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

Nonmagnetic Duo Form Unique Magnet

Scientists at Rice University did so and discovered what is a first of its kind: an itinerant antiferromagnetic metal — TiAu — made from nonmagnetic constituent elements.

Plant Defense Hormones Help Sculpt Root Microbiome

According to new research from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the defense hormone salicylic acid helps select which bacteria live both inside and on the surface of a plant’s roots, keeping some families out and actively recruiting others.

New Molecular Butterflies Help Advance Energy Research

Scientists at Florida State University have designed and produced new molecules resembling butterflies that have a wide range of potential applications, from molecular sensors to light-controlling devices.

Trapped Light Orbits Within an Intriguing Material

Light becomes trapped as it orbits within tiny granules of a crystalline material that has increasingly intrigued physicists, a team led by University of California, San Diego, physics professor Michael Fogler has found.

Solving Mysteries of Conductivity in Polymers

Researchers at MIT and Brookhaven National Laboratory discover materials seen as promising for optoelectronics and thermoelectric devices finally yield their secrets.

After 85-Year Search, Massless Particle with Promise for Next-Generation Electronics Discovered

An international team led by Princeton University scientists has discovered an elusive massless particle theorized 85 years ago that could give rise to faster and more efficient electronics because of its unusual ability to behave as matter and antimatter inside a crystal, according to new research.

Columbia Engineers Develop New Approach to Modeling Amazon Seasonal Cycles

Columbia engineers have developed a new approach to modeling which will improve understanding of the impact of deforestation and climate change on the Amazon basin.

Evidence Suggests Subatomic Particles Could Defy the Standard Model

Physicists from the University of Maryland working on a team at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider finds hints of leptons decaying at rates not predicted by standard physics.

Artificial Leaf Harnesses Sunlight for Efficient Fuel Production

Scientists at the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis – a DOE Energy Innovation Hub established at Caltech – have developed the first complete, efficient, safe, integrated solar-driven system for splitting water to create hydrogen fuels.

Chemists Find New Way to Do Light-Driven Reactions in Solar Energy Quest

Chemists at Emory University have found a new, more efficient method to perform light-driven reactions, opening up another possible pathway to harness sunlight for energy.

Biology, Not Just Physics, Controls Release of Scent Compounds From Plants

Purdue University research suggests active biological mechanisms transport scent and taste compounds known as volatiles from plant cells to the atmosphere, a finding that could overturn the textbook model of volatile emission as a process that occurs solely by diffusion.

Cultivating Crystals

An international group of researchers that includes the University of Delaware’s Adam Wallace has shown how nature uses a variety of pathways to grow crystals that go beyond the classical, one-atom-at-a-time route.