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

Filling in the Nuclear Data Gaps

Lee Bernstein will lead the renewed Nuclear Data Group to solve common problems for a broad group of stakeholders in the nuclear energy, security, and medical fields at DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

Scientists Bear Witness to Birth of an Ice Cloud

Scientists have witnessed the birth of atmospheric ice clouds, creating ice cloud crystals in the laboratory and then taking images of the process through a microscope, essentially documenting the very first steps of cloud formation.

New Leaf Study Sheds Light on ‘Shady’ Past

A new study led by a research scientist at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) highlights a literally shady practice in plant science that has in some cases underestimated plants’ rate of growth and photosynthesis, among other traits.

Jerry Tuskan: Bringing Technological Advances to Bioscience

It’s been 10 years since the Department of Energy first established a BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and researcher Gerald “Jerry” Tuskan has used that time and the lab’s and center’s resources and tools to make good on his college dreams of using genomics to study and improve plant species.

Warming Could Slow Upslope Migration of Trees

Research conducted by scientists from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), UC Merced, the U.S. Geological Survey, UC Berkeley, and the University of Colorado at Boulder shows some subalpine trees may have trouble gaining a foothold above the tree line.

Scientists Boost Catalytic Activity for Key Chemical Reaction in Fuel Cells

A multi-institution team of scientists used the transmission electron microscope at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials to characterize new platinum-based catalysts - catalysts designed with the least amount of platinum and the most stable operation over time – to improve fuel cell efficiency.

Scientists develop a path toward improved high-energy accelerators

Physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), in collaboration with researchers in South Korea and Germany, have developed a theoretical framework for improving the stability and intensity of particle accelerator beams.

Scientists Measure Pulse of CO2 Emissions During Spring Thaw in the Arctic

Findings by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in collaboration with a team of other scientists taking measurements both in the field and in the lab mean the Arctic may be even less of a carbon sink than previously thought.

Water: Finding the Normal Within the Weird

A team of researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have measured properties of water at deeply supercooled temperatures – below freezing but still a liquid – for the first time.

Laser R&D Focuses on Next-Gen Particle Collider

A set of new laser systems and proposed upgrades at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) will propel long-term plans for a more compact and affordable ultrahigh-energy particle collider.

Energy Cascades in Quasicrystals Trigger an Avalanche of Discovery

Scientists at the Argonne National Laboratory looked at quasicrystals – materials with geometrically organized, but never repeating atomic structures – and unexpectedly found redistribution of energy occurs as a chain reaction would in the forked branches of a lightning strike.

Scientists Decipher How Local Weather Can Change Global Climate Patterns

Using the MPAS global variable-resolution atmospheric model, PNNL researchers efficiently simulated how local Asian convection affects the southern hemisphere jet stream thousands of miles away via upscale effects, an important part of understanding weather and climate.