2016 | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

Comparing Fungal Secretions to Uncover Carbon Compound Degradation Pathways

A team led by researchers at Harvard University and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) conducted a comparative analysis of the secretomes of four recently-isolated and sequenced filamentous Ascomycete fungi to learn more about the variety of pathways they deploy to break down carbon compounds.

New ORNL Tool Probes for Genes Linked to Toxic Methylmercury

Environmental scientists can more efficiently detect genes required to convert mercury in the environment into more toxic methylmercury with molecular probes developed by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Scientists Determine Structure of Enzyme Linked with Key Cell-Signaling Protein

Findings aid understanding of how modifications to cell-signaling protein affect its action in turning genes on and off; could also point to new targets for drugs to fight cancer.

Energy Department Awards $40 Million for Research to Support Waste Cleanup at DOE Nuclear Sites

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz today announced up to $40 million in awards for four new Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) to accelerate the scientific breakthroughs needed to support the Department of Energy (DOE)’s environmental management and nuclear cleanup mission.

PPPL Launches Expanded New Laboratory for Research on the Use of Plasma to Synthesize Nanoparticles

The collaborative facility, called the “Laboratory for Plasma Nanosynthesis,” is nearly three times the size of the original nanolab(link is external), which remains in operation, and launches a new era in PPPL research on plasma nanosynthesis

Directed Matter

Additive manufacturing techniques featuring atomic precision could one day create materials with Legos flexibility and Terminator toughness, according to researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Scientists Optimize Defects for Better Superconducting Effects

In a new study, researchers at Argonne have developed a rational approach to optimizing the arrangement of defects in commercial high-temperature superconducting wires to enhance their current-carrying capacity.

New Discovery Could Better Predict How Semiconductors Weather Abuse

Berkeley Lab scientists at DOE’s Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis are working to improve systems that efficiently convert sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into fuel.

Physics Researchers Question Calcium-52’s Magic

A multi-institution team led by Gaute Hagen at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory computed the size of the atomic nucleus calcium-48—a magic isotope—and found it had a significantly thinner neutron skin than was previously thought.

Discovery Could Dramatically Boost Efficiency of Perovskite Solar Cells

Scientists from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have discovered a possible secret to dramatically boosting the efficiency of perovskite solar cells hidden in the nanoscale peaks and valleys of the crystalline material.

Climate Study Finds Human Fingerprint in Northern Hemisphere Greening

A multinational team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory Climate Change Science Institute has found the first positive correlation between human activity and enhanced vegetation growth.

See and Sort: Developing Novel Techniques to Visualize Uncultured Microbial Cell Activity

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI), a DOE Office of Science User Facility, utilized a recently refined technique to identify both individual active cells, and single clusters of active bacteria and archaea within microbial communities.