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

New Biosensor Highlights Best Biofuel-producing Microbes

A major goal of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center is to harness the power of microbes to create biofuels. But often, it’s an expensive challenge for scientists to identify the most useful individual variants among thousands of similar microbe strains. A new study led by Vatsan Raman, an assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, unveils a biosensor that may light the way to the best microbial candidates for biofuel production.

For Zombie Microbes, Deep-Sea Buffet is Just Out of Reach

Far below the ocean floor, sediments are teeming with bizarre zombie-like microbes. Although they’re technically alive, they grow in slow motion, and can take decades for a single cell to divide—something their cousins at the surface do in a matter of minutes. A new study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is beginning to pick apart how they survive by examining their source of “food”—nearby molecules of organic carbon.

UMD Engineers Discover Root Cause of Solid-State Battery Failure

A University of Maryland (UMD) research team - consisting of Chunsheng Wang, a professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE); Howard Wang, a visiting research professor of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and Nancy Dudney of Oak Ridge National Laboratory - discovered that high electronic conductivity of solid electrolytes is the root cause of dendrite formation in solid-state batteries.

New Thermoelectric Material Delivers Record Performance

Taking advantage of recent advances in using theoretical calculations to predict the properties of new materials, researchers have reported the discovery of a new class of half-Heusler thermoelectric compounds, including one with a record high figure of merit – a metric used to determine how efficiently a thermoelectric material can convert heat to electricity.

Superconductors Due for a Tuneup

Physicists at Rice University show quantum materials can be tuned for superconductivity.

IU Study Predicts How Air Pollutants from U.S. Forest Soils Will Increase with Climate Change

A study from Indiana University has found that trees influence whether soil can remove or emit gases that cause smog, acid rain and respiratory problems.

2-D Nanosheet Expands Like a Grow Monster

Engineers have discovered that tiny crystal lattices called “self-assembling molecular nanosheets” expand when exposed to light.

Researchers Link Sedentary Behavior to Thinning in Brain Region Critical for Memory

Sitting too much is linked to changes in a section of the brain that is critical for memory, according to a preliminary study by UCLA researchers of middle-aged and older adults.

W&M Physicist Elected Co-Spokesperson for NOvA Neutrino Experiment

Tricia Vahle, professor of physics at William & Mary and longtime NOvA leader and scientist, was elected as NOvA’s new co-spokesperson in 2018 and assumed her role on March 21.

Machine-Learning System Processes Sounds Like Humans Do

Using a machine-learning system known as a deep neural network, MIT researchers have created the first model that can replicate human performance on auditory tasks such as identifying a musical genre.

Liquid Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy Makes a Window into the Nanoscale

A team of scientists and engineers dug into the mechanisms that degrade sample quality in liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (LC-TEM). They developed an LC-TEM device that uses multiple windows and patterned features to explore the impacts of high-energy electron bombardment on nanoparticles and sensitive biological samples.

Electrochemical Tuning of Single Layer Materials Relies on Defects

Perfection is not everything, according to an international team of researchers whose 2-D materials study shows that defects can enhance a material's physical, electrochemical, magnetic, energy and catalytic properties.