Science Snapshot From Berkeley Lab - a biocompatible material that turns up the heat on antibacterial-resistant diseases
Scientists at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry have designed a biocompatible polymer that has the potential to advance photothermal therapy, a technique that deploys near-infrared light to combat antibacterial-resistant infections and cancer.
Monitoring Intermediates in CO2 Conversion to Formate by Metal Catalyst
The production of formate from CO2 is considered an attractive strategy for the long-term storage of solar renewable energy in chemical form.
Theoretical Study Points to Jade-Like Materials as Quantum Spin Liquids
Materials that can host this exotic liquid-like magnetic state could be harnessed for next-generation energy and computing applications.
Current model for storing nuclear waste is incomplete
The materials the United States and other countries plan to use to store high-level nuclear waste will likely degrade faster than anyone previously knew because of the way those materials interact, new research shows. The findings, published today in the journal Nature Materials, show that corrosion of nuclear waste storage materials accelerates because of changes in the chemistry of the nuclear waste solution, and because of the way the materials interact with one another.
Here, There and Everywhere: Large and Giant Viruses Abound Globally
In Nature, a team led by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) researchers uncovered a broad diversity of large and giant viruses that belong to the nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDV) supergroup, expanding virus diversity in this group 10-fold from just 205 genomes.
Chemistry finding could make solar energy more efficient
Scientists for the first time have developed a single molecule that can absorb sunlight efficiently and also act as a catalyst to transform solar energy into hydrogen, a clean alternative to fuel for things like gas-powered vehicles. This new molecule collects energy from the entire visible spectrum, and can harness more than 50% more solar energy than current solar cells can. The finding could help humans transition away from fossil fuels and toward energy sources that do not contribute to climate change.
New model helps pave the way to bringing clean fusion energy down to Earth
State-of-the-art simulation confirms a key source of heat and energy loss in spherical fusion facilities.
Rising global temperatures turn northern permafrost region into significant carbon source
A new study that incorporates datasets gathered from more than 100 sites by institutions including the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, suggests that decomposition of organic matter in permafrost soil is substantially larger than previously thought, demonstrating the significant impact that emissions from the permafrost soil could have on the greenhouse effect and global warming.
Transformative 'Green' Accelerator Achieves World's First 8-pass Full Energy Recovery
Scientists from Cornell University and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) have successfully demonstrated the world's first capture and reuse of energy in a multi-turn particle accelerator, where electrons are accelerated and decelerated in multiple stages and transported at different energies through a single beamline.
First detailed electronic study of new nickelate superconductor finds 3D metallic state
It represents an entirely new type of ground state for transition metal oxides, and opens new directions for experiments and theoretical studies of how superconductivity arises and how it can be optimized in this system and possibly in other compounds.
What's MER? It's a Way to Measure Quantum Materials, and It's Telling Us New and Interesting Things
Experimental physicists have combined several measurements of quantum materials into one in their ongoing quest to learn more about manipulating and controlling the behavior of them for possible applications. They even coined a term for it-- Magneto-elastoresistance, or MER.
Scientists pioneer new generation of semiconductor neutron detector
In a new study, scientists have developed a new type of semiconductor neutron detector that boosts detection rates by reducing the number of steps involved in neutron capture and transduction.
Connecting the dots in the sky could shed new light on dark matter
Astrophysicists have come a step closer to understanding the origin of a faint glow of gamma rays covering the night sky. They found that this light is brighter in regions that contain a lot of matter and dimmer where matter is sparser - a correlation that could help them narrow down the properties of exotic astrophysical objects and invisible dark matter.
Nano-objects of Desire: Assembling Ordered Nanostructures in 3-D
A new DNA-programmable nanofabrication platform organizes inorganic or biological nanocomponents in the same prescribed ways.
New computer code could reach fusion faster
Scientists often make progress by coming up with new ways to look at old problems. That has happened at PPPL, where physicists have used a simple insight to capture the complex effects of many high-frequency waves in a fusion plasma.
Scientists observe ultrafast birth of radicals
An international team of researchers have, for the first time, glimpsed the ultrafast process of proton transfer following ionization of liquid water, shedding light on how radical cations separate from their electron partners, neutralize and subsequently drift about creating damage.
The CUORE Underground Experiment Narrows the Search for Rare Particle Process
The largest set of data yet from an underground experiment called CUORE sets more stringent limits on a theoretical ultra-rare particle process known as neutrinoless double-beta decay that could help to explain the abundance of matter over antimatter in the universe.
An Out-of-the-Box Attack on Diabetes
A protein newly identified as important in type 1 diabetes can delay onset of the disease in diabetic mice, providing a new target for prevention and treatment in people, according to research led by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Indiana University School of Medicine.
Story Tips: Weather days, grid balance and scaling reactors
From the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, January 2020
Exploring the "dark side" of a single-crystal complex oxide thin film
A new study offers a nanoscopic view of complex oxides, which have great potential for advanced microelectronics.
Polluted Wastewater in the Forecast? Try A Solar Umbrella
Evaporation ponds, commonly used in many industries to manage wastewater, can occupy a large footprint and often pose risks to birds and other wildlife, yet they're an economical way to deal with contaminated water. Now researchers at Berkeley Lab have demonstrated a way to double the rate of evaporation by using solar energy and taking advantage of water's inherent properties, potentially reducing their environmental impact. The study is reported in the journal Nature Sustainability.
ORNL researchers advance performance benchmark for quantum computers
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed a quantum chemistry simulation benchmark to evaluate the performance of quantum devices and guide the development of applications for future quantum computers.
Powder, not gas: A safer, more effective way to create a star on Earth
PPPL scientists have found that sprinkling a type of powder into fusion plasma could aid in harnessing the ultra-hot gas within a tokamak facility to produce heat to create electricity without producing greenhouse gases or long-term radioactive waste.
Science Snapshots From Berkeley Lab
This edition of Science Snapshots highlights the discovery of an investigational cancer drug that targets tumors caused by mutations in the KRAS gene, the development of a new library of artificial proteins that could accelerate the design of new materials, and new insight into the natural toughening mechanism behind adult tooth enamel.
Advancing information processing with exceptional points and surfaces
Researchers have for the first time detected an exceptional surface based on measurements of exceptional points. These points are modes that exhibit phenomenon with possible practical applications in information processing.