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

Researchers Get First Look at Electrons Escaping Atoms

Researchers at Ohio State University have succeeded for the first time in tracking an electron leaving the vicinity of an atom as the atom absorbs light. In a way akin to taking “snapshots” of the process, they were able to follow how each electron’s unique momentum changed over the incredibly short span of time it took to escape its host atom and become a free electron.

Breaking the Rules: Heavy Chemical Elements Alter Theory of Quantum Mechanics

Florida State University researchers found that the theory of quantum mechanics does not adequately explain how the heaviest and rarest elements found at the end of the table function. Instead, another well-known scientific theory — Albert Einstein’s famous Theory of Relativity — helps govern the behavior of the last 21 elements of the Periodic Table.

UC San Diego Researchers Explain the Mechanism of Asexual Reproduction in Freshwater Flatworms

Freshwater planarians, found around the world and commonly known as “flatworms,” are famous for their regenerative prowess. Through a process called “fission,” planarians can reproduce asexually by simply tearing themselves into two pieces— a head and a tail—which then go on to form two new worms within about a week.

Tiny Aquariums Put Nanoparticle Self-Assembly on Display

A team of University of Illinois engineers is observing the interactions of colloidal gold nanoparticles inside tiny aquariumlike sample containers to gain more control over the self-assembly process of engineered materials.

U.S. Department of Energy Awards Danforth Center $16M to Enhance Sorghum for Bioenergy

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, one of the world’s largest independent plant science institutes, today announced a 5-year $16 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Investing in Cell Wall Growth for Improved Photosynthesis

A new study by researchers at Michigan State University showed how changes in leaf cell wall make-up can dramatically affect how large or thick leaves grow.

Melting Solid Below the Freezing Point

Researchers at the Carnegie Institution for Science and Argonne National Laboratory have discovered a new phenomenon of so-called metastability in a liquid phase by melting a high-pressure solid crystal of the metal bismuth via a decompression process below its melting point.

Physics Student Thrives at Princeton Internship

Jesus Perez, an applied physics major at Cal State San Marcos, served as a fall intern for the Science of Undergraduate Laboratory Internships program at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in New Jersey.

A Step Toward Renewable Diesel

MIT engineers have genetically reprogrammed a strain of yeast so that it converts sugars to fats much more efficiently, an advance that could make possible the renewable production of high-energy fuels such as diesel.

Manganese Oxides in Treatment System Could Be Mixed Blessing

Researchers at North Carolina State University found that a fungal catalyst can oxidize manganese, creating oxides which have a large affinity for metals thus creating a passive treatment to remove micro-pollutants out of water.

New Design Strategy for Longer Lasting Batteries

Christopher Wolverton, professor of materials science and engineering in Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering, has developed a new computational design strategy that can pinpoint optimal materials with which to coat the cathode in lithium-ion batteries, protecting it from degradation and ultimately extending the battery’s — and device’s — life.

Scientists Enlist Supercomputers and Machine Learning to Automatically Identify Brain Tumors

A team led by University of Texas at Austin researchers shines in the Multimodal Brain Tumor Segmentation Challenge.