2016 | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

Nanotubes Line Up to Form Films

Rice University researchers, with support from Los Alamos National Laboratory, have discovered a way to make highly aligned, wafer-scale films.

Wealth of Unsuspected New Microbes Expands Tree of Life

Researchers have discovered more than 1,000 new types of bacteria and Archaea over the past 15 years lurking in Earth’s nooks and crannies, dramatically rejiggering the tree to account for these microscopic new life forms.

Nanocrystal Self-Assembly Sheds its Secrets

Researchers at MIT find a new approach gives a real-time look at how the complex structures form.

Taking a Close Look at Metal 3-D Printing

Professor Tony Rollett and graduate students recently analyzed samples at Argonne National Laboratory to gain insight on 3-D printed metals. Improving the internal structure of 3-D printed metal parts is one of the several challenges that need to be met in order for this manufacturing process to be adopted in a more mainstream way.

Study Offers Clearest Picture Yet of How HIV Defeats a Cellular Defender

Univeristy of Illinois physics professor Klaus Schulten and postdoctoral researcher Juan Perilla used experimental data and computer simulations to determine how a human protein that aids HIV infection binds to the HIV capsid.

Down the Rabbit Hole: How Electrons Travel Through Exotic New Material

Researchers at Princeton University have observed a bizarre behavior in a strange new crystal that could hold the key for future electronic technologies.

Arctic Tundra

Neil Sturchio, professor and chair of the University of Delaware’s Department of Geological Sciences, is exploring how the thawing of permafrost, a subsurface layer of soil that remains mostly frozen throughout the year, affects vegetation and the carbon cycle in the Toolik Lake area of the Alaska’s North Slope.

Disentangling the Plant Microbiome

Duke University researchers and colleagues are studying the microbiome of plants in the field to determine what influences the microbes that live in and on roots and leaves, that in turn, impact the plant’s health and growth.

MSU Builds High-Tech Test Track to Improve Crop Performance

Researchers at Michigan State University are studying photosynthesis and many other plant mechanisms in the lab using sophisticated sensors, cameras, software and more to explore the effects of real-world conditions.

Reconfiguring Active Particles into Dynamic Patterns

Northwestern University engineers discover electrostatic imbalance causes particles to swarm, cluster, and form connected chains.

Supercomputers Fire Lasers to Shoot Gamma Ray Beam

A team of scientists at the University of Texas at Austin used computer simulations to find a possible new source of gamma rays generated from tabletop lasers.

UCI Engineer Creates New Technique for Testing Nanomaterials

A University of California, Irvine engineer has invented a method for analyzing nanowires at temperatures approaching 800 degrees Fahrenheit in first-ever experiments, showing the valuable role the materials could play in converting excess heat from machines and electronics into useable electricity.