Articles tagged with National Laboratories
A new catalyst, based on carbon nanotubes, shows high oxygen reduction reaction activity in alkaline media, critical for efficient storage of electrical energy. This breakthrough could enable economical lithium-air batteries to power electric vehicles and provide reliable energy storage for intermittent green energy sources.
Researchers from Argonne National Laboratory have created a semi-conductor material by turning liquid cement into liquid metal through electron trapping. This process creates metallic-glass material with positive attributes including conductivity, fluidity, and low energy loss.
Researchers develop a new method to model large biomolecules in their native state using X-ray flash data, providing insights into protein structures and dynamic behavior. This technique promises to solve the shapes of more than 80,000 proteins in a static state and offer clues on individual components of mixtures.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory honored 165 staff for their intellectual property creations, including Inventor of the Year Jun Liu for his battery materials work. Liu's innovations have potential to create IP, with four U.S. patents and 300 peer-reviewed journal articles to his name.
Scientists used a new X-ray method to study African clawed frog embryos, providing detailed insights into embryonic development and cell movement. The results revealed new morphological structures and clarified the process of fluid redistribution in the embryo.
A new study models active topography using mantle convection simulations, finding dynamic topography and glacial adjustment account for the region's coastal plain architecture. This has implications for inferences of global long-term sea-level change.
Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered a new mechanism of self-assembly using DNA 'linker' strands, forming ladder-like ribbons with unique properties. This approach could lead to the fabrication of nanoscale materials with desired properties, such as plasmonic or fluorescent responses.
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory have observed nanoparticle chains forming in situ for the first time, using a transmission electron microscope. The study demonstrates the potential of nanoparticles in energy-relevant technologies and could lead to new materials with unique properties.
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have discovered new materials capable of capturing methane with high efficiency. The research focused on two applications: concentrating medium-purity methane streams and dilute streams above methane's flammability limit.
The study provides insight into hydrocarbon combustion and atmospheric chemistry, confirming fast reactions and first-time measurements with water. The findings validate theoretical predictions and supply critical targets for validation in predicting Criegee intermediate reactions.
The US Department of Energy has renewed JBEI's five-year funding at $25 million annually, supporting the development of advanced biofuels. The partnership, led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, aims to enhance national energy security and create clean energy jobs.
The new awake imaging device enables motion compensation reconstruction, removing blur caused by motion and allowing for transparent pictures of the functioning brain. Researchers aim to better understand brain development in babies, teens, and individuals with neurological conditions.
A study has identified a broadly cross-reactive neutralizing antibody in an infected HIV-1 patient, providing insights into effective vaccination strategies. The researchers hope that a vaccine mimicking the development of this potent antibody response may trigger similar protective antibodies.
Clint Frye, a Kansas State University doctoral student in chemical engineering, has been named the university's first Lawrence scholar. As a scholar, he will spend four years conducting collaborative research at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and performing related research on semiconductors at K-State.
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are developing a medical device that can quickly detect a suite of biothreat agents, including anthrax, ricin, and botulinum. The device will be used in emergency rooms to respond to bioterrorism incidents.
Postdoctoral researcher Nina Lanza discovered a consistent chemical signature in Martian rocks sampled by the Curiosity rover's ChemCam instrument during its first 90 days on Mars. The signature appears after five laser blasts, leading to theories about dust or geological coatings on the planet's surface.
The ChemCam system has fired more than 40,000 laser pulses at over a thousand locations on Mars, yielding valuable information about the planet's habitat. Researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory and other institutions will present their findings at the 44th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
Researchers explore ion traps as a promising architecture for constructing a quantum computer, leveraging qubits' coherence time and protection from ambient disturbances. The development of micro-fabricated devices and cryogenic cooling techniques aims to push the limits of pressure and storage capacity.
Researchers detect never-before-seen phenomenon in Earth's magnetosphere, revealing a long-lived zone of high-energy electrons stored between the Van Allen radiation belts. This finding may impact the planning of future space missions.
Researchers at MIT and Brookhaven Lab use ultrafast spectroscopy techniques to study electron waves in custom-grown materials. They discover that CDWs are an independent instability and likely competing with the HTS state, not its root cause.
Researchers have developed new methods for controlling magnetic order in magnetoelectric materials using electrical signals, potentially leading to faster and more efficient memories. This breakthrough could also enable the creation of non-binary memories and improved magnetic field sensors.
A collaborative study by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy has shown that an ionic liquid proven to be effective for pre-treating individual biofuel feedstocks is also effective at pre-treating multiple different feedstocks that have been mixed and densified into a blend. The study found that blending and densifying a wide...
The Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will receive $2.8 million to develop a next-generation adsorption chiller that is smaller, lighter, and operates under extreme temperatures. The system could reduce diesel fuel use by up to 50% and save lives by reducing attacks on American soldiers.
The team used laser-heated diamond anvil cell experiments to demonstrate that depletion of siderophile elements can be produced under more oxidizing conditions, suggesting oxygen played a prominent role in the Earth's core formation. This discovery allows for a reevaluation of planetary accretion and core formation processes.
A team led by Ames Laboratory will develop solutions to domestic shortages of rare earth metals and other critical materials for U.S. energy security. The Critical Materials Institute will bring together top researchers from academia, national labs, and the private sector to find innovative technology solutions.
Scientists at Berkeley Lab have identified a persistent error in computer simulations of molecular-scale motion, known as 'shadow work.' By accounting for this error, accurate calculations can be recovered. The research has implications for fields such as medical and biological research, new materials, and quantum mechanics.
Researchers at DOE/Argonne National Laboratory studied ultrafast bubble formation, finding surface wetness affects the bubble's fate. The study could improve spray coating, metal casting, and ink-jet printing, as well as fuel efficiency and engine life.
A team of scientists has identified a new solution to an astrophysical phenomenon using laser experiments, shedding light on the discrepancy between observations and theoretical predictions. The research paves the way for future X-ray astrophysics research using free-electron lasers.
The Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR) will combine the R&D firepower of five DOE national laboratories, universities, and private firms to achieve revolutionary advances in battery performance. The project aims to reduce America's reliance on foreign oil and lower energy costs.
Four Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientists, Nigel Browning, Allison Campbell, Anthony Peurrung, and Douglas Ray, have been elected as AAAS fellows. They were recognized for their contributions to electron microscopy, thin film synthesis, radiation detection, and national security programs.
The Keeneland Full Scale System is a 615 TFLOPS HP Proliant SL250-based supercomputer with 264 nodes, offering sustained performance of over a quarter of a PetaFLOP. This system enables researchers to run higher resolution simulations than ever before.
The U.S. Department of Energy's ESnet has deployed the world's fastest science network, serving national laboratories, universities, and research institutions at 100 gigabits per second. This upgrade accelerates discovery in fields like energy, climate science, and cosmology by enabling faster data sharing and analysis.
PaR-PaR allows researchers to create complicated protocols for robots within an hour after minimal training. The language is based on computer science principles and enables sharing of robotic protocols across laboratories.
The chemistry building at Brookhaven National Laboratory has been designated an Historic Chemical Landmark in recognition of the development of 18FDG, a radiotracer that revolutionized brain imaging and cancer diagnosis worldwide. Over 1.5 million 18FDG PET scans are performed annually.
Researchers found that high indoor CO2 concentrations can impair people's decision-making performance, particularly in schools and other spaces with high occupant density. The study used a novel test to assess cognitive performance, revealing large reductions in decision-making ability at CO2 levels of 1,000 ppm.
A new military uniform material is being developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that repels chemical and biological agents. The material uses a novel carbon nanotube fabric that can switch from breathable to protective states in response to environmental threats.
The DOE JGI has selected 29 projects for the 2013 Community Sequencing Program, aiming to study RNA transcripts, transposon mutagenesis, and symbiotic relationships between organisms. The projects will enable fuller functional genome annotation and explore applications in biofuels, carbon capture, and microbial communities.
Scientists have discovered self-organized electromagnetic fields in counter-streaming ionized gases, which helps organize flows and shape solar systems. This breakthrough finding provides a new way to explore order emergence in the cosmos.
A yearlong marine deployment of the ARM Mobile Facility AMF2 on the Horizon Spirit aims to collect extensive data on clouds and their transitions, improving climate modeling. The project will provide valuable insights into Earth's energy and water balance, enhancing our understanding of climate change.
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory have created a musical representation of microbial data, revealing intriguing patterns and relationships. The 'sonified' data showcases the natural structures in oceanic environments, offering a new way to visualize biological phenomena.
Dr. Jay Keasling has made significant contributions to synthetic biology, engineering microbial factories to produce affordable antimalarial drugs and biofuels. His work has improved the lives of millions of people in impoverished areas, making him a true science hero.
Large-scale high altitude wind power generation is unlikely to substantially affect climate, according to a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory study. The researchers found that wind turbines could extract kinetic energy at a rate of at least 400 terawatts on the surface and over 1800 terawatts in high-altitude winds.
Researchers used ultrafast X-rays to observe electron transfer in iron oxide nanoparticles, shedding light on the environmental impact of rust. This breakthrough could lead to more efficient solar cells and a better understanding of contaminant remediation efforts.
Researchers developed a comprehensive model to describe molecular bonding, enabling predictions of binding free energy and resolving past inconsistencies. The new model provides a clear means for measuring this key parameter, critical for understanding material interactions.
Researchers at PNNL and ORNL have developed a new method to extract uranium from seawater, with initial tests showing the adsorbent material can soak up more than two times the uranium than Japan's material. The study could potentially provide a cost-competitive source of nuclear fuel, enough to power the world's reactors for 6,500 years.
Researchers from Columbia University successfully characterized van der Waals interactions in gold-molecule-gold junctions at the single-molecule level. This discovery opens up possibilities for designing and optimizing organic electronic devices with greater efficiency.
Researchers used electron holography to capture images of electric fields created by ferroelectric materials' atomic displacement. This technique could guide scaling up these materials and ushering in a new generation of advanced electronics.
The partnership will expand X-ray technology and research capabilities, enabling scientists to solve pressing global problems. Scientists from the two facilities will work together on R&D projects to improve light-source technology and upgrade beamlines.
Scientists have developed more efficient organic solar cells by harnessing the power of polarized excitons. This breakthrough could make solar energy a cost-effective alternative to conventional sources. Researchers are exploring new materials to improve efficiency and competitiveness.
New research by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists reveals that human activities are the primary cause of global ocean warming over the past 50 years. The study analyzed observational and modeling uncertainties to confirm this conclusion.
Researchers at Purdue University and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have solved several problems hindering the use of ultra-precise simulations needed to certify nuclear weapons. The breakthrough enables the creation of supercomputers capable of performing exascale computing, a crucial step for national defense.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have simulated and quantified early stages of radiation damage in materials. They used a new method to predict the effect of radiation on complex materials, including those for nuclear applications, space industry, and medical purposes.
Researchers used ultrafast spectroscopy to study the initial stage of photosynthesis, observing a single photon exciting different chromophores simultaneously. This discovery hints at more efficient natural light-harvesting processes, potentially influencing efforts to create artificial materials and devices.
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have observed a 40 femtosecond ultrafast transition of graphite into two different states of matter, including solid to liquid and plasma. This discovery provides new insights into the behavior of matter irradiated by intense hard X-rays.
Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have discovered a bacterium that can tolerate toxic chemicals used in biofuel production, allowing for more efficient processing. This breakthrough has the potential to greatly benefit industrial processes and improve the efficiency of biofuel production.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have demonstrated unique new materials for innovative electronic and magnetic applications. Bismuth selenide's surface electrons flow at room temperature, making it an attractive candidate for spintronics devices and quantum computers. The material's low electron-phonon coupling also underlines its practical...
The NDCX-II accelerator is a compact machine designed to produce powerful pulses of ion beams that can accelerate heavy-ion fusion energy production. Research with NDCX-II aims to advance the acceleration, compression, and focusing of intense ion beams.
Scientists have developed a new technique that allows for the mapping of nanoparticle atomic structures using transmission electron microscopes, removing barriers to widespread use. The method produces highly similar results with x-ray synchrotron data and has potential applications in energy, medicine, and materials science.
A nanotech-based system called SAMMS captures carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere within submarines, providing a more environmentally friendly removal process. The technology has potential applications in air rejuvenation systems and energy efficiency.
The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) camera has received 'Critical Decision 1' approval, moving forward with detailed engineering design and construction. The LSST will capture the widest, fastest, and deepest view of the night sky, aiding studies of dark energy, near-Earth asteroids, and the structure of our galaxy.