Archived Story Tips for 2007
For more information on ORNL and its research and development activities, please refer to the resources listed below or to one of our Media Contacts. If you have a general media-related question or comment, you can send it to news@ornl.gov.
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Materials—Tougher teeth . . .
Artificial teeth and crowns made of ceramic material are doomed to fail – usually within six to 10 years – but that may change because of a technique that borrows from nature.
Materials—Boost for E85 . . .
One obstacle to increased use of E85 will fall when Underwriters Laboratories begins certifying fuel dispensers, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers are contributing data that could fuel the process.
Neutron Science—Record cold . . .
Just a few months after the Spallation Neutron Source announced a new world's record for beam power, its sister neutron facility at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory--the High Flux Isotope Reactor--can boast a record of its own.
Tech Transfer—Marketing innovations . . .
Oak Ridge National Laboratory has received $2.5 million from the Department of Energy as part of a new Technology Commercialization and Deployment Program to help bring energy efficient and renewable energy innovations to market.
Materials—Ready, aim . . .
As the new hunting season begins, an Ohio-based company is introducing a high performance bullet based on technology developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Medical—Back pain modeling . . .
Diagnosing back problems and predicting the outcome of surgery could become a lot more accurate because of a project awarded to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
Energy—Supercharged solar panels . . .
Inexpensive aluminum reflectors are helping to make a 700-watt solar system designed by JX Crystals far more efficient and less expensive than conventional solar panels.
Biomed—Sensitive skin . . .
People with tomorrow's prosthetic hands and arms will be able to feel heat, cold and touch through a series of developments by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and NASA.
Forensics—Better body bag . . .
A novel body bag proposed by a researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory could be a lifesaver for people who have to handle victims of natural disasters, wars or other events that claim multiple lives.
Climate—Underground CO2 sinks . . .
Climate change may be atmospheric, but the secret to Earth's response could be buried underground.
Energy—Steeper slopes . . .
A study of roofing damage incurred by Gulf Coast structures following Hurricane Katrina has found that buildings with steep sloped roofs held up better against the high-wind storm damage than buildings that had low sloped roofs.
Microscopy—A chorus of signals . . .
Band excitation, a new family of scanning probe microscopy, moves the field towards probing energy transformation at the nanoscale, say the developers.
Neutrons—Add another instrument . . .
The Department of Energy's Spallation Neutron Source, which recently set a record for beam power for a pulsed neutron source while operating at only a tenth of its eventual 1.4 megawatts of power, has added a fourth instrument to its growing arsenal.
Energy—NASA costs eased . . .
Oak Ridge National Laboratory's efforts at improving energy efficiency could save NASA more than $820,000.
Genetics—Tastes great . . .
Different zests for beer might reveal more about alcohol's effect on the brain reward system than inherent differences in taste sensitivity, according to findings by a group of researchers led by Judy Grisel of Furman University.
Energy—Dielectric flow . . .
With today's unprecedented demands for power—as demonstrated by this summer's Southern heat wave—superconducting technology promises to turn on an electricity faucet and expand the current capacity of the nation's power grid.
Energy—Beating the heat with Near-Zero Energy homes . . .
As the Tennessee Valley Authority deals with record afternoon electricity demand during the current heat wave, a home in Lenoir City is actually selling power back into the system.
Computing—Unleashed power . . .
Supercomputing-like performance could be available for countless scientific applications through an approach that exploits the power of reconfigurable computing using field-programmable gate array.
Ecology—Sturgeon study . . .
Dwindling numbers of shortnose sturgeon in Georgia's blackwater Ogeechee River system have prompted an effort to quantify the causes and prioritize recovery efforts.
Materials—Supersaturated steel . . .
Pulp and paper plants in the future may operate at lower energy levels as the result of a new joint technology developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Swagelok Company of Solon, Ohio.
Industry—Going wireless . . .
Oak Ridge National Laboratory research has aided in development of two new lines of wireless sensor products targeted at manufacturers by industry heavyweights Honeywell and General Electric.
Energy—Power forward . . .
The recently-opened Dell Regional Children's Medical Center in Austin, Texas, is demonstrating the future in self-sufficient power, with the help of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Environment—Award-winning recipe . . .
Groundwater contaminants at Dover (Del.) Air Force Base are proving no match for a concoction formulated by Environmental Sciences Division researchers Aleisa Bloom, George DeLong and a team in charge of cleaning up the Superfund site.
Homeland Security—Bio watchdog . . .
Effects of a biological attack could be minimized through a new system that focuses on early identification and rapid response.
Biology—Eucalyptus sequencing . . .
ORNL is part of an ambitious international effort to decode the genome of Eucalyptus, one of the world's most valuable fiber and paper-producing trees and only the second tree to have its DNA sequenced.
Energy—New life for reactors . . .
Comprehensive risk analysis provided by Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers plays a crucial role in keeping billions of dollars of electricity generation on line – without compromising safety.
Nanoscience—A clean suite . . .
In the mesoscale, or typical, world, machines are assembled a piece or component at a time.
Materials—Super stainless steel . . .
A new type of stainless steel alloy developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory could allow for significantly increased operating temperatures and corresponding increases in efficiency in future energy production systems.
Energy—Wet, warm wall worries . . .
An Oak Ridge National Laboratory study shows that a newly redesigned generation of Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems, or EIFS, walls perform better than several other wall types tested for moisture and thermal performance.
Medical—Atrial fibrillation alert . . .
Patients and their physicians will breathe a little easier if a collaboration between Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Tennessee, and UT Medical Center succeeds.
Sensors—Energy security . . .
Thousands of fuel storage tanks across the country could be protected from sabotage with an integrated wireless sensor system developed by engineers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and industry partners.
Energy—Huge industrial savings . . .
A DOE study of 200 U.S.
Climate—Thirstier trees on horizon . . .
Increased levels of ozone associated with the release of greenhouse gases are causing vegetation to use more water and may intensify the effects of global warming on ecological systems, according to findings published in New Phytologist.
Diesel—Clean savings . . .
An innovative methodology developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory could help speed to market reformulated diesel fuels recently patented by the Department of Energy, resulting in cleaner air and saving consumers an estimated $3.6 billion over the expected 12-year product impact period.
Energy—Nanofiltered diesel . . .
A new material developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Nanoscience Center could replace a costly process in the manufacture of biodiesel that consumes chemicals, water and energy and also reduces the yield of the final product.
Environment—Leaf litter revelation . . .
Freshly fallen leaves contribute less to the levels of carbon in mineral soil than was previously believed, according to the findings of a team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers Mats Froberg and Paul Hanson.
Genomics—Decoding data . . .
By devising a novel computational approach to examining a large amount of data, scientists have gained insight into the intricate workings of proteins responsible for sensing their surroundings and transmitting that information inward.
Climate—Precision predictions . . .
A new adaptation of statistical tools applied to geophysical data sets show that the correlation between the variability of large river flows and the El Nino-Southern Oscillation index is much higher than previously thought.
Materials—SNS's bright beginnings . . .
Months into its commissioning since the first neutrons were made in late April 2006, the Spallation Neutron Source is distinguishing itself as a robust neutron source.
Materials—Coatings R Us . . .
Characterization work by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has confirmed what Alpharetta, Ga., startup company C3 International founder Mark Deininger suspected.
Climate—Trees vs. temperature . . .
Just as water helps moderate temperatures of nearby land, large tracts of forests can also help lessen the extremes of land in the area, according to research published in the Jan.
Energy—Electricity from the sun . . .
ORNL engineers are working to convert their sunlight-based hybrid lighting technology into a multifunctional system that also produces electricity.
Nanoscience—Atom-scale switch . . .
ORNL researchers performing basic research have discovered a carbon nanotube-based system that functions like an atom-scale switch.
Energy—Microbial cost savings . . .
A tiny microbe may hold the key to simpler, lower-cost production of ethanol from biomass sources such as trees, grasses and cornstalks.
Forensics—Dead giveaway . . .
Decompositional odors released from corpses in clandestine graves are providing a chemical fingerprint that could help law enforcement officials find these burial sites and provide evidence that ultimately points to the victim's killer.
Energy—Hot savings . . .
Homeowners could see their electric bills reduced considerably with Oak Ridge National Laboratory's integrated heat pump.
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