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 19 August 2024
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Quantum sensing: Quantum sensors have significant promise for applications in medicine, navigation, and astrophysics. Diamond is the best material for quantum sensors, but it could be a lot better. Researchers at DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory, Cornell University, and Purdue University made measurements of diamond that can help scientists use it more effectively. They used the Advanced Photon Source DOE Office of Science user facility to measure how much atoms of diamonds compressed or expanded. They also described the relationship between that strain and atomic spin. |
Better agrochemicals and medicines: Fluorine can help agrochemicals and medicines work better and last longer. However, adding fluorine to these chemicals is difficult and usually requires processes that are not environmentally sustainable. Researchers at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation have developed a new process for integrating fluorine with a chemical used in a variety of products. The process uses natural enzymes and light to control where and how the fluorine is added. It is more sustainable than current methods and will enable scientists to create new compounds. |
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Aerosols: Tiny particles in the atmosphere called aerosols affect the climate and air pollution. A team led by scientists at DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has answered a number of major questions about how new aerosol particles come to exist. The scientists started with 11 pathways by which new aerosol particles form. They then integrated them into a global climate model. That work allowed them to identify where those pathways occur and the impacts on Earth’s climate. |
Quantum computing components: Quantum computers usually function at extremely cold temperatures. The more that atoms move (the higher the temperature), the more “noise” gets in the way of the computer’s function. Researchers at Northeastern University developed a way to create a material that could reduce that challenge. They identified new structures made of 2D materials that they can control at higher frequencies. Because the components can be controlled at higher frequencies, that part of a computer could work at higher temperatures. |
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Fusion devices: Tokamaks are the main type of device most fusion companies and researchers are pursuing. Smaller versions could be cheaper and more manageable than very large ones. Researchers at DOE’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Tokamak Energy, and Kyushu University have proposed a design that frees up needed space. Their design is a compact, spherical fusion pilot plant that eliminates a major component used to heat plasma. It would instead use microwaves to heat the plasma. |
Antibiotics: Bacteria become resistant to antibiotics by evolving new defenses against medicines. Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago examined a class of drugs called macrolones. They showed that this class of drugs disrupt how bacteria function in two different ways. With this dual approach, it would be 100 million times more difficult for bacteria to evolve resistance. The team used the Advanced Photon Source, a DOE Office of Science user facility. |
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The Office of Science posted four new highlights between 8/6/24 and 8/18/24.
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Ammonia: Ammonia production uses two percent of global energy and converting nitrogen to ammonia for fertilizer creates a huge amount of greenhouse gases. However, there is the potential to develop a far more efficient nature-inspired process that uses sunlight. To make this technology a reality, scientists need to make relevant nanoparticles and enzymes that bind together. With that goal in mind, researchers from DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory created a unique biohybrid system. It will help scientists study the process of how enzymes bind and how the system transfers charge in more detail. |
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Expanding Our Understanding of Celiac Disease
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For patients with celiac disease, the only treatment is to eat a gluten-free diet. As this autoimmune disorder affects about one in 100 people worldwide, having other options could make a major difference in many people’s lives. Finding these treatments requires scientists have a better understanding of the enzyme that causes celiac disease.
Researchers from Stanford University and DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have now gained new insights into how that enzyme works. They created chemical complexes that included the enzyme, calcium, and gluten-like substances and put them in a form that they could study. Several of these combinations captured the enzyme in an intermediate state that scientists had never seen before. Next, the researchers used the Stanford Synchrotron Light Source (a DOE Office of Science user facility) to analyze these complexes’ structures. Examining the structures revealed new information about how the enzyme interacts with gluten and calcium. In particular, the scientists discovered specific sites in the enzyme that play key roles in how it behaves. This information will support research to develop drugs that target this enzyme.
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DOE Announces 2024 Office of Science Distinguished Scientist Fellows
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The DOE’s Office of Science recently recognized four of the nation’s top scientists as Distinguished Scientist Fellows: Mary Raafat Mikhail Bishai from DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lois Curfman McInnes from DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory, Kristin Persson from DOE’s Berkeley National Laboratory, and Gerald A. Tuskan from DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The program was established to develop, sustain, and promote scientific and academic excellence in Office of Science research through collaborations between universities and national laboratories. Each of the fellows will be awarded $1 million in direct funding.
The fellows will also be giving online public lectures in the coming months. Find out details for the lectures in the award press release.
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Research News Update provides a review of recent Office of Science Communications and Public Affairs stories and features. This is only a sample of our recent work promoting research done at universities, national labs, and user facilities throughout the country.
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Please see the archive on Energy.gov for past issues.
No. 124: 19 August 2024
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