U.S. Department of Energy Research News

Showing releases 126-150 out of 194 releases.
Click to go to page: [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 ]

Public Release: 14-Sep-2009
Plasma power: Turning fusion into a renewable energy source
A team of researchers from UC San Diego, MIT and UC Berkeley have received a $7 million research grant from the US Department of Energy that could lead us one step closer to turning fusion into a green energy source.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 13-Sep-2009

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
High-res view of zinc transport protein
New, improved-resolution views of a zinc transporter protein deciphered at Brookhaven National Laboratory suggest a mechanism for how cells sense and regulate zinc, an element that is essential for life.

National Institutes of Health, US Department of Energy, Brookhaven National Laboratory

Public Release: 9-Sep-2009

Nano Letters
Gold solution for enhancing nanocrystal electrical conductance
In a development that holds much promise for the future of solar electricity and fuel, Berkeley Lab researchers used gold tips grown in solution to increase the electrical conductivity of cadmium-selenide nanorod crystals by 100,000 times.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 9-Sep-2009

Nature
Genome of Irish potato famine pathogen decoded
An international research team has decoded the genome of the notorious organism that triggered the Irish potato famine in the mid-19th century and now threatens this season's tomato and potato crops across much of the US. The study reveals an unusually large genome size -- more than twice that of closely related species -- and an extraordinary genome structure, which together appear to enable the rapid evolution of genes, particularly those involved in plant infection.

US Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, Gatsby Charitable Foundation

Public Release: 8-Sep-2009

Nature Cell Biology
Plants on steroids: Key missing link discovered
Researchers have discovered a key missing link in the so-called signaling pathway for plant steroid hormones. This discovery marks the first such pathway in plants for which all the steps have been identified. Since this pathway shares many similarities with pathways in humans, the discovery not only could lead to the genetic engineering of improved crops, but also could be a key to understanding major human diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's.

National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy, Herman Frasch Foundation

Public Release: 8-Sep-2009
Virginia Tech engineers Thorp and Phadke lead nation's efforts to protect power grid
Arun Phadke and James Thorp, recipients of the 2008 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering and members of the National Academy of Engineering, have developed a number of advances that strengthen the electric utility industry's ability to prevent power grid blackouts, or to make them less intense and easier to recover from. Newly funded work will advance technologies that rely on the exchange of synchrophasor data among electric utility companies and other electricity entities.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 8-Sep-2009
Making geothermal more productive
University of Utah researchers will inject cool water and pressurized water into a "dry" geothermal well during a five-year, $10.2 million study aimed at boosting the productivity of geothermal power plants and making them feasible nationwide.

US Department of Energy, University of Utah, US Geothermal Inc, Apex HiPoint, LLC

Public Release: 8-Sep-2009

JAMA
Deficits in brain's reward system observed in ADHD patients
A brain-imaging study conducted at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory provides the first definitive evidence that patients suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have lower-than-normal levels of certain proteins essential for experiencing reward and motivation.

NIH/National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH/National Institute on Mental Health, US Department of Energy

Public Release: 7-Sep-2009

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
New genomic model defines microbes by diet -- provides tool for tracking environmental change
Through a novel genomic approach detailed in the Sept. 7 online edition and on the cover Sept. 14 of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an international team of scientists led by the University of New South Wales and the DOE JGI demonstrates how the microbial diversity of the oceans can be analyzed without necessarily cultivating samples in the laboratory.

Public Release: 3-Sep-2009
Argonne researchers develop method that aims to stabilize antibodies
Researchers at the US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have developed a systematic method to improve the stability of antibodies. The technique could lead to better biosensors, disease therapeutics and diagnostic reagents and non-laboratory applications, including environmental remediation. "The primary issues with antibodies is that they are fragile and short-lived outside of cooler temperature-controlled environments, making their usefulness usually limited to laboratory applications," said Argonne senior biophysicist Fred Stevens, the project's principle investigator.

Public Release: 3-Sep-2009
Los Alamos technology strikes a chord with algal biofuels
An award-winning Los Alamos National Laboratory sound-wave technology is helping Solix Biofuels Inc. optimize production of algae-based fuel in a cost-effective, scalable, and environmentally benign fashion -- paving the way to lowering the carbon footprint of biofuel production.

Public Release: 3-Sep-2009
Department of Energy supports carbon sequestration research, University of Miami receives $1.7 million
A team from the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science was among 19 entities awarded funds by the US Department of Energy to research new methods for monitoring leakage from potential CO2 reservoirs.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 3-Sep-2009

Journal of Physical Chemistry A
Hot and cold moves of cyanide and water
Scientists have long known that molecules dance about as the temperature rises, but now researchers know the exact steps that water takes with a certain molecule. Results with small, electrically charged cyanide ions and water molecules reveal that water zips around ions to a greater extent than expected. The findings, published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry A, improve our understanding of a chemical interaction important in environmental and atmospheric sciences.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 2-Sep-2009
Story tips from the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory September 2009
Specialized cameras at weigh stations in Kentucky are helping ensure that operators of commercial vehicles are abiding by all state and federal laws. ORNL is partnering with SBE Inc., a Barre, Vt., power and electronics firm, to help test and improve electric vehicle capacitors. Even the smallest detail has been included in an ORNL study that examines the consumption and release of carbon by humans. Thin-layer chromatography produces high-resolution separations faster and at lower costs than other methods.

Public Release: 2-Sep-2009
Greenlighting a greener world
Rensselaer Professor Christian Wetzel is working to create better, brighter green LEDs that could lead to a new generation of high-performance, energy-efficient monitors, TVs and other display and lighting devices.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 2-Sep-2009
University of Nevada, Reno researcher uses 100,000 degree heat to study plasma
University of Nevada, Reno researcher and faculty member Roberto Mancini is studying ultra-high temperature and non-equilibrium plasmas to mimic what happens to matter in accretion disks around black holes. The research will enable astrophysicists to better understand what happens around black holes and in active galactic nuclei. Scientists will also better understand the application of high-energy density plasmas to energy production, such as controlled nuclear fusion (produced in the laboratory), and production of X-ray sources for a variety of applications.

US Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration

Public Release: 2-Sep-2009

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Fungal map of mutations key to increasing enzyme production for bioenergy use
In a PNAS paper released online this week, an international team of researchers provides the first genome-wide look at the mutations in strains of the fungus Trichoderma reesei in order to understand just how the production of enzymes that break down cellulose production was first improved, and how it can be boosted even further for industrial applications such as biofuel production.

Public Release: 2-Sep-2009

Journal of Geophysical Research
Methane gas likely spewing into the oceans through vents in sea floor
Scientists worry that rising global temperatures accompanied by melting permafrost in arctic regions will initiate the release of underground methane into the atmosphere. An MIT paper elucidates how this underground methane in frozen regions would escape and concludes that methane trapped under the ocean may already be escaping through vents in the sea floor a million times faster than previously believed.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 1-Sep-2009
PNNL to lead environmental impacts study on marine, river power
The US Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will receive more than $6.8 million over three years to advance the production of renewable power from the natural movement of oceans and rivers. The bulk of the funding -- $3.45 million, or $1.15 million per year -- allows PNNL to lead a project that will examine the environmental impacts of marine and hydrokinetic power.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 1-Sep-2009

Angewandte Chemie International
Hydrogen storage gets new hope
A new method for "recycling" hydrogen-containing fuel materials could open the door to economically viable hydrogen-based vehicles. In an article appearing today in Angewandte Chemie, Los Alamos National Laboratory and University of Alabama researchers working within the US Department of Energy's Chemical Hydrogen Storage Center of Excellence describe a significant advance in hydrogen storage science.

Public Release: 31-Aug-2009

Advanced Materials
Silk-based optical waveguides meet biomedical needs
Researchers at Tufts and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign demonstrate a new way to make silk-based optical waveguides that are biocompatible, biodegradable and readily functionalized with active molecules. This opens up opportunities in biologically based modulation and sensing and ability to integrate light delivery in living tissue.

National Science Foundation, US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, US Air Force Office of Scientific Research, US Department of Energy

Public Release: 31-Aug-2009

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Hidden diversity in key environmental cleanup microbes found by systems biology assessment
Researchers analyzed the gene sequences, proteins expressed and physiology of 10 strains of bioremediation microbes called Shewanella. Results showed surprising diversity not seen using traditional microbiology approaches.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 28-Aug-2009

Water Environment Research
ORNL scientists hone technique to safeguard water supplies
A method to detect contaminants in municipal water supplies has undergone further refinements. The new work demonstrates that the technology that uses algae as sentinels has broader applications than previously reported.

Public Release: 27-Aug-2009

Science
Small fluctuations in solar activity, large influence on the climate
Sun spot frequency has an unexpectedly strong influence on cloud formation and precipitation. Impact of solar radiation on climate parameters is higher than expected.

National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy

Public Release: 27-Aug-2009

Science
Scientists uncover solar cycle, stratosphere and ocean connections
Subtle connections between the 11-year solar cycle, the stratosphere, and the tropical Pacific Ocean work in sync to generate periodic weather patterns that affect much of the globe, according to research appearing this week in the journal Science.

National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy

Showing releases 126-150 out of 194 releases.
Click to go to page: [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 ]