Credit: Linda A. Cicero/
Stanford News Service

DNA given a “voice”; award-winning research featured at OSTI

Nobel Laureate research that helps read the instructions of life is now featured at OSTI. Roger D. Kornberg of Stanford University won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his studies in transcribing DNA, the storehouse of molecular information. Dr. Kornberg noted in a PBS interview, “…the DNA by itself contains nothing more than information. The DNA alone is silent. The machinery that we have investigated for the past several decades gives the DNA information voice.” A significant portion of Dr. Kornberg's research leading to this prize was performed at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL), a Department of Energy (DOE)-supported research facility located at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). Related research documents and Web sites are featured at OSTI’s DOE R&D Accomplishments. DOE R&D Accomplishments is a central forum for information about the outcomes of past DOE R&D.

  
from Mission Possible: DOE Advanced Biomedical
Technology Research, page 10

OSTI Showcases DOE Research Taking Aim at Cancer

DOE research has made many contributions over the years to radiation and cancer therapy, including PEREGRINE and Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT). OSTI’s DOE Accomplishments Web site recently featured these revolutionary tools. Also included at the site are more resources and additional information on this topic. DOE Accomplishments is a central forum for information about remarkable advances in science through past DOE R&D.

DOE R&D Accomplishments Database Enhanced

OSTI recently enhanced the DOE R&D Accomplishments database search and retrieval features. Users now have the benefit of sorting results, limiting their search to just full text and honing their search terms for a targeted search. DOE R&D Accomplishments is a central forum for information about the outcomes of past DOE R&D activities that have had significant economic impact, have improved people's lives, or have been widely recognized as remarkable advances in science. An R&D accomplishment is the outcome of past research whose benefits are being realized now. Visit DOE R&D Accomplishments to read about Nobel Prize winners, and be sure and visit the R&D Nuggets page for wide-ranging, interesting scientific insights and/or links to educational resources and materials.

Energy Department National Labs highlighted at OSTI’s DOE R&D Accomplishments

Now you can read about the history and achievements of DOE's National Laboratories and Other Major Laboratories and Facilities from one central Web portal. OSTI recently added this series of Web pages to the Nuggets area of its DOE R&D Accomplishments site. Visit both the National Laboratory section and the Other Major Laboratory and Facilities section to find these valuable resources. DOE R&D Accomplishments is a central forum for information about the outcomes of past DOE R&D activities that are widely recognized as remarkable advances in science.

Photograph by
Harry Sticker,
courtesy AIP Emilio
Segre Visual Archives,
Physics Today Collection

Muon-Neutrino Research Turned into a Nobel-Prize Winning Accomplishment

Jack Steinberger and Brookhaven National Laboratory colleagues won the 1988 Nobel Prize for the 1962 discovery of the Muon-Neutrino. The work showed that particles are associated in particular ways, and that there are different neutrino families. Steinberger's work and documents are featured at OSTI's DOE R&D Accomplishments Web site. DOE R&D Accomplishments highlights outcomes of past research and development that has had significant economic impact, improved people's lives, or been widely recognized as remarkable advances in science. Links to additional Web sites and documents are available.

Life's Little Extremists Highlighted at OSTI

Identified as the third kingdom of living organisms, Archaea (from the Greek word for "ancient"), thrive where other life forms fail. These tiny microbes live in extreme environs like volcanic vents, acidic hot springs, and hypersaline waters. They can survive without sunlight while feeding on materials their fellow organisms cannot metabolize. In 1996, a study funded by the Office of Science's Microbial Genome Initiative mapped the entire genome sequence of  Methanococcus jannaschii, a microbe from boiling vents deep in the Pacific Ocean, and confirmed its place in the "third branch of life" (see Verifying the "Third Branch of Life"). Archaea are highlighted at OSTI's DOE R&D Accomplishments, a central Web forum for information about the outcomes of past Energy Department research. A list of related documents is available.

Courtesy
Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory

“Adventurer Physicist” Highlighted at OSTI

Considered an 'adventurer physicist' (see ScienceMatters@Berkeley , Luis W. Alvarez searched for hidden chambers in an Egyptian pyramid, analyzed the film documenting John F. Kennedy's assassination, and flew in the plane that trailed the aircraft that dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Along the way, Alvarez developed the proton linear accelerator and won the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physics for contributions to elementary particle physics. OSTI's DOE R&D Accomplishments Web site showcases Alvarez documents and resources with additional information. DOE R&D Accomplishments is a central forum for information about the outcomes of past DOE research and development that have been widely recognized as remarkable advances in science.

Snapshots of Science: Thwarting Smugglers, South Pole Communications, and More at OSTI's DOE R&D Accomplishments

Read about portable detection systems aimed at thwarting smugglers (Eddies and Echoes to Thwart Smugglers) and the first multicast video and audio link from the U.S. to the South Pole (To the South Pole on M:Bone: First Live Multicast Connection) at OSTI's DOE R&D Accomplishments Snapshots page. Snapshots are quick pictures, introductions, overviews, or synopses of DOE Accomplishments in science. DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed technology to quickly and accurately detect everything from the contents of a can of soda to strategic metals used to make nuclear weapons. The first multicast to the South Pole was made between DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and scientists at the U.S. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. DOE R&D Accomplishments is a central forum for information about the outcomes of past DOE R&D that have had significant economic impact, have improved people's lives, or have been widely recognized as remarkable advances in science. An R&D accomplishment is the outcome of past research whose benefits are being realized now. See the Snapshots page for a quick look at how DOE research impacts lives through science.

Colliding proton
and antiproton produces
top quarks.

Top Quark Research Featured at OSTI

The top quark is unique among the six predicted quarks because of its large mass. That's one reason scientists persist in their enthusiastic study of this fundamental particle of nature.

“If we can measure its properties precisely, we're likely to gain insight into completely new physics,” Fermilab theorist Tim Tait states in “Why We Care About the Top Quark:  CDF Explains”. This and other top quark articles, Web sites and research documents are featured at the OSTI Web resource DOE R&D Accomplishments. What was the research environment one year prior to the remarkable discovery of the top quark? Find out in the 1994 DOE Report, “The Top Quark – Is it There?” Physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory announced the discovery of the top quark in 1995 and continue to carry out research in high-energy physics to answer the questions: What is the universe made of? How does it work? Where did it come from? DOE R&D Accomplishments is a central forum for information about the outcomes of past DOE R&D that have had significant economic impact, have improved people's lives, or have been widely recognized as a remarkable advance in science.

Courtesy of UCLA

Paul Boyer, 1997 Nobel Prize Winner, Featured at OSTI

He proposed a theory that was greeted with disbelief, and eventually he closed his lab thinking his career was over. Nine years later, in 1997, Paul Boyer held the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on the process by which molecules produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Read more on Paul Boyer at OSTI's DOE R&D Accomplishments Web site. In addition, view a sampling of Boyer's documents and related research and access additional related Web sites about Boyer's work. DOE R&D Accomplishments is a central forum for information about the outcomes of past DOE R&D that have had significant economic impact, have improved people's lives, or have been widely recognized as a remarkable advance in science.

OSTI Sends Solar Energy Info to Public

The sun's heat and light provide an abundant source of energy that can be harnessed in many ways. You can read more and find a wide range of solar energy information through OSTI's Solar Energy Web page. From educational materials to radiation resource information, OSTI has pulled together one-stop access to Department of Energy solar energy resources, as well as a listing of featured documents on solar energy research. DOE has played a major role in solar energy research and development. As a result of solar R&D, the "cost of solar energy has been reduced 100-fold over the past two decades" (from DOE's Making Solar Energy More Affordable). OSTI's Solar Energy page is part of OSTI's DOE R&D Accomplishments Web site. Technical reports on solar energy are available through OSTI's Information Bridge. For additional featured solar information, visit OSTI's R&D Nuggets page.