Microbes Retain Toxicity Tolerance After They Escape Toxic Elements
Ground water microbes living outside a contaminated area contain mobile genetic elements that provide them resistance to heavy metals.
Practice makes perfect
Argonne researchers are beginning to employ Bayesian methods in developing optimal models of thermodynamic properties. Research available online for the September 2019 issue of the International Journal of Engineering Science focused on hafnium (Hf), a metal emerging as a key component in computer electronics.
Science Snapshots: A toxin antidote in frogs, atomic motion in 4D, and better biofuels
In new work by Berkeley Lab and our collaborators, scientists discover how a protein made by bullfrogs inhibits the deadly neurotoxin involved in red tide events, perform the first observation of how atoms arrange in four dimensions during phase transitions, and describe a new bacterial gene that could be engineered into biofuel-producing bacteria to significantly boost efficiency.
Trees Consider the Climate When Choosing Their Partners
ees can establish several types of symbiotic relationships with fungi and bacteria. Researchers constructed a global map of the types of tree symbioses across the world. With the map, they determined that the type of fungal symbiosis found in trees depends on how quickly the organic matter in the soil decomposes. The team also found that bacteria that convert nitrogen gas from the atmosphere into plant-usable products form tree symbioses in arid environments.
First Snapshots of Trapped CO2 Molecules Shed New Light on Carbon Capture
Scientists from the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have taken the first images of carbon dioxide molecules within a molecular cage (break)(break)- part of a highly porous nanoparticle known as a MOF, or metal-organic framework, with great potential for separating and storing gases and liquids.
Feeding Sugars to Algae Makes Them Fat
Some microscopic green algae stop photosynthesizing and start accumulating fats and/or other valuable molecules when certain changes happen. However, scientists don't know the details of those swift metabolic changes. A team examined a green microalga to better understand this process. After a few days of feeding this microbe sugar, it completely dismantles its photosynthetic apparatus while accumulating fat. In contrast, after the team stopped feeding it sugar, the microbe returned to its normal metabolism.
Scientists show how one cause of weak enamel unfolds on the molecular level
Scientists have shown how a tiny flaw in a protein results in damaged enamel that is prone to decay in people with a condition known as amelogenesis imperfecta. Such patients don't develop enamel correctly because of a single amino acid defect in the critical enamel protein called amelogenin.
Explaining Light-Nuclei Production in Heavy-Ion Nuclear Collisions
Pairs of sub-atomic particles may catalyze reactions that happened moments after the Big Bang.
Scientists hit pay dirt with new microbial research technique
Long ago, during the European Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci wrote that we humans "know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot." Five hundred years and innumerable technological and scientific advances later, his sentiment still holds true. But that could soon change. A new study in Nature Communications details how an improved method for studying microbes in the soil will help scientists understand both fine-grained details and large-scale cycles of the environment.
STAR Gains Access to "Wimpy" Quarks and Gluons
Low-momentum (wimpy) quarks and gluons contribute to proton spin, offering insights into protons' behavior in all visible matter.
Flipping the Script with Reverse D-Shaped Plasmas
Mirrored D shape demonstrates surprisingly high pressures in a tokamak, indicating a shape change may be in order for next-generation fusion reactors.
Scientists make first high-res movies of proteins forming crystals in a living cell
Scientists have made the first observations of proteins assembling themselves into crystals, one molecule at a time, in a living cell. The method they used to watch this happen - an extremely high-res form of molecular moviemaking - could shed light on other important biological processes and help develop nanoscale technologies inspired by nature.
Blue Pigment from Engineered Fungi Could Help Turn the Textile Industry Green
A new biosynthetic production pathway developed by scientists at the Joint BioEnergy Institute could provide a sustainable alternative to conventional synthetic blue dye. The highly efficient fungi-based platform may also open the door for producing many other valuable biological compounds that are currently very hard to manufacture.
Designer Frameworks for Refining Higher Octane Fuels
Metal-organic frameworks designed with a topology-guided approach show higher efficiency than commercial benchmarks.
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Advanced NMR at Ames Lab Captures New Details in Nanoparticle Structures
Advanced nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques at the U.S. Department of Energy'sAmes Laboratory have revealed surprising details about the structure of a key group ofmaterials in nanotechology, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs), and the placement of their active chemical sites.
Plants' Oil-Production Accelerator Also Activates the Brakes
UPTON, NY--Scientists studying plant biochemistry at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory recently made a surprising discovery: They found that a protein that turns on oil synthesis also activates a protein that puts the brakes on the same process. In a paper just published in the journal Plant Physiology, they describe how this seemingly paradoxical system keeps oil precursors perfectly balanced to meet plants' needs.
A Trojan Horse for Fusion Disruptions
Thin-walled diamond shells carry payloads of boron dust; the dust mitigates destructive plasma disruptions in fusion confinement systems.
Mineral Discovery Made Easier: X-Ray Technique Shines a New Light on Tiny, Rare Crystals
Like a tiny needle in a sprawling hayfield, a single crystal grain measuring just tens of millionths of a meter - found in a borehole sample drilled in Central Siberia - had an unexpected chemical makeup. And a specialized X-ray technique in use at Berkeley Lab confirmed the sample's uniqueness and paved the way for its formal recognition as a newly discovered mineral: ognitite.
Neutrons get a wider angle on DNA and RNA to advance 3D models
Scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland used neutrons at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to capture new information about DNA and RNA molecules and enable more accurate computer simulations of how they interact with everything from proteins to viruses.
Found: New Bismuth Compounds in Well-Known Systems of Two Elements
Scientists discover an unexpected source of new materials, with potential for energy applications.
A quick liquid flip helps explain how morphing materials store information
Experiments at SLAC's X-ray laser reveal in atomic detail how two distinct liquid phases in these materials enable fast switching between glassy and crystalline states that represent 0s and 1s in memory devices.
A New Manufacturing Process for Aluminum Alloys
Using a novel Solid Phase Processing approach, a research team at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory eliminated several steps that are required during conventional extrusion processing of aluminum alloy powders, while also achieving a significant increase in product ductility. This is good news for sectors such as the automotive industry, where the high cost of manufacturing has historically limited the use of high-strength aluminum alloys made from powders.
Flowing for Function
A flowing magnetically responsive liquid seamlessly regulates the shape and properties of solids, letting them perform an array of jobs.
Science Snapshots: new nitrides, artificial photosynthesis, and TMDC semiconductors
From Berkeley Lab: groundbreaking study maps out paths to new nitride materials; new framework for artificial photosynthesis; TMDCs don't have to be perfect to shine bright.
Story Tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, June 17 2019
ORNL story tips: New builders' tool by ORNL assesses design performance before construction begins; new pressure technique to manipulate magnetism in thin films could enhance electronic devices; ORNL outlines quantum sensing advances for better airport scanning, other applications.