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With a one-of-a-kind instrument at ORNL, discoveries have been made that could open new pathways for nanoscale electronics. An enzyme that converts cellulosic materials and water to hydrogen used in transportation has been discovered. An ORNL study of structural damage shows that buildings with large openings are more prone to hurricane damage. A combination of neutron, X-ray and atom-probe analysis has given researchers insight to the atomic structure of a new multicomponent bulk metallic glass.

In the blink of an eye, people at risk of becoming blind can now be screened for eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.

Researchers at ORNL and Vanderbilt University have unveiled a new technique for imaging whole cells in liquid. Scientists studying human health, agriculture and the environment have a powerful new tool to help them better understand microbial processes. Colonies of cyber robots with unique missions can in near real time detect network intruders on computers that support US infrastructure. The National Center for Computational Sciences at ORNL has granted early access to a number of projects to test Jaguar.

For the first time, farmers have data that tracks at the county level on-site and off-site energy use and carbon dioxide emissions associated with growing crops in the United States.

The US Department of Energy has given its initial approval to begin plans for a second target station for the Spallation Neutron Source, expanding what is already the world's most powerful pulsed neutron scattering facility located at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

A project to speed and safeguard the shipping of thousands of radioisotopes in the US and afar hits the highway this year, but researchers expect the benefits to extend well beyond. Assistance to Navistar in developing a new lightweight truck bumper that can save gasoline without compromising safety is being performed by a materials process team headed by Gail Ludtka of ORNL. Structural defects introduced into carbon nanotubes could lead the way to carbon nanotube circuits, research led by Vincent Meunier of ORNL shows.

In 2009, ORNL will make nearly 470 million processor hours available on Jaguar, its Cray XT supercomputer. Thirty-eight separate projects will advance breakthrough research in critical areas such as climate studies, energy assurance, materials and other areas of fundamental science.

Stories include: "Data from NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory combines with computational power and tools provided by ORNL researchers;" "CHP technologies account for about nine percent of annual US power generation.;" "Californium-252 and actinium-225 generated half of the $5 million in sales for the DOE's National Isotope Data Center at ORNL in fiscal year 2008;" and "Math and sensors form a powerful tool for combating terrorism and the transport of drugs."

Three houses under construction in East Tennessee carry the story of "The Three Little Pigs" to an entirely new level and will become a model for the nation when it comes to determining energy efficiency.

A team led by Thomas Schulthess of the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory received the prestigious 2008 Association for Computing Machinery Gordon Bell Prize Thursday after attaining the fastest performance ever in a scientific supercomputing application.