Greener Days Ahead for Carbon Fuels
A discovery by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis shows that recycling carbon dioxide into valuable chemicals and fuels can be economical and efficient - all through a single copper catalyst.
GlueX Completes First Phase
An experiment that aims to gain new insight into the force that binds all matter together has recently completed its first phase of data collection. The Gluonic Excitations Experiment, or GlueX, is designed to produce and study hybrid mesons, which are particles that are built of the same stuff as ordinary protons and neutrons: quarks bound together by the "glue" of the strong force. But unlike ordinary mesons, the glue in hybrid mesons behaves differently by actively contributing to the particles' properties.
How to Get Nuanced Details at the Top of the World
Scientists devise new approach that gathers data on the interplay between permafrost, soil, and vegetation.
Defining Quality Virus Data(sets)
In Nature Biotechnology, as more and more researchers continue to assemble new genome sequences of uncultivated viruses, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) led a community effort to develop guidelines and best practices for defining virus data quality.
Ice Formed by Contact Freezing: Pressure Matters, Not Just Temperature
Distortion of water droplet surface may increase the likelihood of the droplet freezing.
Future Loss of Arctic Sea-Ice Cover Could Contribute to the Substantial Decrease in California's Rainfall
A new modeling framework helps understand the consequences of future sea-ice loss in the Arctic.
Tangled magnetic fields power cosmic particle accelerators
Magnetic field lines tangled like spaghetti in a bowl might be behind the most powerful particle accelerators in the universe. That's the result of a new computational study by researchers from the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, which simulated particle emissions from distant active galaxies.
Argonne scientists maximize the effectiveness of platinum in fuel cells
In new research from the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and published in Science, scientists have identified a new catalyst that uses only about a quarter as much platinum as current technology by maximizing the effectiveness of the available platinum.
Drawn into a Whirlpool: A New Way to Stop Dangerous Fast Electrons in a Fusion Device
A new phenomena forms vortices that trap particles, impeding electron avalanches that harm fusion reactors.
Barely scratching the surface: A new way to make robust membranes
Argonne researchers have demonstrated a new technique's viability for membranes.
During Droughts, Bacteria Help Sorghum Continue Growing
Researchers discover how certain bacteria may safeguard plant growth during a drought, making way for strategies to improve crop productivity.
Sierra Snowpack Could Drop Significantly By End of Century
A future warmer world will almost certainly feature a decline in fresh water from the Sierra Nevada mountain snowpack. Now a new study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that analyzed the headwater regions of California's 10 major reservoirs, representing nearly half of the state's surface storage, found they could see on average a 79 percent drop in peak snowpack water volume by 2100.
The Biermann Battery Effect: Spontaneous Generation of Magnetic Fields and Their Severing
The mechanism responsible for creating intense magnetic fields in laser-driven plasmas also helps tear the fields apart.
Topological Matters: Toward a New Kind of Transistor
An experiment has demonstrated, for the first time, electronic switching in an exotic, ultrathin material that can carry a charge with nearly zero loss at room temperature. Researchers demonstrated this switching when subjecting the material to a low-current electric field.
Compelling Evidence for Small Drops of Perfect Fluid
Nuclear physicists analyzing data from the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) have published additional evidence that collisions of miniscule projectiles with gold nuclei create tiny specks of the perfect fluid that filled the early universe.
Experiments at PPPL show remarkable agreement with satellite sightings
Feature describes striking similarity of laboratory research findings with observations of the four-satellite Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission that studies magnetic reconnection in space.
New X-ray imaging approach could boost nanoscale resolution for Advanced Photon Source Upgrade
A long-standing problem in optics holds that an improved resolution in imaging is offset by a loss in the depth of focus. Now, scientists are joining computation with X-ray imaging as they develop a new and exciting technique to bypass this limitation.
Two-dimensional materials skip the energy barrier by growing one row at a time
News Release RICHLAND, Wash. -- A new collaborative study led by a research team at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and University of California, Los Angeles could provide engineers new design rules for creating microelectronics, membranes, and tissues, and open up better production methods for new materials.
Blasting Molecules with Extreme X-Rays
To understand how damage from high-energy X-rays affects imaging studies, scientists supported by the Department of Energy shot the most powerful X-ray laser in the world at a series of atoms and molecules. Surprisingly, the atoms within the molecules acted far differently than the isolated ones.
Scientists Enter Unexplored Territory in Superconductivity Search
Scientists mapping out the quantum characteristics of superconductors--materials that conduct electricity with no energy loss--have entered a new regime. Using newly connected tools named OASIS at Brookhaven Lab, they've uncovered previously inaccessible details of the "phase diagram" of one of the most commonly studied "high-temperature" superconductors.
Human Exposures and Health Effects Associated with Unconventional Oil and Gas Development
The Health Effects Institute (HEI) convened an Energy Research Committee to help ensure the protection of public health during such development. A symposium at the 2018 Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) Annual Meeting will summarize the Committee's review approach and preliminary findings and provide initial options for future research intended to fill knowledge gaps.
Reflecting Antiferromagnetic Arrangements
Scientists have demonstrated an x-ray imaging technique that could enable the development of smaller, faster, and more robust electronics that exploit electron spin.
Researchers demonstrate new building block in quantum computing
Researchers with the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated a new level of control over photons encoded with quantum information. The team's experimental system allows them to manipulate the frequency of photons to bring about superposition, a state that enables quantum operations and computing.
Story Tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, December 2018
ORNL solved methane mystery through tree trunk, soil study; neutrons unlock secrets of corn nanoparticles; lithium-ion battery study could inform safer designs; corrosion tests could advance molten salt reactor designs; thought leaders discuss sea of energy change at maritime risk meeting.
To curb maternal deaths in developing countries, researchers use X-rays to map a lifesaving drug in action
A team that includes researchers from the Bridge Institute at the University of Southern California (USC) and the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory used X-rays to map the shape of a receptor in the body as it binds with misoprostol. This research, published in Nature Chemical Biology, could help in the quest to design low-cost drugs that can tackle postpartum bleeding without affecting other tissues.