News archive
Covid-19

Between 2020 and 2022, PTB’s International Cooperation group supported a project of the Inter-American Metrology System, or SIM (for Sistema Interamericana de Metrologia in Spanish), aimed at improving the basic metrology infrastructure for medical…

Expanding production capacities for vaccines is an important instrument to prevent and fight global pandemics. New approaches aimed toward finding solutions for local vaccine production are being provided by BioNTech through modular containers called…

Through what virtual formats can hands-on laboratory training be conducted when the on-site presence of all participants and the trainer is not possible? This question was already addressed by the PTB Capacity Development working group at an exchange of…

The promotion of drug and vaccine manufacturing, strengthening the regulatory framework or the harmonization of standards and their implementation — the intervention areas of quality infrastructure in the pharmaceutical sector in Africa are manifold. The…

The increasing availability of Covid-19 vaccines was an encouraging breakthrough in 2021 that turned a lot of things around. However, the pandemic is not over, and many of the challenges we encountered in 2020 remained. With a few exceptions, most of…

Thursday, 4 November 2021 | 10:00 – 15:45 hrs | SARS-CoV-2 and Future Pandemics

Lecturers: Stakeholders and Representatives from NMIs / DIs

Institute: European Metrology Network on Traceability in Laboratory Medicine | Technical Committee…

New type of measuring system determines nanoparticle concentration – successful transfer of technology from PTB to industry

Nanoparticles are real allrounders. In the field of medicine, for example, one interesting application involves using…

The many challenges posed by the Covid 19 pandemic have not only led to short-term changes. They could equally bring about long-term innovations. This is shown, for example, by a look at the Western Balkan countries. In March 2021, PTB hosted a virtual…

For over a year, the Covid-19 pandemic has harmed not only people’s health but also the economy. Similarly to other sectors, businesses have been hit hard by the risks and economic consequences from the restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the…

In view of the dramatic developments in the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries, PTB recently sent a description as well as technical drawings of an auxiliary ventilator to several partner countries, including India and Nepal.

At the initiative of…

Guidelines on virtual hands-on laboratory training

Can hands-on laboratory training be conducted remotely? What are some methods to virtually demonstrate how to handle laboratory equipment or remotely direct trainees to perform technical measurements?…

Tuesday 1 June 2021 | UTC 14:00 to 16:00* | Please check your local time.

3^rd virtual workshop

Piston pipettes calibration as part of a quality assurance program

Calibración de pipetas de pistón como parte de un programa de…

How can quality infrastructure, or QI for short, strengthen the economy during the Covid-19 pandemic? A team of internal and external PTB experts has examined this issue in a discussion paper. The topic was developed as a basis for discussion within PTB’s…

Since March 2020, the PTB's International Cooperation Group has been facing major challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The social and travel-related restrictions have led to the staff members having to transfer the project work almost completely to…

Everyone has been talking about PCR tests since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, but how are they related to quality infrastructure? What relevance does the topic have in the context of PTB's development cooperation? How can it be guaranteed that…

In 2020 correspondence took place between Dr. Marion Stoldt, Head of the PTB’s International Cooperation Department, and Dr. Annalisa Primi, Director of the OECD Development Centre’s Structural Politics and Innovation Department. Per this correspondence,…

In nearly all areas of our everyday life, Covid-19 has been presenting us with huge challenges. This also applies to our work routines. Whereas people working in certain professions can work from home, this is simply impossible for others. In such cases,…

The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated that health systems in most Latin America and the Caribbean are not well prepared for such a crisis. One of the most important bottlenecks to date are the lack of respiratory equipment, intensive care units,…

PTB investigates indoor air purifier developed in Braunschweig

The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) measured the internal irradiance of a prototype of an indoor UV-C air purification unit to gauge its effectiveness in neutralizing germs…

We will remember this unusual year long into the future. As we all know, there have been and still are many sad, difficult and challenging events.

Still, we will remember other aspects too: unrelenting willingness to help, solidarity and the speed at…

Today, we would like to draw your attention to a section of our covid-19 website devoted to working digitally.

Because we can no longer have meetings in person, including those on site in our partner countries, we have to rely on the digital world to…

Small and medium-sized enterprises in Columbia face many challenges to be competitive in local and international markets. One criterion is particularly crucial: the quality of products, as this is the basis of productivity. As a journalist from the…

We received an unanticipated assignment from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung) to help ensure the effectiveness of the face masks that are being used to…

The African Union Commission and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention are hosting a special workshop on promoting local manufacturing of personal protective equipment.

Date: Thursday, 3 September 2020

Time: 1.00-4.30 p.m. Eastern…

What does the spread of COVID-19 mean for PTB's International Cooperation Department and what challenges do we have to face? Effective immediately, the International Cooperation Department will be providing answers to these questions on a specially…

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, infrared thermometers have been in high demand throughout the world. These thermometers allow a person’s temperature to be taken contact-free and can provide an initial indication of whether they may have a…

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates that health systems in many countries – developed and developing – were not prepared for such a crisis. Since 2005, several organisations have warned about the consequences of pandemics, issuing recommendations to…

How can we prevent the spread of Covid-19 — especially in crowded places where people are queueing while they wait to buy chai, dhal curry or other food? This challenge moved health authorities in Sri Lanka to join forces with local business support…

Among the many challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic is the question of ensuring the quantity and at the same time the quality of protective masks, which are one among many types of protective equipment currently flooding the markets.

The PTB…

What are the proper procedures for face masks?

It is essential to use face masks properly in order to achieve the greatest possible protection.

Wash hands thoroughly, at least 20-30 seconds and with soap before putting on the face mask.

…

PTB's droplet digital PCR has what it takes to become a reference method to monitor the quality of medical analytical laboratories.

Scientists of the Berlin Institute of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) have adapted the…

Emergency aid to COVID-19 testing facilities in the Palestinian territories

A call for help from the Ministry of Health of the Palestinian National Authority reached PTB at the end of March: Laboratory analytics to test for coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 are…

Braunschweig's Fire Department will decide where to distribute them

It is usually considered impolite to regift presents so soon after receiving them, but the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) is making an exception in this case. PTB…

Dear blog visitors, dear friends, dear project partners and, of course, dear experts worldwide,

Things have become very quiet in the world, in Germany and at PTB due to the Corona Crisis. Those who can stay at home and work from there are doing so. The…