NIST RESEARCH FOR INDUSTRY Tahndogg On the Inside DNA "Fingerprints" Robotic Humvee NIST U.S. DEPARTMENT OF Technology Administration National Institute of October 1992 Dental Process Fills in Cavities Chewing gum and toothpaste An exclusive license to use products and chewing gum has been granted by the American The process involves adding desensitize teeth that react "Lens" Focuses In a joint effort with col laborators from the Kurchatov The system includes a "lens" AT A GLANCE Standards Kit for A new Standard Reference DNA profiles are used with in- Laboratories that follow Tahndogy AT A GLANCE NIST is an agency of the US. Department of Commerce's Technology Administration. Its mission is to strengthen U.S. industry's competitiveness, advance science and engineering, and improve public health, safety, and the environment. Technology at a Glance is produced by the Public Affairs Division, A903 Administration Bldg., NIST, Gaithersburg, Md 20899. Any mention of commercial products is for information only, it does not imply recommendation or endorsement by NIST. Contact: Gail Porter, (301) 975-3392, with comments or general inquiries. each step of the complex DNA profiling process. Several groups, including the congressional Office of Technology Assessment and the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering, have urged that standards be made available to the forensic and medical communities to help improve quality control of DNA profiling analyses. The 3-year project to develop and certify the SRM was partially funded by the National Institute of Justice. Contact: Dennis Reeder, (301) 975-3128. Neutron Lens continued from previous page aerospace alloys, hightemperature superconductors, high-technology coatings, and other materials. The detector consists of a commercially available video-camera light sensor coated with a neutronsensitive lithium compound. The lens is made from a bundle of 721 precisely curved lead-silica glass fibers, each one containing 1,261 hollow glass channels. Each channel is only 6 micrometers in diameter, or about one-tenth the width of a human hair. The graphic on page 1 depicts the focusing effects of the channels as the detector is moved in 1-centimeter intervals away from the end of the fibers (top to bottom). The green, yellow, orange, and red regions represent greater to lower numbers of neutrons respectively hitting the detector. Contact: Greg Downing, SHORTS FIRES IN SPACE NIS researchers have been known to go to great lengths to wadunt ar expensent Now they can say they ve gele ta great heights as we i institute fise tersearchers and Curled jups trun the NASA Lewis Research Center dove and a series of fire text conacted this sucremer on board the space shuttle Colum The tests were desiged to show how riec‡r cai wres burn a longaudy etivt unment. The lack of hunivar for flames interogravity causes differences intame pad and other fire characteristics for those teen of Earth Hi from the project wil help improve fire safety of electrical equi ment for futute Space Baveers Contact Taxshi Kishwig. A HUMANLESS HUMVEE New Products A new report summarizes the materials science and technology programs of 10 federal agencies, including names and phone numbers for further information. To receive a copy of Advanced Materials and Processing: the Fiscal Year 1993 Program, send a selfaddressed mailing label to: Advanced Materials and sible applications-tiny tweezers that sense microscopic particles and hold them delivery systems that can be in place for analysis, drug implanted inside the body, or minisensors that detect collisions to trigger air bags in automobiles. The NIST researchers have used the new technique to design and manufacture arrays of tiny "heaters" that can be used to test and calibrate infrared imaging systems. (See photo below.) Optical ETC of Huntsville, Ala., is cooperating with NIST and plans to incorporate the technology into a commercial product. The researchers also are working to design micro-sensors for environmental monitoring, real-time control of industrial chemical processing, and highprecision power sensors. Contact: Michael Gaitan, (301) 975-2070. Processing Program, B309 An upgraded version (4.0) of the NIST/EPA/NIH Mass Spectral Data Base is now available. It includes 62,000 mass spectra for pharmaceuticals, flavors, fragrances, industrial chemicals, and many other compounds. Contact: Standard Reference Data Program, (301) 975-2208. |