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21-Aug-2020
Next-generation electron source hits the bullseye for materials studies
DOE/US Department of Energy
Researchers have designed and demonstrated a new bullseye lens for very bright, very fast electron sources. The lens combines atomically flat surfaces with concentric grooves that direct the interactions of the surface electrons to form an intense electron beam in the center of the bullseye. The lens can generate pulses lasting less than 10 femtoseconds.
19-Aug-2020
The traits of microbes matter in microbial carbon cycling and storage
DOE/US Department of Energy
Researchers studied different microbiomes to determine if the species in those microbiomes were equally good at breaking down leaf litter. The research helped to identify the microbial traits that might lead to related carbon storage or loss and found that the makeup of a soil microbiome is critical to the fate of carbon in that soil.
19-Aug-2020
Controlling light to accelerate electrons in just meters
DOE/US Department of Energy
A new paradigm in particle accelerator design paves the way to dramatically smaller accelerators. The novel "dephasingless laser wakefield accelerator" concept uses a new technology called 'flying focus.' That combines special optics to shape an ultra-short, high-intensity laser pulse.
17-Aug-2020
Watching electrons harvest light at the nanoscale
DOE/US Department of Energy
Mixtures of nanoparticle materials show promise for solar fuels production. For example, gold donor particles absorb sunlight well, but they need another acceptor material to efficiently make fuel. Now, scientists have found a way to count electrons as they transfer between the two materials during these chemical reactions.
14-Aug-2020
"Multitasking" AI tool extracts cancer data in record time
DOE/US Department of Energy
Digital cancer registries collect, manage, and store data on cancer patients to help identify trends in diagnoses and treatment. However, cancer pathology reports are complex. To better leverage data, scientists developed an artificial intelligence-based natural language processing tool to help extract information from textual pathology reports.
14-Aug-2020
Elongated ring polymers get tied up in knots
DOE/US Department of Energy
Scientists have used simulations to discover a special polymer liquid that, when elongated don't just stretch out; they also tie themselves into knots. This forms massive molecular chains that can increase the fluid's viscosity, or resistance to flow, by a factor of 20.
10-Aug-2020
Shape-shifting selenium; abrupt change found between selenium-70 and selenium-72
DOE/US Department of Energy
Nuclear scientists recently found that the nucleus of the radioactive isotope selenium-72 has a football-like shape. This is similar to the stable, nonradioactive isotopes of selenium, but different from the disk-like shape of radioactive selenium-70 nuclei. This finding helps explain how the interaction between protons and neutrons in nuclei leads to collective behavior.
4-Aug-2020
Digging into the roots of phosphorus availability
DOE/US Department of Energy
Scientists do not fully understand the mechanisms that plants use to extract phosphorus from soil and incorporate it into their biomass. Now, researchers have developed a new technique to visualize the activity and distribution of enzymes that mobilize phosphate around plant roots.
4-Aug-2020
Machine learning probes 3D microstructures
DOE/US Department of Energy
Scientists have developed a machine learning technique for materials research at the atomic and molecular scales. The technique visualizes and quantifies the atomic and molecular structures in three-dimensional samples in real time. It is designed primarily to identify and characterize microstructures in 3D samples, and includes topology classification, image processing, and clustering algorithms.