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Media Contacts
![This protein drives key processes for sulfide use in many microorganisms that produce methane, including Thermosipho melanesiensis. Researchers used supercomputing and deep learning tools to predict its structure, which has eluded experimental methods such as crystallography. Credit: Ada Sedova/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-01/thermosipho_collabfold2_0.jpg?h=3432ff3c&itok=4xhLbjKZ)
A team of scientists led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Georgia Institute of Technology is using supercomputing and revolutionary deep learning tools to predict the structures and roles of thousands of proteins with unknown functions.
![ORNL’s Larry York studies how plant root traits contribute to crop productivity. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-12/2021-P09529.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=xKuzx0EU)
Biologist Larry York’s fascination with plant roots has spurred his research across four continents and inspired him to create accessible tools that enable others to explore the underground world.
![Planting native grasses such as the bioenergy crop switchgrass can restore habitat for birds like this Eastern kingbird. Credit: Chris Lituma/West Virginia University](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-11/Eastern%20Kingbird-2_0.jpg?h=50440fcc&itok=47pCnCan)
An analysis by Oak Ridge National Laboratory shows that using less-profitable farmland to grow bioenergy crops such as switchgrass could fuel not only clean energy, but also gains in biodiversity.
![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.
![The ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor, shown in green, envelops the roots of a transgenic switchgrass plant. Switchgrass is not known to interact with this type of fungi naturally; the added PtLecRLK1 gene tells the plant to engage the fungus. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-09/fungi_switchgrass_0.png?h=4bcd3c64&itok=6SCoAprD)
An ORNL team has successfully introduced a poplar gene into switchgrass, an important biofuel source, that allows switchgrass to interact with a beneficial fungus, ultimately boosting the grass’ growth and viability in changing environments.
![Environmental scientist John Field uses ecosystem models to analyze sustainable methods for growing crops such as switchgrass. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-09/2021-P07473_2.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=3bMWB4As)
For ORNL environmental scientist and lover of the outdoors John Field, work in ecosystem modeling is a profession with tangible impacts.
![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.
![This spring, Brood X cicadas emerged from the ground after 17 years burrowed and swarmed across the eastern United States, leaving a trail of exoskeletons and echoes of mating calls. Cicadas emerge in such large quantities to withstand predation and successfully maintain their populations, and trees actually play a key role in their life cycle. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-07/2021-P05177_0.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=070G3Zdi)
On the road leading to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, drivers may notice that many of the green trees lining the entrance to the lab are dappled with brown leaves. Just weeks past the summer solstice, this phenomenon is out of place and is in fact evidence of another natural occurrence: cicada “flagging.”
![Researchers studying secondary metabolites in the fungus Aspergillus flavus, pictured, found unique mixes of metabolites corresponding to genetically distinct populations. The finding suggests local environmental conditions play a key role in secondary metabolite production, influencing the discovery of drugs and other useful compounds. Credit: Tomás Allen Rush/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-07/DSC0351.jpg?h=b2d9f031&itok=PNgYY5eW)
Scientists at ORNL and the University of Wisconsin–Madison have discovered that genetically distinct populations within the same species of fungi can produce unique mixes of secondary metabolites, which are organic compounds with applications in
![A team of scientists found that microbes at the SPRUCE experiment in the Minnesota peatlands are increasing production of methane under warming conditions. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-07/spruce_0.jpg?h=c282529e&itok=VExEOgns)
Scientists studying a unique whole-ecosystem warming experiment in the Minnesota peatlands found that microorganisms are increasing methane production faster than carbon dioxide production.