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

DNA Triggers Shape-Shifting in Hydrogels, Opening a New Way to Make ‘Soft Robots’

Biochemical engineers at Johns Hopkins University have used sequences of DNA molecules to induce shape-changing in water-based gels, demonstrating a new tactic to produce soft robots and “smart” medical devices that do not rely on cumbersome wires, batteries or tethers.

Physicists Offer Explanation for Diverse Galaxy Rotations

A team of physicists, led by Hai-Bo Yu of the University of California, Riverside, explain diverse galactic-rotation curves - a graph of rotation speeds at different distances from the center – as collisions by dark matter particles with one another in the inner halo, close to the galaxy’s center – a process called dark matter self-interaction.

UCLA Bioengineers Discover Mechanism that Regulates Cells' 'Powerhouses'

UCLA bioengineers and their colleagues have discovered a new perspective on how cells regulate the sizes of mitochondria, the parts of cells that provide energy, by cutting them into smaller units.

NMSU Physics Team Captures Footage of Vortex Within Microscopic Particles

A team of researchers from New Mexico State University’s Department of Physics have, for the first time, created a three-dimensional rendering of a microscopic nanoparticle’s structural transformation induced and controlled by an external electrical source.

Physics Student Awarded U.S. Department of Energy Research Program Award

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science announced today that University of Minnesota physics graduate student Zachary Loren Robinson is one of only 52 graduate students from across the nation selected for DOE’s 2017 Office of Science Graduate Student Research Program Award.

Wiesner Team Images Tiny Quasicrystals as They Form

A Cornell multidisciplinary team devised a way to get a "time-lapse" look at the early formation of mesoporous silica nanoparticles, from six-sided crystals all the way to 12-sided quasicrystals.

Slippery Liquid Surfaces Confuse Mussels to Stop Them From Sticking to Underwater Structures

Researchers the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and collaborators at NTU Singapore have demonstrated that mussels are unable to attach to certain slippery surfaces, making them attractive options for non-toxic, effective anti-fouling coatings for ships and other underwater structures.

Researchers Describe Protein Previously Unknown in Biology

University of Georgia researchers have discovered a new way that iron is stored in microorganisms, a finding that provides new insights into the fundamental nature of how biological systems work.

Computer Models Provide New Understanding of Sickle Cell Disease

Simulations developed by Brown University mathematicians provide new details of how sickle cell disease manifests inside red blood cells, which could help in developing new treatments.

Spotting the Spin of the Majorana Fermion Under the Microscope

Researchers at Princeton University have detected a unique quantum property of an elusive particle notable for behaving simultaneously like matter and antimatter. The particle, known as the Majorana fermion, is prized by researchers for its potential to open the doors to new quantum computing possibilities.

Island University Professor to Take Part in Unlocking Secrets of the Universe

Dr. Barbara Szczerbinska, Professor of Physics at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, is part of the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) Collaboration. DUNE scientists will be studying properties of neutrinos and seeking crucial information essential to our understanding of the universe.

Scientists Log Newfound Understanding of Water’s Responses to Changing Temperatures

A team of chemists has uncovered new ways in which frozen water responds to changes in temperature to produce novel formations. Its findings have implications for climate research as well as other processes that involve ice formation—from food preservation to agriculture.