Newswise: Doe Science News Source

Quantum Effect Triggers Unusual Material Expansion

New research conducted in part at Brookhaven Laboratory may bring a whole new class of chemical elements into a materials science balancing act for designing alloys for aviation and other applications.

Upgrading Biomass with Selective Surface-Modified Catalysts

Loading single platinum atoms on titanium dioxide promotes the conversion of a plant derivative into a potential biofuel.

Upconverting Nanolasers from Subwavelength Plasmons: Stability and Ultralow Powers

Researchers have created miniature lasers that are stable and work continuously at room temperature. The lasers use arrays of nanopillars with nanoparticles that can absorb two photons of light and emit them as a single photon with higher energy. They could have applications in quantum technologies, imaging, and other areas.

SLAC researcher discovers giant cavity in key tuberculosis molecule

Researchers were looking into a protein that tuberculosis bacteria need to thrive, but when they finally solved its structure, they discovered a gigantic cavity that could help shuttle a variety of molecules into TB bacteria.

Science Snapshots from Berkeley Lab

March 2020 Science Snapshots from Berkeley Lab

Nature-Inspired Green Energy Technology Clears Important Development Hurdle

A new design has put the long-sought idea of artificial photosynthesis within reach

An advance in molecular moviemaking reveals the subtle, complex ways a simple molecule can shimmy and fly apart

Researchers observed atomic nuclei moving over distances of less than an angstrom in less than a trillionth of a second -- a level of resolution that can only be achieved with an X-ray free-electron laser.

Artificial intelligence helps prevent disruptions in fusion devices

Research led by a Princeton University graduate student demonstrates that machine learning can predict and avoid damaging disruptions to fusion facilities.

Chasing Lithium Ions on the Move in a Fast-Charging Battery

Atomic distortions emerging in the electrode during operation provide a "fast lane" for the transport of lithium ions.

Permanent magnets far stronger than those on refrigerator doors could be a solution for delivering fusion energy

Permanent magnets can, in principle, greatly simplify the design and production of the complex coils of stellarator fusion facilities.

Feeding fusion: hydrogen ice pellets prove effective for fueling fusion plasmas

Injecting pellets of hydrogen ice rather than puffing hydrogen gas improves fusion performance. Studies by PPPL and ORNL physicists compared the two methods on the DIII-D National Fusion Facility, looking ahead to the injection fueling planned for ITER.

'Strange' Glimpse into Neutron Stars and Symmetry Violation

New results from precision particle detectors at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) offer a fresh glimpse of the particle interactions that take place in the cores of neutron stars and give nuclear physicists a new way to search for violations of fundamental symmetries in the universe.

Argonne's pioneering user facility to add magic number factory

A forthcoming N = 126 Factory will investigate one of the great questions in physics and chemistry: how were the heavy elements from iron to uranium created?

Terahertz radiation technique opens a new door for studying atomic behavior

Researchers from the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have made a promising new advance for the lab's high-speed "electron camera" that could allow them to "film" tiny, ultrafast motions of protons and electrons in chemical reactions that have never been seen before.

The Complex Biology Behind Your Love (or Hatred) of Coffee

Why do some people feel like they need three cups of coffee just to get through the day when others are happy with only one? Why do some people abstain entirely? New research suggests that our intake of coffee - the most popular beverage in America, above bottled water, sodas, tea, and beer - is affected by a positive feedback loop between genetics and the environment.

Early research on existing drug compounds via supercomputing could combat coronavirus

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have used Summit, the world's most powerful and smartest supercomputer, to identify 77 small-molecule drug compounds that might warrant further study in the fight against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which is responsible for the COVID-19 disease outbreak.

The modern electric grid needs smarter modeling for improving resilience, study finds

Many studies do not adequately consider the two-way nature of this relationship and its impact on grid resilience.

A Talented 2D Material Gets a New Gig

Berkeley Lab scientists tap into graphene's hidden talent as an electrically tunable superconductor, insulator, and magnetic device for the advancement of quantum information science

New Coronavirus Protein Reveals Drug Target

A potential drug target has been identified in a newly mapped protein of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The structure was solved by a team including the University of Chicago (U of C), the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine (UCR).

A joint venture at the nanoscale

Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory report fabricating and testing a superconducting nanowire device applicable to high-speed photon counting. This pivotal invention will allow nuclear physics experiments that were previously thought impossible.