2017 | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

When Water Met Iron Deep Inside the Earth, It Might Have Created Conditions for Life

Reservoirs of oxygen-rich iron between the Earth’s core and mantle could have played a major role in Earth’s history, including the breakup of supercontinents, drastic changes in Earth’s atmospheric makeup, and the creation of life, according to recent work from an international research team published in National Science Review.

Supercomputer Simulates Dynamic Magnetic Fields of Jupiter, Earth, Sun

As the Juno space probe approached Jupiter in June last year, researchers with the Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics’ Dynamo Working Group which is headquartered at UC Davis, were starting to run simulations of the giant planet’s magnetic field on one of the world’s fastest computers. While the timing was coincidental, the supercomputer modeling should help scientists interpret the data from Juno, and vice versa.

Sensors Applied to Plant Leaves Warn of Water Shortage

MIT engineers have created sensors that can be printed onto plant leaves and reveal when the plants are experiencing a water shortage. This kind of technology could not only save neglected houseplants but, more importantly, give farmers an early warning when their crops are in danger.

Research is Making Plant Waste a Viable Option in Ethanol Production

UC Riverside researchers have developed a streamlined process that could finally make the ethanol production cost from abundant “second generation” plant wastes competitive with “first generation” ethanol made from sugars.

Puzzling New Supernova May Be From Star Producing Antimatter

An exploding star that continued to shine for nearly two years — unlike most supernovae, which fade after a few weeks — is puzzling astronomers and leading theorists, including UC Berkeley astrophysicist Daniel Kasen, to suggest that the event may be an example of a star so hot that it produces antimatter in its core.

Ultrafast Magnetic Reversal Points the Way Toward Speedy, Low-Power Computer Memory

Researchers at UC Berkeley and UC Riverside have developed a new, ultrafast method for electrically controlling magnetism in certain metals, a breakthrough that could lead to greatly increased performance and more energy-efficient computer memory and processing technologies.

Artificial Intelligence Aids Materials Fabrication

A team of researchers at MIT, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and the University of California at Berkeley hope to close the materials-science automation gap, with a new artificial-intelligence system that would pore through research papers to deduce “recipes” for producing particular materials.

Transformation of Graphite into Hexagonal Diamond Documented by WSU Researchers

A new study by Washington State University researchers answers longstanding questions about the formation of a rare type of diamond during major meteorite strikes.

New Research Findings Could Lead to Safer and More Powerful Lithium-ion Batteries

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers are working to improve conductivity and safety in lithium-ion batteries, which are used to power many electronic devices around the world, including laptops, iPods, satellites, artificial hearts and cell phones.

New Technique Makes Light Metallic Nanofoam

UC Davis physicists Dustin Gilbert, Kai Liu and colleagues have come up with a new method to make a nanofoam of palladium. The foamy metal could be used to store hydrogen in vehicles or for other purposes.

Rutgers-led Research Could Revolutionize Nuclear Waste Reprocessing and Save Money

Seeking a better way to capture radioactive iodides in spent nuclear reactor fuel, Rutgers–New Brunswick scientists have developed an extremely efficient “molecular trap” that can be recycled and reused.

Mapping the Microbiome of … Everything

In the Earth Microbiome Project, an extensive global team co-led by researchers at University of California San Diego, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory collected more than 27,000 samples from numerous, diverse environments around the globe.