![genome-070914-thumb.jpg A network graph—called a “minimum spanning tree”—showing the 7,410 DFT-predicted stable compounds from the Open Quantum Materials Database (OQMD) at the time the JOM article was completed.](/-/media/_/images/stories/genome-070914-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=FB0C96F5BF39F9A9F742445BC1B5D9006C7504B100132B7A6D9B40847B5E4775)
From Human Genome to Materials “Genome”
Government initiative seeks to speed the pace of materials discovery and innovation.
Read more about From Human Genome to Materials “Genome”![penn-anticrystal-070714-thumb.jpg Materials can be described as being on a spectrum from a perfectly ordered crystal to a perfectly disordered anticrystal.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2014/penn-anticrystal-070714-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=2306E8BA00BA7FEA936337515FD18BDB5E71B64D3D1C8EE0CC8F9546D872CBD9)
Consider the ‘Anticrystal’
Physicists at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago have evidence that a new concept should undergird our understanding of most materials: the anticrystal, a theoretical solid that is completely disordered.
Read more about Consider the ‘Anticrystal’![lbnl-soot-070114-thumb.jpg Graphical representation of the chemistry in the early stages of soot formation.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2014/lbnl-soot-070114-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=5A34896CD11FC5CB3305A4C655D00F57AB0ACB753BCF63E5E7D0760E651ADF7C)
Up in Flames: Evidence Confirms Combustion Theory
Berkeley Lab and University of Hawaii research outlines the story of soot, with implications for cleaner-burning fuels.
Read more about Up in Flames: Evidence Confirms Combustion Theory![lbnl-skyrmions-062514-thumb.jpg Advanced Light Source images of a Cu2SeO3 sample show five sets of dual-peak skyrmion structures, highlighted by the white ovals.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2014/lbnl-skyrmions-062514-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=A07D4E489D74683D4A74437C70A4A06E73B9FBBCD114A56CE9FF5DEAB3751188)
Advanced Light Source Provides New Look at Skyrmions
Skyrmions, subatomic quasiparticles that could play a key role in future spintronic technologies, have been observed for the first time using x-rays at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source.
Read more about Advanced Light Source Provides New Look at Skyrmions![slac-dna-062314-thumb.jpg Thymine – the molecule in the foreground – is one of the four basic building blocks that make up the double helix of DNA.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2014/slac-dna-062314-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=FA1C10F5C3B5D21689B5D526F314AF34F890559D785980E21BC8A5F3C08875B3)
Scientists Use X-rays to Look at How DNA Protects Itself from UV Light
SLAC research reveals rapid DNA changes that act as molecular sunscreen.
Read more about Scientists Use X-rays to Look at How DNA Protects Itself from UV Light![slac-no-mans-land-061914-thumb.jpg An X-ray laser pulse at SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source probes a supercooled water droplet (center, left).](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2014/slac-no-mans-land-061914-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=58C0F8570A9C5EB8CE29EA1A1A307FB33271DE8345FF97554C7A29EED5B3EEBC)
Scientists Take First Dip into Water’s Mysterious ‘No Man’s Land’
Observations of the strange state of liquid water in frozen conditions made by scientists at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory will improve our understanding of the ubiquitous but unusual H2O.
Read more about Scientists Take First Dip into Water’s Mysterious ‘No Man’s Land’![anl-mantle-061814-thumb.jpg We live atop the thinnest layer of the Earth: the crust. Below is the mantle (red), outer core (orange), and finally inner core (yellow-white).](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2014/anl-mantle-061814-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=2B4B686DB3572D5B695793A1F20BC7BA7EA1F2BCEB9BA4E5DB1DFFB1463BBD40)
Composition of Earth’s Mantle Revisited
Research at Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source recently suggested that the makeup of the Earth’s mantle is significantly different from what was previously thought.
Read more about Composition of Earth’s Mantle Revisited![bnl-thin-films-061114-thumb.jpg Brookhaven physicist Oleg Gang and Stony Brook University postdoctoral researcher Sunita Srivastava.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2014/bnl-thin-films-061114-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=FB2B828A4F86FB299CF77485FC32866B10C4E4BDAE3E7540EABAC7890DEA5A47)
DNA-Linked Nanoparticles Form Switchable "Thin Films" on a Liquid Surface
Possible pathway to adjustable filters, surfaces with variable mechanical response, or even new ways to deliver genes for biomedical applications.
Read more about DNA-Linked Nanoparticles Form Switchable "Thin Films" on a Liquid Surface![ames-ground-breaking-060914-thumb.jpg Official groundbreakers for Ames Laboratory's new Sensitive Instrument Facility.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2014/ames-ground-breaking-060914-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=259AC2C19CCD65100C5309BAE19176F3B70CA2631033F4DEDCCE9C08BA11E9B6)
Ames Laboratory Breaks Ground on Sensitive Instrument Facility
13,300 square-foot facility will house state-of-the-art instruments which advance the Lab’s role in materials characterization and support the Department of Energy’s science mission.
Read more about Ames Laboratory Breaks Ground on Sensitive Instrument Facility![lbnl-BlackHole-060514-thumb.jpg A computer simulation of gas (in yellow) falling into a black hole (too small to be seen). Twin jets are also shown with magnetic field lines.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2014/lbnl-BlackHole-060514-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=7A4CD83AF67730CE08C4AD811FBA9E7108F83DDB52B05B4195EC0B8E49CF3714)
Surprisingly Strong Magnetic Fields Challenge Black Holes’ Pull
Analysis of radio waves from black holes shows long-neglected magnetic fields have an unexpected presence.
Read more about Surprisingly Strong Magnetic Fields Challenge Black Holes’ Pull![ornl-metaloxide-060314-thumb.jpg A metal oxide drop levitated in a flow of gas is being heated from above with a laser beam so that researchers can study the behavior of this class of ceramics under high temperatures.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2014/ornl-metaloxide-060314-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=7DC826DB4B1C73F83169D2A37135435A58A233AEBB70450409AFA81851712E24)
Neutrons and X-rays Reveal Structure of High-temperature Liquid Metal Oxides
Research on ceramics by scientists at Oak Ridge and Argonne national laboratories could lead to insights in everything from the formation of glasses to the evolution of planets.
Read more about Neutrons and X-rays Reveal Structure of High-temperature Liquid Metal Oxides![bnl-lithium-ion-053014-thumb.jpg Materials scientist Huolin Xin in Brookhaven Lab's Center for Functional Nanomaterials.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2014/bnl-lithium-ion-053014-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=058AF706F9A8A9C5AF5CB480A678D76490F741887ABBF6DBC1352DE0E57288BA)
Scientists Pinpoint the Creeping Nanocrystals Behind Lithium-Ion Battery Degradation
Two breakthrough studies track the nanoscale structural changes that degrade battery performance during cycles of charge and discharge.
Read more about Scientists Pinpoint the Creeping Nanocrystals Behind Lithium-Ion Battery Degradation