U.S. Department of Energy Research News

Public Release: 30-Apr-2013

Nature Communications
Does antimatter fall up or down?
Theory and observations support the view that antimatter experiences gravity just as ordinary matter does, but the evidence so far has been indirect. Indeed, some theorists speculate that antimatter is antigravitational, that it may fall "up" instead of "down."

Department of Energy Office of Science, ALPHA Collaboration

Public Release: 29-Apr-2013

Nature Methods
Comparing proteins at a glance
A revolutionary X-ray analytical technique enables researchers at a glance to identify structural similarities and differences between multiple proteins under a variety of conditions and has already been used to gain valuable new insight into a prime protein target for cancer chemotherapy.

US Department of Energy Office of Science, National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 26-Apr-2013
Changing cellulose-forming process may tap plants' biofuel potential
Changing the way a plant forms cellulose may lead to more efficient, less expensive biofuel production, according to Penn State engineers.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 25-Apr-2013

Nature
Bold move forward in molecular analyses
New metrics for analyzing data from small angle scattering experiments should dramatically improve the ability of scientists to study the structures of macromolecules such as proteins and nanoparticles in solution.

US Department of Energy Office of Science, National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 24-Apr-2013

Nature Communications
Speeding the search for better methane capture
Systematic in silico studies have identified several zeolite compounds that show technological promise for capturing methane, the main component of natural gas, that can serve as an ally or an adversary in combating global climate change.

US Department of Energy Office of Science

Public Release: 24-Apr-2013

Energy & Environmental Science
New battery design could help solar and wind power the grid
Researchers from SLAC and Stanford have designed a low-cost, long-life battery that could enable solar and wind energy to become major suppliers to the electrical grid.

US Department of Energy Office of Science, Stanford University, US Department of Energy Joint Center for Energy Storage Research

Public Release: 24-Apr-2013

Energy & Environmental Science
Recipe for low-cost, biomass-derived catalyst for hydrogen production
Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory describe details of a low-cost, stable, effective catalyst that could replace costly platinum in the production of hydrogen. The catalyst, made from renewable soybeans and abundant molybdenum metal, produces hydrogen in an environmentally friendly, cost-effective manner, potentially increasing the use of this clean energy source.

Department of Energy Office of Science

Public Release: 23-Apr-2013

Metallomics
Strengthening legumes to tackle fertilizer pollution
An international team of scientists create the first model of legume iron transportation aimed at maximizing nitrogen fixation, even in poor soil.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 23-Apr-2013

Nano Letters
Nanowires grown on graphene have surprising structure
When a team of University of Illinois engineers set out to grow nanowires of a compound semiconductor on top of a sheet of graphene, they did not expect to discover a new paradigm of epitaxy. The self-assembled wires have a core of one composition and an outer layer of another, a desired trait for many advanced electronics applications.

US Department of Energy, National Science Foundation

Public Release: 23-Apr-2013

Physical Review Letters
Cause of LED efficiency droop finally revealed
UCSB and Ecole Polytechnique researchers have conclusively identified Auger recombination as the mechanism that causes light emitting diodes to be less efficient at high drive currents.

US Department of Energy, Office of Science

Public Release: 23-Apr-2013
Fertilizer that fizzles in a homemade bomb could save lives around the world
A Sandia engineer who trained US soldiers to avoid improvised explosive devices has developed a fertilizer that helps plants grow but can't detonate a bomb.

Public Release: 19-Apr-2013

Journal of the American Chemical Society
Freedom of assembly
Scientists at the US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have, for the first time, captured movies of nanoparticle self-assembly, giving researchers a new glimpse of an unusual material property.

National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy

Public Release: 19-Apr-2013

Global Change Biology
Nitrogen has key role in estimating CO2 emissions from land use change
A new global-scale modeling study that takes into account nitrogen -- a key nutrient for plants -- estimates that carbon emissions from human activities on land were 40 percent higher in the 1990s than in studies that did not account for nitrogen. Plant regrowth -- and therefore carbon assimilation by plants -- is limited by nitrogen availability, causing other studies to overestimate regrowth and underestimate net emissions from the harvest-regrowth cycle.

NASA, US Department of Energy

Public Release: 18-Apr-2013

Science
New solar-cell coating could boost efficiency
New technique developed at MIT could enable a major boost in solar-cell efficiency.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 16-Apr-2013
Softening steel problem expands computer model applications
Sandia National Laboratories worked with the National Nuclear Security Administration's Kansas City Plant on the rapid design of an annealing process to soften stainless steel tubing.

Public Release: 16-Apr-2013

Nature Materials
NREL and partners demonstrate quantum dots that assemble themselves
Scientists from the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and other labs have demonstrated a process whereby quantum dots can self-assemble at optimal locations in nanowires, a breakthrough that could improve solar cells, quantum computing, and lighting devices. A paper on the new technology, "Self-assembled Quantum Dots in a Nanowire System for Quantum Photonics," appears in the current issue of the scientific journal Nature Materials.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 16-Apr-2013

Scientific Reports
NREL and Stanford team up on peel-and-stick solar cells
It may be possible soon to charge cell phones, change the tint on windows, or power small toys with peel-and-stick versions of solar cells, thanks to a partnership between Stanford University and the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. A scientific paper, "Peel and Stick: Fabricating Thin Film Solar Cells on Universal Substrates," appears in the online version of Scientific Reports, a subsidiary of the British scientific journal Nature.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 16-Apr-2013

Nature Communications
Lawrence Livermore scientists discover new materials to capture methane
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and UC Berkeley and have discovered new materials to capture methane, the second highest concentration greenhouse gas emitted into the atmosphere.

Public Release: 16-Apr-2013
NREL survey shows dramatic improvement in B100 biodiesel quality
The latest national survey of 100 percent biodiesel "blend stock" samples by the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that 95% of the samples from 2011-12 met ASTM International fuel quality specifications. The ASTM standards serve as guidelines for industry and are designed to ensure quality at the pump for consumers -- along with reliable operation of the nation's vehicles powered by biodiesel blends.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 15-Apr-2013

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Plant protein puzzle solved
Researchers from North Carolina State University believe they have solved a puzzle that has long vexed science. The researchers provide the first three-dimensional model of an enzyme that links a simple sugar, glucose, into long-chain cellulose, the basic building block within plant cell walls that gives plants structure. Cellulose is nature's most abundant renewable biomaterial and an important resource for production of biofuels that represent alternatives to fossil fuels.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 15-Apr-2013
ORNL leading study focused on afterlife of electric vehicle batteries
Once they've finished powering electric vehicles for hundreds of thousands of miles, it may not be the end of the road for automotive batteries, which researchers believe can provide continued benefits for consumers, automakers and the environment.

Public Release: 15-Apr-2013
UNC Charlotte researcher leads effort to forecast optimal energy investments
A Department of Energy SunShot award will fund a team that will use modeling based on the principles of ecological dynamics to forecast optimal investments for the array of solar energy technologies that are emerging.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 14-Apr-2013

Nature Climate Change
Cutting specific pollutants would slow sea level rise
With coastal areas bracing for rising sea levels, new research indicates that cutting emissions of certain pollutants can greatly slow down sea level rise. Reductions in the four pollutants that cycle comparatively quickly through the atmosphere could forestall the rate of sea level rise by roughly 25 to 50 percent.

National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy

Public Release: 11-Apr-2013

Science
Tiny wireless device shines light on mouse brain, generating reward
Using a miniature electronic device implanted in the brain, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign have tapped into the internal reward system of mice, prodding neurons to release dopamine, a chemical associated with pleasure. The scientists report their findings in the journal Science.

NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience, US Department of Energy

Public Release: 11-Apr-2013

Science
Researchers measure reaction rates of second key atmospheric component
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories' Combustion Research Facility, the University of Manchester, Bristol University, University of Southampton and Hong Kong Polytechnic have successfully measured reaction rates of a second Criegee intermediate, CH3CHOO, and proven that the reactivity of the atmospheric chemical depends strongly on which way the molecule is twisted.

US Department of Energy