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Media Contacts
![Researchers Melissa Cregger, left, and Xiaohan Yang examine plants in an ORNL greenhouse where biosensors are installed to accelerate plant transformations. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-05/Greenhouse%202023%20Xiaohan%20SEED_0.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=oqtdFCJG)
Nature-based solutions are an effective tool to combat climate change triggered by rising carbon emissions, whether it’s by clearing the skies with bio-based aviation fuels or boosting natural carbon sinks.
![Jack Cahill of ORNL’s Biosciences Division is developing new techniques to view and measure the previously unseen to better understand important chemical processes at play in plant-microbe interactions and in human health. In this photo, Cahill is positioning a rhizosphere-on-a-chip platform for imaging by mass spectrometry. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-12/2022-P07805.jpg?h=b306bff6&itok=A5KfqOWR)
John “Jack” Cahill is out to illuminate previously unseen processes with new technology, advancing our understanding of how chemicals interact to influence complex systems whether it’s in the human body or in the world beneath our feet.
![Scientists at ORNL have created a rhizosphere-on-a-chip research platform, a miniaturized environment to study the ecosystem around poplar tree roots for insights into plant health and soil carbon sequestration. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-08/Rhizosphere%20on%20a%20chip_thumbnail.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=KImuFYmF)
Scientists at ORNL have created a miniaturized environment to study the ecosystem around poplar tree roots for insights into plant health and soil carbon sequestration.
![Samarthya Bhagia examines a sample of a thermoplastic composite material additively manufactured using poplar wood and polylactic acid. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-07/2022-P03486.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=sdSfzVet)
Chemical and environmental engineer Samarthya Bhagia is focused on achieving carbon neutrality and a circular economy by designing new plant-based materials for a range of applications from energy storage devices and sensors to environmentally friendly bioplastics.
![Scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy, a nondestructive technique in which the tip of the probe of a microscope scatters pulses of light to generate a picture of a sample, allowed the team to obtain insights into the composition of plant cell walls. Credit: Ali Passian/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-06/Picture1_0.jpg?h=da2f9885&itok=_QN9qoqF)
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.
![Jennifer Morrell-Falvey leads the Molecular and Cellular Imaging group at ORNL, advancing new insights in several scientific areas, including the interactions between plants and microbes that influence ecosystem health and carbon cycling. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-05/2022-P04224.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=6MlHRB4F)
Jennifer Morrell-Falvey’s interest in visualizing the science behind natural processes was what drew her to ORNL in what she expected to be a short stint some 18 years ago.
![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.
![Bruce Warmack is using his physics and electrical engineering expertise to analyze advanced sensors for the power grid on a new testbed he developed at the Distributed Energy Communications and Controls Laboratory at ORNL. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-02/Warmack%202%202022-P00648.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=2uEUwtLk)
Bruce Warmack has been fascinated by science since his mother finally let him have a chemistry set at the age of nine. He’d been pestering her for one since he was six.
![ORNL’s Marie Kurz examines the many factors affecting the health of streams and watersheds. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-02/2022-P00380--_1.jpg?h=918d9ab1&itok=3Fxfv-4i)
Spanning no less than three disciplines, Marie Kurz’s title — hydrogeochemist — already gives you a sense of the collaborative, interdisciplinary nature of her research at ORNL.
![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.