Newswise: Doe Science News Source

To decipher Earth's evolutionary tale, researchers probe materials at deep-Earth conditions

Scientists have developed a way to study liquid silicates at the extreme conditions found in the core-mantle boundary. This could lead to a better understanding of the Earth's early molten days, which could even extend to other rocky planets.

Story Tips: Mining for COVID, rules to grow by and the 3D connection

ORNL story Tips: Mining for COVID, rules to grow by and the 3D connection

True colors: Using X-rays to trace the evolution of insects' structural colors

A team of researchers has used ultra-bright X-rays to analyze 13,000-year-old fossilized beetle wings to learn more about the evolution of structural colors.

In a step forward for orbitronics, scientists break the link between a quantum material's spin and orbital states

Until now, electron spins and orbitals were thought to go hand in hand in a class of materials that's the cornerstone of modern information technology; you couldn't quickly change one without changing the other. This study raises the possibility of controlling them separately.

Seeing the Universe Through New Lenses

Making Quantum 'Waves' in Ultrathin Materials

A team of researchers co-led by Berkeley Lab has observed unusually long-lived wavelike electrons called "plasmons" in a new class of electronically conducting material. Plasmons are very important for determining the optical and electronic properties of metals.

Largest collection of 3D supernova simulations leads to new insights on explosion dynamics

Researchers using DOE supercomputers, including Argonne's Theta, produced pivotal 3D simulations to elucidate the physics behind the collapse of massive stars.

3D-Printed Nuclear Reactor Promises Faster, More Economical Path to Nuclear Energy

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory are refining their design of a 3D-printed nuclear reactor core, scaling up the additive manufacturing process necessary to build it, and developing methods to confirm the consistency and reliability of its printed components.

Computer vision helps SLAC scientists study lithium ion batteries

New machine learning methods bring insights into how lithium ion batteries degrade, and show it's more complicated than many thought.

Investigating the dynamics of stability

Scientists have gained important insight into the mechanisms that drive stability and activity in materials during oxygen evolution reactions. This insight will guide the practical design of materials for electrochemical fuel production.

Simulations Forecast Nationwide Increase in Human Exposure to Extreme Climate Events

Using ORNL's now-decommissioned Titan supercomputer, a team of researchers estimated the combined consequences of many different extreme climate events at the county level, a unique approach that provided unprecedented regional and national climate projections that identified the areas most likely to face climate-related challenges.

Four Years of Calculations Lead to New Insights Into Muon Anomaly

For two decades, physicists have been trying to reconcile a gap between theoretical and experimental data on a particle called the muon. A new study, powered by Argonne's supercomputer Mira, sharpens one piece of the puzzle.

Four Years of Calculations Lead to New Insights into Muon Anomaly

Two decades ago, an experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory pinpointed a mysterious mismatch between established particle physics theory and actual lab measurements. A multi-institutional research team (including Brookhaven, Columbia University, and the universities of Connecticut, Nagoya and Regensburg, RIKEN) have used Argonne National Laboratory's Mira supercomputer to help narrow down the possible explanations for the discrepancy, delivering a newly precise theoretical calculation that refines one piece of this very complex puzzle.

Story Tips: Tracking Populations, UPS' Special Delivery and a Long-Awaited Benchmark

Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Study: Could Dark Matter Be Hiding in Existing Data?

A new study, led by researchers at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley, suggests new paths for catching the signals of dark matter particles that have their energy absorbed by atomic nuclei.

Crystal power

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have created and tested a single-crystal electrode that promises to yield pivotal discoveries for advanced batteries under development worldwide.

Software Flaws Often First Reported on Social Media Networks, PNNL Researchers Find

Software vulnerabilities are more likely to be discussed on social media before they're revealed on a government reporting site, a practice that could pose a national security threat, according to computer scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

First direct look at how light excites electrons to kick off a chemical reaction

The first step in many light-driven chemical reactions, like the ones that power photosynthesis and human vision, is a shift in the arrangement of a molecule's electrons as they absorb the light's energy. Now scientists have directly observed this first step.

Water is Key in Catalytic Conversion of Methane to Methanol

Scientists reveal new details that explain how a highly selective catalyst converts methane, the main component of natural gas, to methanol, an easy-to-transport liquid fuel and feedstock for making plastics, paints, and other commodity products. The findings could aid the design of even more efficient/selective catalysts to make methane conversion an economically viable and environmentally attractive alternative to venting or flaring "waste" gas.

Nanodevices for the brain could thwart formation of Alzheimer's plaques

Researchers designed a nanodevice with the potential to prevent peptides from forming dangerous plaques in the brain in order to halt development of Alzheimer's disease.

A New Machine Learning Method Streamlines Particle Accelerator Operations

SLAC researchers have developed a new tool, using machine learning, that may make part of the accelerator tuning process five times faster compared to previous methods.

Scientists Explore Links Between Genetics, Gut Microbiome and Memory

Scientists have traced the molecular connections between genetics, the gut microbiome and memory in a mouse model bred to resemble the diversity of the human population. Researchers from two U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories identified lactate, a molecule produced by all species of one gut microbe, as a key memory-boosting molecular messenger.