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By creating a "family tree" of genes expressed in one form of woody plant and a less woody, herbaceous species, scientists at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have uncovered clues that may help them engineer plants more amenable to biofuel production. The study, published in the April 2009 issue of Plant Molecular Biology, also lays a foundation for understanding these genes' evolutionary and structural properties and for a broader exploration of their roles in plant life.

Building on the idea of using DNA to link up nanoparticles -- particles measuring mere billionths of a meter -- scientists at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have designed a molecular assembly line for predictable, high-precision nano-construction.

Scientists at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a method for coating metal surfaces with an ultrathin film containing nanoparticles -- particles measuring billionths of a meter -- which renders the metal resistant to corrosion and eliminates the use of toxic chromium for this purpose.

Brookhaven Science Associates, the company that operates and manages the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Biosurface Engineering Technologies Inc. (BioSET), have been issued a US patent on a synthetic peptide, called B2A.

A team of scientists at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Delaware and Yeshiva University, has developed a new catalyst that could make ethanol-powered fuel cells feasible. The highly efficient catalyst performs two crucial, and previously unreachable steps needed to oxidize ethanol and produce clean energy in fuel cell reactions. Their results are published online in the Jan. 25, 2009, edition of Nature Materials.

Through work originally designed to remove contaminants from soil, scientists have identified plant-associated microbes that can improve plant growth on marginal soil. The findings may help scientists design strategies for sustainable biofuel production that do not use food crops or agricultural land.

Using two simultaneous light-based probing techniques at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, a team of researchers has illuminated important details about a class of enzymes involved in everything from photosynthesis to the regulation of biological clocks.

Scientists have determined the structure of a third subtype of botulinum neurotoxin -- a deadly toxin that causes the disease botulism, and is also used in cosmetic and therapeutic applications. The structure reveals a unique arrangement of the active components that may help explain why subtype E is faster-acting than others -- and may have implications for improving vaccines and/or therapeutic agents.

Two physicists at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory -- Mickey Chiu and Hooman Davoudiasl -- were among 68 researchers honored at a White House ceremony today as recipients of the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

Scientists studying a material that appeared to lose its ability to carry current with no resistance say new measurements reveal that the material is indeed a superconductor -- but only in two dimensions. Equally surprising, this new form of 2-D superconductivity emerges at a higher temperature than ordinary 3-D superconductivity in other compositions of the same material.