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The US Departments of Agriculture and Energy will share resources and coordinate the study of plant and microbial genomics, and the Department of Energy will tackle the sequencing of the soybean genome as the first project resulting from the agreement. Soybean is of particular interest to DOE because it is the principal source of biodiesel, a renewable, alternative fuel.

Virginia Tech has taken an early lead in the Solar Decathlon, now underway on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., by winning Architecture and Dwelling, the first two of 10 contests in the competition.

The Energy Department today announced research awards totaling $92 million for six projects to better understand microbes and microbial communities. The microbial world and biotechnology promise solutions to major DOE challenges in: energy, cleanup of pollution at former nuclear weapons production sites; and minimizing global warming by controlling the cycling of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The six projects involve 21 institutions: four national laboratories, 15 universities or research institutes, one federal laboratory and one company.

The Department of Energy today issued a comprehensive plan for a new generation of biology research that builds on genome project investments to help solve national energy and environmental challenges. The Genomics: GTL Roadmap: Systems Biology for Energy and Environment outlines a plan to explore the world of microbes to produce the new science needed for achieving cleaner and more secure energy resources, remediating wastes and understanding the roles microbes play in the global climate.

The DOE's Office of Science has established a program to assist scientists displaced by the effects of Hurricane Katrina. A clearinghouse at DOE's Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education will match displaced individuals with host grant recipients. The program will match interested students and faculty researchers with research programs that currently receive Office of Science grants whose researchers wish to host such displaced individuals.

DOE's Office of Science has released a report describing the basic research needed to produce "revolutionary progress in bringing solar energy to its full potential in the energy marketplace." Progress in the proposed research could lead to: artificial "molecular machines" that turn sunlight into chemical fuel; "smart materials" based on nature's ability to transfer captured solar energy with no energy loss; self-repairing solar conversion systems; and far more efficient solar cells created using nanotechnologies.

Researchers will use mathematics to help solve problems such as the production of clean energy, pollution cleanup, manufacturing ever smaller computer chips, and making new "nanomaterials." Thirteen major research awards totaling $20 million will go to 17 universities and eight DOE national laboratories. This program addresses those science problems that span many time scales -- from femtoseconds to years -- and many length scales -- from the atomic level to the macroscopic.

Scientists are conducting a six-month atmospheric research campaign at the Point Reyes National Seashore in California. The experiment's goal is to help understand how aerosols -- small particles such as soot, dust and smoke -- influence the structure of marine stratus clouds, and how aerosols are associated with drizzle – the misty rain regularly produced by these types of clouds. The scientists think aerosols may be reducing coastal drizzle while increasing cloud cover.

DOE and other federal science agencies help public stay "alert" to the latest R&D results with Science.gov Alert Service.

In an effort to speed the development of an artificial retina that could potentially help millions of people blinded by retinal diseases, five DOE national laboratories, a private company and three universities have signed agreements to form a research partnership. The first prototype implants contain 16 electrodes. The next prototype, with 50-100 electrodes, is in preclinical trials. The project's "next generation" device would have 1,000 electrodes and hopefully would allow the user to see images.