News Archive | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

Scientists Guide Gold Nanoparticles to Form "Diamond" Superlattices

DNA scaffolds cage and coax nanoparticles into position to form crystalline arrangements that mimic the atomic structure of diamond.

Scientists Take Key Step Toward Custom-Made Nanoscale Chemical Factories

Scientists at Berkeley National Laboratory have for the first time reengineered a building block of a geometric nanocompartment that occurs naturally in bacteria.

New Galaxy-Hunting Sky Camera Sees Redder Better

Berkeley Lab, Yale University, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory join forces to develop Mosaic-3.

Optimizing Microbial Bioproduction of Fuels

A team of scientists from the University of Idaho; EMSL, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory; and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has used advanced microfluidics combined with Epifluorescent and Raman microscopy at EMSL to study differences in the ability of individual cells of low-yield and high-yield strains of the fungus Yarrowia lipolytica to produce lipids.

The Dark Side of Cold Clouds

Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found that highly irregular and chemically complex soot particles transform into compacted shapes under different atmospheric conditions, affecting their ability to absorb and scatter sunlight.

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Coupling 2 ‘Tabletop’ Laser-Plasma Accelerators, a Decisive First Step Toward Tomorrow’s Ultrapowerful Compact Machines

In an experiment packed with scientific firsts, Berkeley Lab scientists have now demonstrated that a laser pulse can accelerate an electron beam and couple it to a second laser plasma accelerator, where another laser pulse accelerates the beam to higher energy—a fundamental breakthrough in advanced accelerator science.

Two New Biologists at Brookhaven National Lab are Looking at Plant Genomes to Address Energy Challenges

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory welcomes two new biologists, Crysten and Ian Blaby, who have been brought to the Lab to explore the many genes that play a role in a plant’s ability to harness energy and what those genes could mean for enhancing bioenergy crops.

Tiniest Particles Shrink Before Exploding When Hit With SLAC’s X-Ray Laser

New finding provides a glimpse of the unusual world of superheated nanomaterials that could eventually also help scientists further develop X-ray techniques for taking atomic images of individual molecules.

NSLS Research Leads to New Discoveries About Structure of Human Hair

Scientists at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) resolved the molecular structure of each of the three known regions of human hair—the cuticle, the cortex and the medulla—and discovered a new region between the cortex and the cuticle.

Seagrass Genome Sequence Lends Insights to Salt Tolerance

A team of researchers from around the world has sequenced the eelgrass (Zostera marina) genome to better understand how the plant adapts to climate change and to explore clues it could provide on how crops could adapt to saline environments.

Simplifying Solar Cells with a New Mix of Materials

An international research team led by Berkeley National Lab has simplified the steps to create highly efficient silicon solar cells by applying a new mix of materials to a standard design.

Hydrogen Uptake Causes Molecular “Avalanches” in Palladium

Unlike any other element, palladium, a precious metal closely related to platinum, takes up hydrogen at room temperature and pressure. In a recent study, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have gained new insight into how this uptake of hydrogen occurs, realized how it impacts the atomic structure of the palladium, and identified key properties of how this form of hydrogen storage could work in the future.