University Research | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

Study Gets to the Roots of Plants' Natural Sunscreen

A new study at Purdue University examined the properties and mechanics of the molecule plants use to absorb harmful ultraviolet-B radiation, and its SPF rating would be off the charts.

Stanford Libraries Unearths the Earliest U.S. Website

A piece of web history is made available again for the first time since its debut in the early 1990s.

Stanford Engineers Use Technique From Petrochemical Industry to Store Solar Energy

Chemical engineers at Stanford have designed a catalyst that could help produce vast quantities of pure hydrogen through electrolysis.

A Billion Holes Can Make a Battery

Researchers at the University of Maryland have invented a single tiny structure that includes all the components of a battery that they say could bring about the ultimate miniaturization of energy storage components.

Revolutionary Solar-friendly Form of Silicon Shines

A team of Carnegie scientists led by Timothy Strobel has synthesized an entirely new form of silicon, one that promises even greater future applications.

SDSC to Start Loading the Nodes for its New “Comet” Supercomputer

New petascale system slated for launch in early 2015 and will be connected to ESnet (Energy Sciences Network), allowing users to rapidly move data to SDSC for analysis and data sharing and return data to their institutions for local use.

New Form of Crystalline Order

A team of researchers from Vanderbilt University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) reports that it has discovered an entirely new form of crystalline order that simultaneously exhibits both crystal and polycrystalline properties, which they describe as “interlaced crystals.”

Drexel Engineers Improve Strength, Flexibility of Atom-Thick Films

Researchers at Drexel University and Dalian University of Technology in China have chemically engineered a new, electrically conductive nanomaterial that is flexible enough to fold, but strong enough to support many times its own weight.

Case Western Reserve Scientists Find Key to Vitamin A Metabolism

Enzymatic activity essential for vision may provide target for drug transport.

Study Finds Extreme Temperature Anomalies Are Warming Faster Than Earth's Average

Research by an Indiana University geographer and colleagues finds that spatial patterns of extreme temperature anomalies -- readings well above or below the mean -- are warming even faster than the overall average.

Moving Toward A Cheaper, Better Catalyst for Hydrogen Production

Researchers at NC State have provided new insights into the catalytic characteristics of molybdenum sulfide, a promising alternative to the platinum used in current water-splitting reactions.

Proteins Stepping on "Landmines": How They Survive the Immense Heat They Create

How do some proteins survive the extreme heat generated when they catalyze reactions that can happen as many as a million times per second? Work by researchers from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and the University of California Berkeley provides an explosive answer to this important question.