graphene--they show that layering graphene on a substrate transforms its bustling speedway into steep hills and valleys that make it harder for electrons to get around.

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An international research team working with NIST scientists has suggested for the first time that mercury cycling in the flora and fauna of the Arctic may be linked to the amount of ice cover present.

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As the day draws nearer for the world to run out of the unique addresses that allow us to use the Internet researchers at NIST have issued a guide for managers, network engineers, transition teams and others to help them deploy the next generation Internet Protocol (IPv6) securely.

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Three scientists at NIST were elected as 2010 fellows of the American Physical Society (APS), an honor bestowed upon association members by their peers.

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Medical researchers who crave a means of exploring the genetic culprits behind a host of neuromuscular disorders may have just had their wish granted by a NIST team that has performed surgery on single cells to extract and examine their mitochondria.

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For Web site owners and bloggers, there is a new widget from NIST that will keep your Web pages right on time.

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Two new draft publications from NIST provide the groundwork for a three-tiered risk-management approach that encompasses computer security risk planning from the highest levels of management to the systems level. The draft documents have been released for public comment.

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The top science news of 2010, as compiled by several science magazines, includes several stories from NIST.

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Out of the original 64, there now are five candidates left in the ongoing multi-year competition to create the next 'hash' algorithm to protect the integrity of electronic information.

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On Jan. 4, President Obama signed the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, which provides several important updates to NIST funding, programs and leadership.

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NIST announced today that Phillip Singerman has been appointed to the newly created position of Associate Director for Innovation and Industry Services. Singerman will lead NIST's suite of external partnership programs including the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the Technology Innovation Program and the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program.

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Is the expansion of the universe accelerating for some unknown reason? A telescope newly calibrated by scientists from NIST, Harvard University and the University of Hawaii, astrophysicists can be more certain of one day obtaining an accurate answer.

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Two new publications from NIST can help developers of software and computer systems for doctors’ offices, clinics, and hospitals improve the ease of use of electronic health records (EHRs). Efforts to improve the usability of EHRs are widely recognized as key to achieving widespread adoption and meaningful use of these systems.