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PNNL research describing new and improved ways to crunch massive amounts of data will be presented at the Supercomputing 2012 conference. Papers to be presented include how to use matching approximation to find similar patterns in different data sets and a new software that helps speed up parallel computations by automatically translating MPI code.

PNNL researchers discovered that hurricanes and tropical cyclones become up to 50 percent more intense when passing over oceans inundated with fresh water. Their findings might help improve predictions of a hurricane's power in certain regions.

A new mass spectrometry-based test identifies proteins from blood with as much accuracy and sensitivity as the antibody-based tests used clinically, researchers report this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition online. The head-to-head comparison using blood samples from cancer patients measured biomarkers, proteins whose presence identifies a disease or condition. The technique should be able to speed up development of protein-specific diagnostic tests and treatment.

A new absorbent material may be able to soak up enough trace uranium in seawater to help fuel future nuclear power plants. Tests by the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory showed the material, which was developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, can soak up more than two times the uranium than a similar material developed in Japan.

An analysis of a decade's worth of tropical cyclones shows that when hurricanes blow over ocean regions swamped by fresh water, the conditions can unexpectedly intensify the storm. Although the probability that hurricanes will hit such conditions is small, ranging from 10 to 23 percent, the effect is potentially large: Hurricanes can become 50 percent more intense, researchers report in a study appearing this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The design of a nature-inspired material that can make energy-storing hydrogen gas has gone holistic. Usually, tweaking the design of this particular catalyst -- a work in progress for cheaper, better fuel cells -- results in either faster or more energy efficient production but not both. Now, researchers have found a condition that creates hydrogen faster without a loss in efficiency, they reported June 8 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.