![Sphere that has the top right fourth removed (exposed) Colors from left are orange, dark blue with orange dots, light blue with horizontal lines, then black. Inside the exposure is green and black with boxes.](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_square_large/public/2024-06/slicer.jpg?h=56311bf6&itok=bCZz09pJ)
Filter News
Area of Research
News Type
News Topics
- (-) Biomedical (32)
- (-) Biotechnology (11)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (56)
- Advanced Reactors (13)
- Artificial Intelligence (54)
- Big Data (27)
- Bioenergy (57)
- Biology (65)
- Buildings (24)
- Chemical Sciences (35)
- Clean Water (14)
- Climate Change (56)
- Composites (10)
- Computer Science (98)
- Coronavirus (21)
- Critical Materials (3)
- Cybersecurity (20)
- Decarbonization (49)
- Education (1)
- Emergency (2)
- Energy Storage (44)
- Environment (117)
- Exascale Computing (27)
- Fossil Energy (4)
- Frontier (27)
- Fusion (38)
- Grid (26)
- High-Performance Computing (54)
- Hydropower (5)
- Irradiation (1)
- Isotopes (35)
- ITER (3)
- Machine Learning (24)
- Materials (74)
- Materials Science (65)
- Mathematics (6)
- Mercury (7)
- Microelectronics (2)
- Microscopy (28)
- Molten Salt (2)
- Nanotechnology (28)
- National Security (43)
- Net Zero (9)
- Neutron Science (59)
- Nuclear Energy (68)
- Partnerships (21)
- Physics (34)
- Polymers (13)
- Quantum Computing (22)
- Quantum Science (34)
- Renewable Energy (1)
- Security (14)
- Simulation (34)
- Software (1)
- Space Exploration (13)
- Statistics (1)
- Summit (32)
- Sustainable Energy (52)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (4)
- Transportation (37)
Media Contacts
![Seeing the difference Ac-225 could make to cancer patients made Raina Setzer want to come to ORNL to directly work with the isotope. Credit: Allison Peacock/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/rs_0.jpg?h=71976bb4&itok=nFsgqwUT)
Raina Setzer knows the work she does matters. That’s because she’s already seen it from the other side. Setzer, a radiochemical processing technician in Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Isotope Processing and Manufacturing Division, joined the lab in June 2023.
![Samantha Peters co-designed and conducted experiments using ORNL’s high-performance mass spectrometry techniques to prove that bacteriophages deploy genetic code-switching to overwhelm and destroy host bacteria. Credit: Genevieve Martin, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-03/2023-P00717_0.jpg?h=2b2da530&itok=Ae7uW6ug)
Scientists at ORNL have confirmed that bacteria-killing viruses called bacteriophages deploy a sneaky tactic when targeting their hosts: They use a standard genetic code when invading bacteria, then switch to an alternate code at later stages of
![ORNL’s Adam Guss and colleagues used synthetic biology to develop a custom microbe capable of converting deconstructed mixed plastic waste into valuable new materials. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-10/Guss%202021-P05226.png?h=8f9cfe54&itok=0Ddrp5eq)
Scientists working on a solution for plastic waste have developed a two-step chemical and biological process to break down and upcycle mixed plastics into valuable bioproducts.
![ORNL’s Tomás Rush explores the secret lives of fungi and plants for insights into the interactions that determine plant health. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-10/Tomas%20Thumbnail.png?h=c6980913&itok=lhmIQFW4)
Tomás Rush began studying the mysteries of fungi in fifth grade and spent his college intern days tromping through forests, swamps and agricultural lands searching for signs of fungal plant pathogens causing disease on host plants.
![ORNL, VA and Harvard researchers developed a sparse matrix full of anonymized information on what is thought to be the largest cohort of healthcare data used for this type of research in the U.S. The matrix can be probed with different methods, such as KESER, to gain new insights into human health. Credit: Nathan Armistead/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-04/2022-G00330_KESER%20Illustration_0.jpg?h=1cb48fc4&itok=c6ZuDdDg)
A team of researchers has developed a novel, machine learning–based technique to explore and identify relationships among medical concepts using electronic health record data across multiple healthcare providers.
![ORNL scientists created a new microbial trait mapping process that improves on classical protoplast fusion techniques to identify the genes that trigger desirable genetic traits like improved biomass processing. Credit: Nathan Armistead/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy. Reprinted with the permission of Oxford University Press, publisher of Nucleic Acids Research](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-04/Nucleic%20Cover%20Illustration.jpg?h=4a9d1e17&itok=iw81emAt)
ORNL scientists had a problem mapping the genomes of bacteria to better understand the origins of their physical traits and improve their function for bioenergy production.
![An ORNL-led team studied the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in the trimer state, shown here, to pinpoint structural transitions that could be disrupted to destabilize the protein and negate its harmful effects. Credit: Debsindhu Bhowmik/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-01/sars_cov_2_bk.png?h=05c2797f&itok=jQ2D9aTr)
To explore the inner workings of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2, researchers from ORNL developed a novel technique.
![Carrie Eckert](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-11/2021-P08048.jpg?h=fdb72c6d&itok=pWcXR26-)
Carrie Eckert applies her skills as a synthetic biologist at ORNL to turn microorganisms into tiny factories that produce a variety of valuable fuels, chemicals and materials for the growing bioeconomy.
![Summer Widner, Stephanie Timbs, James Gaugler and James Avenell of ORNL are part of a team that processes thorium-228, a byproduct of actinium-227. As new uses for thorium are realized, particularly in medicine, the lab expects the demand for the radioisotope to grow.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-08/Part%20of%20Th-228%20Team_1.jpg?h=09b6d1d3&itok=1_l1hx2l)
As a medical isotope, thorium-228 has a lot of potential — and Oak Ridge National Laboratory produces a lot.
![ORNL metabolic engineer Adam Guss develops genetic tools to modify microbes that can perform a range of processes needed to create sustainable biofuels and bioproducts. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-08/2021-P05224.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=_5e3ckBD)
As a metabolic engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Adam Guss modifies microbes to perform the diverse processes needed to make sustainable biofuels and bioproducts.