Articles tagged with National Laboratories
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory have identified promising new biofuels that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 60% while improving fuel efficiency or reducing tailpipe emissions. The biofuels, developed using advanced engine design, can be blended with conventional fuels to improve engine performance and meet more ...
The ASU-led SW-IFL aims to understand complex relationships between extreme heat, atmospheric pollutants, and limited water supply on vulnerable urban subpopulations. The integrated field laboratory will combine high-resolution data, advanced computer modeling, and community engagement to create regionally specific predictive tools.
Engineered duckweed produces up to 10% oil content, a 100-fold increase over wild-type plants, with synergistic effects seen when combining gene modifications. The oil-rich plant can be easily harvested for biofuels or bioproducts, reducing competition with food crops and environmental waste.
Scientists explore the dynamics of soft materials like toothpaste and hair gel using X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS). The technique reveals microscopic dynamics and helps understand properties like viscosity and elasticity. Insights gained can aid in designing consumer products, nanotechnologies, and drug delivery systems.
The Earth System Grid Federation is upgrading its climate projection data system to improve access and curation, with the goal of enabling scientists to make the best guess about the future trajectory of our climate. The new system will provide faster download speeds and enable previously infeasible data analyses.
Researchers aim to create a unified database network for battery data, facilitating AI analysis and predictions. The Battery Data Genome will collect data across the entire battery lifecycle, from discovery to deployment, with uniform standards for metadata.
Researchers at Idaho National Laboratory have developed a dimethyl ether-driven process for selectively separating rare earth elements and transition metals from magnet wastes. This method significantly reduces energy and product consumption compared to traditional methods.
Researchers used the Advanced Photon Source to study asteroid fragments from Ryugu, finding they were made of water and carbon dioxide ice. The analysis suggests the asteroid formed over 4 billion years ago in the outer solar system, with a hydrated interior and dryer surface.
The U.S. Department of Energy has renewed funding for a research center studying molten salts, which have potential applications in improving the safety and efficiency of nuclear power. The center, led by Brookhaven National Laboratory, will receive $13.3 million over four years to advance our understanding of molten salt properties.
A high-precision experiment reveals that protons and neutrons in small nuclei prefer to pair up with others of the same kind more often than expected. The study provides new details about short-distance interactions between particles and may impact results from experiments seeking to tease out further nuclear structure details.
Argonne researchers develop a new way to calculate the environmental impact of ammonia production, evaluating two promising methods: carbon capture and water electrolysis. The study aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use in fertilizer production.
A new study uses high-resolution regional model experiments to explore how lake surface temperatures may affect the climate of the Great Lakes region. Small differences in lake surface temperatures can have a significant impact on summer climate and fuel extreme weather events.
A newly developed polarizer-embedded metalens microscope system achieves high-quality, wide-field imaging with a large depth-of-field, significantly expanding human eyesight to the microworld. The chip-scale device offers a thousand-fold reduction in volume and weight compared to traditional microscopes.
Using nearly two decades of research and ultrabright X-ray beams, scientists have created a detailed structural map of the nuclear pore complex (NPC), a key regulator of cellular operations. The results provide significant implications for understanding disease mechanisms and developing new treatments.
A new study reveals that Arctic temperatures have jumped by two steps in the last 50 years, with the second step occurring in 1999 and missed by most climate models. The findings are significant for projecting future climate change, as they highlight the need for more accurate short-term climate projections.
Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have created a new type of fuel that has higher energy density than traditional heavy-duty fuels. The biofuel, called POP-FAMEs, is produced by bacteria fed with plant matter and can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions when burned.
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have created a simple process to upcycle ABS, a popular thermoplastic used in everyday objects, into a more robust material compatible with industry 3D-printing methods. The upcycled version boasts enhanced strength, toughness and chemical resistance.
Scientists studying particle collisions at RHIC have identified a specific mechanism for jet quenching, where individual quarks emit gluons as they interact with the QGP. The results provide new insight into the properties of quark-gluon plasma, which filled the early universe.
The Berkeley Lab team has demonstrated a three-qubit native quantum gate, the iToffoli gate, with high fidelity of 98.26%. This breakthrough enables universal quantum computing and reduces circuit running times.
The summit focuses on emerging innovations and scientific capabilities from DOE national laboratories, including self-reinforced cement, temperature-based hibernating batteries, and acoustic tags. These place-based research solutions aim to address challenges in energy resiliency and the maritime industry.
Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified a zinc chaperone protein called ZNG1, which delivers zinc to the enzyme MAP1. This discovery reveals a key mechanism used by all living things to transport zinc, essential for survival and enzyme function.
A new machine-learning framework has been developed to improve the design of catalysts, which speed up chemical reactions. The approach analyzes the conversion of carbon monoxide to methanol using a copper-based catalyst and identifies key steps that need to be tweaked to increase productivity.
Researchers uncover a new mechanism for lowering thermal conductivity in a unique material, which could aid the search for materials converting heat to electricity or vice versa. The discovery reveals a quantum mechanical twist on what drives exceptional thermoelectric properties.
Scientists have developed a machine learning algorithm that can accurately predict the lifetimes of different battery chemistries using as little as a single cycle of experimental data. The technique could reduce costs and accelerate the development of new battery materials, enabling researchers to quickly evaluate and test multiple ma...
A team of scientists at Argonne National Laboratory has developed a new qubit platform formed by freezing neon gas into a solid and trapping an electron there. The platform shows great promise in achieving ideal building blocks for future quantum computers, with promising coherence times competitive with state-of-the-art qubits.
Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory discovered an aberrant protein that mimics the action of aminoglycoside antibiotics, which could help scientists understand how those drugs kill bacterial cells. The newly identified protein could lead to the development of new inhibitors to target bacterial growth.
Researchers have discovered layered 2D materials that can host unique magnetic features, including skyrmions, which remain stable at room temperature. The discovery could lead to novel low-energy data storage and information processing systems.
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have explored the physical properties of cycloalkanes, finding they may reduce condensation trail formation and soot emissions compared to current fuels. This could lead to a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and mitigate climate change impacts on global security.
Researchers found uneven charge distribution within lithium iron phosphate cathodes due to misaligned particles, leading to reduced battery performance. Introducing porosity or aligning particles could potentially improve uniform lithium insertion, enhancing energy density and charge/discharge rates.
Researchers at Columbia Engineering and Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a new high-resolution x-ray imaging technique to reveal the inner structure of novel nanomaterials. The tool, which provides 7nm resolution, has enabled them to study complex 3D architectures with unprecedented detail.
Researchers have discovered an elegant equation to approximate the coherence time of materials hosting spin qubits. The team can now estimate coherence times in seconds using just five material properties, facilitating a rapid exploration of new candidate materials.
Researchers found that modeling studies have been assuming colonoscopies are more accurate than they really are, detecting fewer small adenomas. However, colonoscopy still appears effective in finding precursors of cancer.
Three Brookhaven scientists, Simerjeet Gill, James Dunlop, and Sanjaya Senanayake, were selected as Oppenheimer Science and Energy Leadership Program fellows. They engage in virtual visits to other national labs, distilling their experiences into think-pieces on organizational, policy, and scientific challenges.
Researchers use DNA to program metal nanoparticles to assemble into new configurations, resulting in the discovery of three new crystalline phases. The approach enables symmetry breaking and creation of complex colloidal crystal structures with unique optical and catalytic properties.
Scientists have discovered a new way to visualize the inner workings of simple atomic nuclei by analyzing photon-deuteron collisions. The study reveals the arrangement of gluons within deuterons, providing insights into the strong force that binds quarks together and holds protons and neutrons apart.
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory have discovered a key reason for the performance decline of sodium-ion batteries, which are promising candidates for replacing lithium-ion materials. By adjusting synthesis conditions, they can fabricate far superior cathodes that will maintain performance with long-term cycling.
A new machine learning study analyzed 10 years of weather data to identify three major categories of weather patterns and their effects on thunderstorms. The study aims to isolate the impact of aerosols, tiny particles suspended in the atmosphere, on storm severity.
Researchers at Brookhaven Lab propose a cosmological phase transition as the key to supermassive black hole formation in the early universe. This process, facilitated by ultralight dark matter particles, enabled efficient collapse of matter into black holes.
Sandia researchers have demonstrated that neuromorphic computers can solve more complex problems than artificial intelligence and may earn a place in high-performance computing. The findings show that neuromorphic simulations can track X-rays, disease spreading, information flowing through social networks, and financial markets.
Researchers used a powerful laser facility to create extreme conditions similar to those in gigantic galaxy clusters. The experiments revealed hot and cold spots in the plasma, supporting one theory for how heat is trapped inside galaxy clusters.
Researchers used x-rays to track lithium deposition and removal from a battery anode during cycling, identifying irregularities that lead to reduced capacity and lifespan. Incomplete lithium stripping causes dead spots on the anode, reducing cell capacity and electron flow.
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory discovered how microparticles can change direction when an electric stimulus is interrupted and reapplied with the same orientation. This emergent behavior has potential applications in microfluidic pumps for biomedical, chemical, and electronics applications.
Researchers discovered a novel type of magnet, the antiferromagnetic excitonic insulator, which involves strong magnetic attraction between electrons in a layered material. The new state emerges when electrons form bound pairs with holes and trigger an antiferromagnetic alignment of adjacent electron spins.
Researchers from Argonne National Laboratory have created a set of new practices to guide the curation of high energy physics datasets, making them more FAIR and reusable. The goal is to automate the finding and use of data for humans and streamline the development of AI tools for scientific discovery.
Researchers identify two key principles determining reaction specificity in converting CO2 and ethane into synthesis gas or ethylene. The formation energy of the bimetallic catalyst and binding energy between the catalyst and oxygen released from CO2 are crucial in driving reaction selectivity.
A team of scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory has identified a molecule with significant potential to disable the COVID-19 virus. The molecule was discovered using high-throughput virtual screening and laboratory experiments, and its ability to bind to the virus's main protease was confirmed through structural studies.
A novel plan to deploy smart transactive energy systems on the US power grid could reduce daily load swings by 20-44% and save consumers up to $50 billion annually. By coordinating with utilities, consumers can dynamically control big energy users like heat pumps and electric vehicle charging stations.
Scientists have developed a new technique called small-molecule serial femtosecond X-ray crystallography (smSFX) that can reveal the structures of not-so-neat-and-tidy materials. This method uses an exceptional X-ray laser and custom-built image processing algorithms to diffract individual granules of powders, providing a precise sharp...
Researchers at Idaho National Laboratory have created a nationwide-scale electric power grid test bed to develop and demonstrate cutting-edge technologies for grid modernization. The enhanced test bed offers a collaborative environment for labs, industry, academia, and government to leverage shared resources.
Scientists at Sandia National Labs invent a new yardstick for benchmarking performance of quantum computers. The mirror-circuit method is faster and more accurate than conventional tests, revealing the true potential and limitations of quantum processors.
Scientists have made a breakthrough in controlling the formation of vacancies in silicon carbide, a semiconductor material. The team's simulations tracked the pairing of individual vacancies into a divacancy and discovered the optimal temperatures for creating stable divacancies. This discovery could lead to highly sensitive sensors an...
The University of California, Riverside, has been awarded a $980,000 grant from the Department of Energy to develop an AI-driven detector for the future Electron-Ion Collider. The team will use machine learning techniques to optimize detector design and achieve 'co-design,' a new concept in nuclear physics.
Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed water-walking liquid robots that can retrieve and deliver precious chemicals autonomously. The robots use chemistry to control buoyancy and do not require electrical energy, making them ideal for applications such as chemical synthesis and drug delivery.
A comprehensive assessment of polyurethane in the US reveals complexities that affect its recovery and recycling. The study highlights opportunities to enhance circularity and increase bio-based content of polyurethanes.
The Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment will provide crucial operational data for fast-spectrum salt reactors and unlock this uniquely flexible advanced reactor technology for use in a net-zero future. The project represents a significant inflection point in the technology demonstration roadmap for TerraPower's MCFR.
Scientists at ORNL developed a scalable, low-cost method to improve materials joining in solid-state batteries, resolving one of the big challenges in commercial development. The electrochemical pulse method increases contact at the interface without detrimental effects, enabling an all-solid-state architecture.
Paxlovid demonstrates significant efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 virus, reducing hospitalization and death risks in adult patients by up to 89%. The treatment's development involved cutting-edge X-ray technology from the Advanced Photon Source.
Thermal quenches in fusion devices occur when high-energy electrons escape from the core and fly toward the wall, causing a rapid drop in electron temperature. The researchers propose an analytic model of plasma transport that provides new physical insights into the complex topology of 3-D magnetic field lines.
Research has shown steady progress toward achieving large energy gain in fusion reactions, a crucial milestone for commercial fusion energy. Recent advancements in laser-driven devices and lower-cost private concepts have significantly increased performance thresholds, surpassing early tokamak designs.
A team at Brookhaven National Laboratory has identified a common industrial catalyst that can efficiently convert methane to methanol with or without water. The findings suggest strategies for improving the water-free conversion, achieving 30% selectivity in the absence of water, and 80% selectivity with water.