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3-Dec-2009

Grooving down the helix

DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists from the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, Harvard University, and the Indian Institute of Science has made a major step in understanding how molecules locate the genetic information in DNA that is necessary to carry out important biological processes. The research confirms that many proteins responsible for interacting at specific sites on DNA find their targets by sliding along one of the grooves of the double helix in a spiraling fashion.

Journal: Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
Funder: NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Department of Science and Technology of India, National Science Foundation

30-Nov-2009

Brain scan study shows cocaine abusers can control cravings

DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new brain-imaging study shows that active cocaine abusers can suppress drug craving, suggesting new ways to help them quit and avoid relapse.

Journal: NeuroImage
Funder: NIH/National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

29-Nov-2009

Observation of confinement phenomenon in condensed matter

DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An experiment has confirmed that spinons, particle-like magnetic excitations, can be confined in a magnetic insulator similar to the way elementary quarks are confined within individual protons and neutrons. The finding, in a well-described magnetic system, may offer new ways to explore quantum chromodynamics, the theory that describes the fundamental interactions of quarks.

Journal: Nature Physics
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

29-Oct-2009

Pinning down superconductivity to a single layer

DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Using precision techniques for making superconducting thin films layer-by-layer, physicists at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified a single layer responsible for one such material's ability to become superconducting, i.e., carry electrical current with no energy loss. The technique, described in the Oct. 30, 2009, issue of Science, could be used to engineer ultrathin films with "tunable" superconductivity for higher-efficiency electronic devices.

Journal: Science
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

20-Oct-2009

Genomes of 2 popular research strains of E. coli sequenced

DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers from the United States, Korea, and France have sequenced and analyzed the genomes of two important laboratory strains of E. coli bacteria, one used to study evolution and the other to produce proteins for basic research or practical applications. The findings will help guide future research and will also open a window to a deeper understanding of classical research that is the foundation of our understanding of basic molecular biology and genetics.

Journal: Journal of Molecular Biology
Funder: Science and Technology, DOE/US Department of Energy, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Science Foundation, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Consortium National de Recherche en Genomique, Korean Ministry of Education

19-Oct-2009

Popping the cork on biofuel agriculture

DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified a novel enzyme responsible for the formation of suberin -- the woody, waxy, cell-wall substance found in cork. Adjusting the permeability of plant tissues by genetically manipulating the expression of this enzyme could lead to easier agricultural production of crops used for biofuels.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

24-Sep-2009

Brookhaven Lab's Joanna Fowler to be awarded National Medal of Science

DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Grant and Award Announcement

Joanna Fowler, a senior chemist and director of the Radiotracer Chemistry, Instrumentation and Biological Imaging Program at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, will be awarded the National Medal of Science at a White House ceremony on October 7. She is one of nine researchers named by President Barack Obama to receive the nation's highest award for lifetime achievement in science.

Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, National Institutes of Health

16-Sep-2009

Inhibitors of important tuberculosis survival mechanism identified

DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Attempts to eradicate tuberculosis are stymied by the fact that the disease-causing bacteria have a sophisticated mechanism for surviving dormant in infected cells. Now, a team of scientists has identified compounds that inhibit that mechanism -- without damaging human cells -- which could lead to the design of new anti-TB drugs.

Journal: Nature
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, National Institutes of Health, Weill Cornell Medical College

15-Sep-2009

Brookhaven Lab patents new method for mercury remediation

DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Business Announcement

Scientists at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have patented a new method to remove toxic mercury from soil, sediment, sludge and other industrial waste. As described in recently awarded US patent number 7,589,248 and application US Publication No. 20080097138, the method allows mercury to be treated in situ -- at its original location in the ground.

Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory

13-Sep-2009

High-res view of zinc transport protein

DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

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.

Journal: Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, Brookhaven National Laboratory, National Institutes of Health