Feature Articles

To optimize biomaterials for reliable, cost-effective paper production, building construction, and biofuel development, researchers often study the structure of plant cells using techniques such as freezing plant samples or placing them in a vacuum. These methods provide valuable data but often cause permanent damage to the samples.

As the Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement user facility marks 30 years of collecting continuous measurements of the Earth’s atmosphere this year, the ARM Data Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is shepherding changes to its operations to make the treasure trove of data more easily accessible and useful to scientists studying Earth’s climate around the world.

Practical fusion energy is not just a dream at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Experts in fusion and material science are working together to develop solutions that will make a fusion pilot plant — and ultimately carbon-free, abundant fusion electricity — possible.

Two decades in the making, a new flagship facility for nuclear physics opened on May 2, and scientists from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have a hand in 10 of its first 34 experiments. ORNL researchers and their partners at other national laboratories and universities launched the first experiment on May 11. The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, a DOE Office of Science user facility at Michigan State University, will produce more than 1,000 new rare isotopes.

A new capability developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to identify urban neighborhoods, down to the block and building level, that are most vulnerable to climate change could help ensure that mitigation and resilience programs reach the people who need them the most.

ORNL’s suite of LandScan population distribution models is available online to the global public for the first time ever under a new open-source creative commons license.

To achieve practical energy from fusion, extreme heat from the fusion system “blanket” component must be extracted safely and efficiently. ORNL fusion experts are exploring how tiny 3D-printed obstacles placed inside the narrow pipes of a custom-made cooling system could be a solution for removing heat from the blanket.

For decades, the Department of Energy’s annual Transportation Energy Data Book has tracked trends in U.S. transportation, serving as the definitive guide for industry, policymakers, researchers and consumers. The most recent version is now available online, marking the book’s 40th edition. Produced and maintained by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in collaboration with DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office, the widely acknowledged book holds more than 1,000 citations in scholarly reports to date and its impact is felt internationally, too, as automakers use the information to support the engineering of energy-efficient vehicles.

ORNL researchers have developed and tested novel small-molecule antivirals in an effort to design new drugs to treat COVID-19. The so called hybrid inhibitor molecules are made from repurposed drugs used to treat hepatitis C and the original coronavirus outbreak in the early 2000s. The experimental research results show the molecules are similarly as effective as some of the leading drugs on the market today.

Because next-generation biofuels will depend on the growth and hardiness of woody feedstocks, scientists have sought to better understand how leaf cells quickly respond to environmental cues such as light, temperature and water. Scientists at the Center for Bioenergy Innovation, or CBI, have studied rapid molecular changes in leaves from poplar trees during normal daily cycles of daylight and darkness. Until now, the effect of these modifications at the cellular protein level was not well understood, partly because of the technical limitations of the analytical tools available.