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An international collaboration including scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory solved a 50-year-old puzzle that explains why beta decays of atomic nuclei are slower than what is expected based on the beta decays of free neutrons. The findings, published in Nature Physics, fill a longstanding gap in physicists' understanding of beta decay, an important process stars use to create heavier elements, and emphasize the need to include subtle effects--or more realistic physics--when predicting certain nuclear processes.

A team of researchers from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Health Data Sciences Institute (HDSI) have harnessed the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to better match cancer patients with clinical trials. The researchers were one of ten teams to develop a digital tool to address complex challenges relevant to medical conditions such as cancer and Lyme disease as part of The Opportunity Project (TOP) Health Sprint.

Neutrons used to study how an antibacterial peptide fights bacteria; decade-long study finds higher CO2 levels caused 30 percent more wood growth in U.S. trees; ultrasonic additive manufacturing to embed fiber optic sensors in heat- and radiation-resistant materials could yield safer reactors; ORNL analyzes 'dark spots' where informal neighborhoods may lack power access; new Transportation Energy Data Book released.

Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Drexel University and their partners have discovered a way to improve the energy density of promising energy-storage materials, conductive two-dimensional ceramics called MXenes.

ReactWell, LLC, has licensed a novel waste-to-fuel technology from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory to improve energy conversion methods for cleaner, more efficient oil and gas, chemical and bioenergy production.

ORNL story tips: Oak Ridge National Laboratory neutrons investigate novel crystals' ability to capture carbon dioxide from air; gleaning valuable data from Twitter used to quickly map power outages, emergencies; ORNL's lightweight, heat-shielding graphite foam tested at Germany's Wendlestein 7-X stellarator yields positive results in fusion reactors; open source software scales up analysis of motor designs to run on supercomputers.

A team of researchers from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge and Los Alamos National Laboratories has partnered with EPB, a Chattanooga utility and telecommunications company, to demonstrate the effectiveness of metro-scale quantum key distribution (QKD) as a means of secure communication for the nation's electricity suppliers. This initial milestone is part of the team's three-year project focused on next-generation grid security.