Newswise: Doe Science News Source

A new lens on materials under extreme conditions allows researchers to watch shock waves travel through silicon

When silicon, an element abundant in the Earth's crust, is subjected to extreme heat and pressure, an initial "elastic" shock wave travels through the material, leaving it unchanged, followed by an "inelastic" shock wave that irreversibly transforms the structure of the material. Using a new technique, researchers were able to directly watch and image this process for the first time.

To Grow or Not to Grow? That Is the Question for Plants

Scientists show metabolic tradeoffs result from a specific change to the grow-defend balance.

Tied in Knots: New Insights Into Plasma Behavior Focus on Twists and Turns

Findings from an international team of scientists show that twisted magnetic fields can evolve in only so many ways, with the plasma inside them following a general rule.

A New Way to Watch Atoms Move in a Single Atomic Sheet

Scientists have found a new way to use some of the world's most powerful X-rays to watch how atoms move at ultrafast speeds within a single atomic sheet.

Nature's Own Biorefinery

New research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory shows how the long-horned passalid beetle has a hardy digestive tract with microbes to thank for turning its woody diet into energy, food for its young, and nutrients for forest growth. These insights into how the beetle and its distinct microbiome have co-evolved provide a roadmap for the production of affordable, nature-derived fuels and bioproducts.

ORNL-led collaboration solves a beta-decay puzzle with advanced nuclear models

An international collaboration including scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory solved a 50-year-old puzzle that explains why beta decays of atomic nuclei are slower than what is expected based on the beta decays of free neutrons. The findings, published in Nature Physics, fill a longstanding gap in physicists' understanding of beta decay, an important process stars use to create heavier elements, and emphasize the need to include subtle effects--or more realistic physics--when predicting certain nuclear processes.

Ultrathin and ultrafast: scientists pioneer new technique for two-dimensional material analysis

Using a never-before-seen technique, scientists have found a new way to use some of the world's most powerful X-rays to uncover how atoms move in a single atomic sheet in real time, opening up new possibilities for probing two-dimensional materials.

Forming the Ion that Made the Universe

Research offers details on the chemistry of trihydrogen ion.

Scientists Take a Deep Dive Into the Imperfect World of 2D Materials

A team led by scientists at Berkeley Lab has learned how natural nanoscale defects can enhance the properties of tungsten disulfide, a 2D material.

Water: Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way

Elegant theory shows how water helps separate ions involved in material synthesis and manufacturing.

When Semiconductors Stick Together, Materials Go Quantum

A team led by DOE's Berkeley Lab has developed a method that could turn ordinary semiconducting materials into quantum machines - devices marked by extraordinary electronic behavior that could help to revolutionize a number of industries aiming for energy-efficient electronic systems.

Stressing and straining: Geochemists answer fundamental question of mineral reactions

In a new study from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, scientists placed small iron oxide particles in an acidic solution, causing a reaction at the surface as iron atoms oxidized. As the reaction progressed, the researchers observed strain that built up and penetrated inside the mineral particle.

Using Tiny Organisms to Unlock Big Environmental Mysteries

When you hear about the biological processes that influence climate and the environment, such as carbon fixation or nitrogen recycling, it's easy to think of them as abstract and incomprehensibly large-scale phenomena. Yet parts of these planet-wide processes are actually driven by the tangible actions of organisms at every scale of life, beginning at the smallest: the microorganisms living in the air, soil, and water. And now Berkeley Lab researchers have made it easier than ever to study these microbial communities by creating an optimized DNA analysis technique.

Seeing Coherent Patterns at the Microscopic Scale

Review highlights insights into coherence, which could help overcome roadblocks in next-generation energy systems.

A Simplified Way to Predict the Function of Microbial Communities

A pioneering study offers an easier approach to study how microbes work and could help scientists advance models of the cycling of elements and nutrients in frequently flooded soils.

Squeezed Quantum Dots Produce More Stable Light

Exploiting a strain-engineering approach could provide nanoscale light sources with a nonfluctuating emission wavelength for use in sensors, quantum communication, and imaging.

One Device, Many Frequencies: Argonne Researchers Create a Unique, Tiny Resonator

A finding from a team led by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory could ultimately help improve the army of tiny, vibrating components found in a range of electronics and even create devices that mimic biological processes. The researchers have pioneered a micromechanical device that responds to external signals in an entirely new way.

Unexpected Complexity: A 3D Look into Plant Root Relationships with Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria

Scientists develop a molecular map of metabolic products of bacteria in root nodules to aid sustainable agriculture.

Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, March 2019

Neutrons used to study how an antibacterial peptide fights bacteria; decade-long study finds higher CO2 levels caused 30 percent more wood growth in U.S. trees; ultrasonic additive manufacturing to embed fiber optic sensors in heat- and radiation-resistant materials could yield safer reactors; ORNL analyzes "dark spots" where informal neighborhoods may lack power access; new Transportation Energy Data Book released.

New ORNL AI tool revolutionizes process for matching cancer patients with clinical trials

A team of researchers from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Health Data Sciences Institute (HDSI) have harnessed the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to better match cancer patients with clinical trials. The researchers were one of ten teams to develop a digital tool to address complex challenges relevant to medical conditions such as cancer and Lyme disease as part of The Opportunity Project (TOP) Health Sprint, a 14-week effort sponsored by the Census Bureau, coordinated by the Department of Health and Human Services, and led by two Presidential Innovation Fellows.

Scientists use machine learning to identify high-performing solar materials

Thanks to a study that combines the power of supercomputing with data science and experimental methods, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Cambridge in England have developed a novel "design to device" approach to identify promising materials for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).

How to Catch a Magnetic Monopole in the Act

A research team led by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has created a nanoscale "playground" on a chip that simulates the formation of exotic magnetic particles called monopoles. The study could unlock the secrets to ever-smaller, more powerful memory devices.