2018 | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

MSU Professor Awarded Grant to Harvest Medical Isotopes at FRIB

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science’s Office of Nuclear Physics awarded nearly $357,000 to a Michigan State University chemist to look into new methods of gathering rare isotopes.

"Folded" Optical Devices Manipulate Light in a New Way

The next generation of electronic devices, ranging from personal health monitors and augmented reality headsets to sensitive scientific instruments that would only be found in a laboratory, will likely incorporate components that use metasurface optics, according to Andrei Faraon, professor of applied physics in Caltech's Division of Engineering and Applied Science.

Synthetic Microorganisms Allow Scientists to Study Ancient Evolutionary Mysteries in the Laboratory

Scientists at Scripps Research and their collaborators have created microorganisms that may recapitulate key features of organisms thought to have lived billions of years ago, allowing them to explore questions about how life evolved from inanimate molecules to single-celled organisms to the complex, multicellular lifeforms we see today.

Atomic Path from Insulator to Metal Messier than Thought

Researchers have peeked behind the curtain of the ultrafast phase transition of vanadium dioxide and found its atomic theatrics are much more complicated than they thought. It’s a material that has fascinated scientists for decades for its ability to shift from being an electrical insulator to a conductor.

Overspending on Defense Arsenal Bankrupts a Plant's Economy

Defend or grow? Can plants do both at the same time? Michigan State University scientists might be inching closer to answering these questions. The answers matter. They could someday help us understand natural ecosystems or help farmers increase yields, without increasing dependence on chemicals to resist pests.

Naturally Occurring “Batteries” Fueled Organic Carbon Synthesis on Mars

A natural “battery” of briny liquids and volcanic minerals may have produced Mars’ organic carbon, according to new analysis of three Martian meteorites by a team including researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Visualizing “Unfurling” Microtubule Growth

Microtubule fibers are hollow rods made of much smaller tubulin subunits that spontaneously assemble at one end of the rod, but exactly how they do this inside the crowded environment of living cells has been a mystery. Now researchers at UC Davis have uncovered the mechanism that puts these blocks in place, illustrated in a new animation.

The Weak Force: Life Couldn't Exist Without It

David Armstrong, the Chancellor Professor of Physics at William & Mary, divides his time between Small Hall at William & Mary and the Department of Energy’s Jefferson Lab where he works on experiments involving the weak force, one of the four fundamental interactions that run the universe.

Research Uncovers the Spontaneous Polarization of Novel Ultrathin Materials

Associate professor Salvador Barraza-Lopez and Taneshwor Kaloni, a former post-doctoral researcher, studied ultrathin materials known as tin telluride (SnTe) with colleagues from the Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Matter in China.

Finally, a Robust Fuel Cell that Runs on Methane at Practical Temperatures

Though the cell is in the lab, it has high potential to someday electrically power homes and perhaps cars, say the researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology who led its development. In a new study in the journal Nature Energy the researchers detailed how they reimagined the entire fuel cell with the help of a newly invented fuel catalyst.

Doctoral Candidate Awarded Department of Energy Fellowship

University of Georgia doctoral candidate Jordan Russell was awarded a fellowship by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program.

Toward Unhackable Communication: Single Particles of Light Could Bring the 'Quantum Internet'

Purdue researchers have created a new light source that generates at least 35 million photons per second, increasing the speed of quantum communication.