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

Forget Sponges: The Earliest Animals Were Marine Jellies

A team of evolutionary biologists from Vanderbilt University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have devised a new approach designed specifically to settle contentious phylogenetic tree-of-life issues.

400 Million Years of a Stable Relationship: Clues to the Molecular Basis of Balance in AM Symbiosis

Researchers at the Boyce Thompson Institute studying the interaction of root systems with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi have determined that transcription factors control a degeneration process that regulates the stability of the root-and-fungi symbiosis.

Proton-Nuclei Smashups Yield Clues About ‘Quark Gluon Plasma’

Findings from Rice University physicists working at Europe’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are providing new insight about an exotic state of matter called the “quark-gluon plasma” that occurs when protons and neutrons melt.

Research Shows Global Photosynthesis on the Rise

University of California Merced scientist Elliott Campbell and an interdisciplinary, international team of scientists discovered a chemical record of global photosynthesis, by analyzing the gases trapped in layers of Antarctic snow. They estimate that the sum of all plant photosynthesis on Earth grew by 30 percent over the 200-year record they captured.

Securing the Future

University of South Carolina chemistry researcher Hans-Conrad zur Loye's work has culminated in the creation of the Center for Hierarchical Waste Form Materials, which will develop storage materials that can contain nuclear waste for thousands of years.

X-Ray Study Reveals Long-Sought Insights Into Potential Drug Target

Wei Liu and his colleagues at ASU’s Biodesign Institute, along with a team led by Haitao Zhang and Vadim Cherezov of USC have examined one promising drug target in luminous detail, using a device known as an X-ray free electron laser, or XFEL.

Research Links Decline in Hemlock Forests to Changes in Water Resources

An insect infestation that is killing hemlock trees in New England forests is having a significant impact on the water resources of forested ecosystems that provide essential water supplies to one of the nation's most populous regions, according to research by Indiana University geographers and colleagues at three universities in Massachusetts.

Artificial Topological Matter Opens New Research Directions

An international team of researchers have created a new structure that allows the tuning of topological properties in such a way as to turn on or off these unique behaviors. The structure could open up possibilities for new explorations into the properties of topological states of matter.

Gray Tin Exhibits Novel Topological Electronic Properties in 3D

In a surprising new discovery, alpha-tin, commonly called gray tin, exhibits a novel electronic phase when its crystal structure is strained, putting it in a rare new class of 3D materials called topological Dirac semimetals (TDSs).

To E-, or not to E-, the Question for the Exotic “Si-III” Phase of Silicon

New work led by Carnegie’s Tim Strobel and published in Physical Review Letters shows that one form of silicon, called Si-III (or sometimes BC8), which is synthesized using a high-pressure process, is what’s called a narrow band gap semiconductor.

Team at the University of Delaware Highlights Work on Tuning Block Polymers for Nanostructured Systems

Block polymers, which are two or more polymer chains with different properties linked together, show great promise for many of these applications, and a research group at the University of Delaware has made significant strides in their development over the past several years.

A Big Leap Toward Tinier Lines

A team of researchers at MIT and in Chicago have created a self-assembly technique that could lead to long-awaited, simple method for making smaller microchip patterns.