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22-Aug-2004

Why damaged DNA gets a case of the bends

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

DNA becomes flexible with damage. Further, this flexibility explains how the body's enzymes recognize and fix damaged DNA. The current picture is that some enzymes bend damaged DNA in order to repair altered fragments. But no one knew why damaged DNA was more susceptible to bending. A Pacific Northwest National Laboratory supercomputer simulation, reported Sunday at the American Chemical Society national meeting, offers an explanation.

Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy
Meeting: American Chemical Society 228th National Meeting

10-Aug-2004

PNNL testing reliability of radiation detectors

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A marathon of testing is under way at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to ensure that personal radiation detection equipment purchased with Department of Homeland Security funds meets new standards for identifying potential threats.

Funder: Department of Homeland Security

9-Aug-2004

Soil's a natural for storing CO2

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

In a field outside Charleston, S.C., PNNL's Jim Amonette and his colleagues from the U.S. Forest Service and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have planted 72 pots with Sudan grass. They don't care much about the grass, however--it's the soil beneath that captures their attention.

9-Aug-2004

Blackout prevention effort launched as anniversary looms

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

As the dog days of summer approach, the electrical grid feels the heat, but a new integrated data network may help the aging transmission system weather the season without another massive blackout like the one experienced over much of the Eastern United States and Canada last August.

Funder: DOE/Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions

12-Jul-2004

Nanoparticles may mean longer for enzymes

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

The biochemical world's workaholic is the enzyme. Enzymes are molecules in cells that lead short, active and brutal lives. They restlessly catalyze their neighbors, cleaving and assembling proteins and metabolizing compounds. After a few hours of furious activity, they are what chemists call "destabilized," or spent.

12-Jul-2004

Getting more for your energy buck

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

As the U.S. attempts to move away from dependence on foreign oil and toward less-polluting forms of energy, converting wasted heat into useful energy is increasingly important. In our country today, as much as 30 percent of the energy involved in large-scale industrial processes is lost through smokestacks. Gasoline and diesel engines lose 35 to 40 percent of their fuel energy in waste heat, primarily in the exhaust.

13-May-2004

DHS launches national center focusing on data visualization to enhance homeland security

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Grant and Award Announcement

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security today announced the creation of the National Visual Analytics Center (NVAC). The new center, to be led by the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington, will provide scientific guidance and coordination for the research and development of new tools and methods that Homeland Security has identified as required for managing, visually representing, and analyzing enormous amounts of diverse data and information.

Funder: US Department of Homeland Security

27-Apr-2004

PNNL on fast track for hydrogen fuel reformer

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are developing a system to rapidly produce hydrogen from gasoline in your car. The development brings fuel cell-powered cars one step closer to the mass market. Researchers will present their developments at the American Institute for Chemical Engineers spring meeting in New Orleans, on April 27th, 2004.

Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy
Meeting: American Institute for Chemical Engineers

26-Apr-2004

Institute for Systems Biology, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory announce collaboration

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Business Announcement

The Institute for Systems Biology and the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory said today they have formed a Joint Program in Systems Biology. The joint program, according to an agreement announced today at ISB's third annual International Symposium on Systems Biology, "will focus on expanding and strengthening technical capabilities of each organization in systems biology and related areas."

Meeting: 3rd Annual International Symposium on Systems Biology

1-Apr-2004

For the sake of land and climate, coaxing soil to soak up carbon

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a novel approach to stalling global warming while reinvigorating nutrient-depleted farmland, chemists have found they can promote soil's natural ability to soak up greenhouse-gas carbon dioxide from the surrounding air. Experiments at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., and reported today at the American Chemical Society national meeting, show that maintaining a proper alkalinity plus frequent wetting and drying cycles can coax soil to retain more carbon.

Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy
Meeting: American Chemical Society 227th National Meeting