University Research | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

Unraveling Root Growth Control Network

Researchers at UC Davis and the University of Massachusetts Amherst have for the first time described part of the network of genetic controls that allows a plant to grow.

“Assassin” Targets Supernovae in Our Neighborhood of the Universe

While many astronomical collaborations use powerful telescopes to target individual objects in the distant universe, a new project at The Ohio State University is doing something radically different: using small telescopes to study a growing portion of the nearby universe all at once.

Mapping of Silver Matrix Formation in Batteries Will Enhance Efficiency

Scientists at Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory are using pioneering x-ray techniques to map internal atomic transformations of the highly conductive silver matrix formation within lithium-based batteries that may lead to the design of more efficient batteries.

Stanford Engineers Use Brilliant X-rays to Illuminate Catalysis, Revise Theories

Using high-brilliance X-rays in a new way, Stanford engineers observed electrons at work during catalytic reactions. Their findings challenge long-held theories about some catalysts, opening the door to new or improved renewable energy applications.

No Escape: Researchers Create Safety Lock for Genetically Modified Organisms

Scientists at Harvard Medical School have engineered a strain of E. coli to be dependent on a synthetic amino acid, which may prove useful as a biocontainment strategy.

Iowa State Nuclear Physicist Makes the Case for Studying the Strong Nuclear Force

Iowa State's John Lajoie recently made the case for nuclear physics research and the multi-million-dollar experiments and huge collaborations it takes to make discoveries.

High-temperature Superconductor 'Fingerprint' Found

Theorists and experimentalists working together at Cornell may have found the answer to a major challenge in condensed matter physics: identifying the smoking gun of why “unconventional” superconductivity occurs.

3D 'Pop-up' Silicon Structures: New Process Transforms Planar Materials into 3D Microarchitectures

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign describe a unique process for geometrically transforming two dimensional (2D) micro/nanostructures into extended 3D layouts by exploiting mechanics principles similar to those found in children’s ‘pop-up’ books.

NYU Researchers Identify Nature of Fish’s “Sixth Sense”

Team supported by the Office of Science and others helps solve mystery of how aquatic creatures respond to their environment.

Aircraft, Research Vessel, and Ground Stations Will Gather Data to Improve What is Known About Factors Affecting Precipitation as California’s Drought Continues

Study will help provide a better understanding of how California gets its rain and snow, how human activities are influencing precipitation, and how the new science provides potential to inform water management decisions relating to drought and flood.

Clearing the Way for Floquet-Bloch States

A team at MIT demonstrates pure quantum-mechanical mixture of electrons and photons in the solid topological insulator bismuth selenide.

New Study Finds Bacteria Attack Lignin with Enzymatic Tag Team

In a study that could point the way to biofuels processes of the future, scientists from Rice University, the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Joint BioEnergy Institute at Emeryville, Calif., have discovered how two bacterial enzymes work as a team to break apart lignin.