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Researchers from the University of Vermont, Boston University, and Brookhaven National Laboratory have demonstrated a new experimental capability for watching thin film growth in real-time. Using the National Synchrotron Light Source II, the researchers were able to produce a 'movie' of thin film growth that depicts the process more accurately than traditional techniques can.

Scientists studying plant biochemistry at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory recently made a surprising discovery: They found that a protein that turns on oil synthesis also activates a protein that puts the brakes on the same process. In a paper just published in the journal Plant Physiology, they describe how this seemingly paradoxical system keeps oil precursors perfectly balanced to meet plants' needs.

Scientists seeking to understand the mechanism underlying superconductivity in 'stripe-ordered' cuprates -- copper-oxide materials with alternating areas of electric charge and magnetism -- discovered an unusual metallic state when attempting to turn superconductivity off. They found that under the conditions of their experiment, even after the material loses its ability to carry electrical current with no energy loss, it retains some conductivity -- and possibly the electron (or hole) pairs required for its superconducting superpower.

Energy is transferred through the structure in a way that boosts its response to light, showing promise for solar cell applications.

Scientists at Brookhaven Lab and the University of Arkansas have developed a highly efficient catalyst for extracting electrical energy from ethanol, an easy-to-store liquid fuel that can be generated from renewable resources. The catalyst steers the electro-oxidation of ethanol down an ideal chemical pathway that releases the liquid fuel's full potential of stored energy.

Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory have designed a new, organic cathode material for lithium batteries. With sulfur at its core, the material is more energy-dense, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly than traditional cathode materials in lithium batteries.

The formation and thickening of internal and surface barriers during battery charge and discharge cycles limits electrochemical reactions in a lithium-ion battery with an iron oxide electrode.

The global science and technology organization Battelle recognized materials scientist Mircea Cotlet of Brookhaven Lab's Center for Functional Nanomaterials for his research in applying self-assembly methods to control the interfaces between nanomaterials and other components that interact with light.