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News by Category: Research Institute Rapra Technology now actively seeking further opportunities to develop and regional support activities into mainland Europe 10 September 2006 - Rapra Technology Limited Encouraged by the recent spectacular successes which the company has enjoyed in the European collaborative research arena, Rapra Technology is now actively seeking further opportunities to develop and expand its regional support activities into mainland Europe. New Rapra handbook 09 September 2006 - Rapra Technology Limited The construction industry increasingly requires products that are cost effective and easy to use, to enable fast track application whilst achieving a high physical performance. Incorporating a polymer in a cementitious mix brings key advantages, particularly in terms of workability, abrasion and impact resistance, with the resulting physical and chemical properties dependent upon the nature of the polymer material and the quantity used in relation to the cement phase. Rapra boosts online services for plastics and rubber 08 September 2006 - Rapra Technology Limited Rapra Technology, Europe's leading polymer research and technology organisation, celebrates the New Year with the successful relaunch and redesign of its unique website for the plastics and rubber sectors. High Performance Fillers 07 September 2006 - Rapra Technology Limited Judging by the success of this year’s meeting, the second Rapra conference on High Performance Fillers seems to have achieved the difficult task of finding a niche in today’s crowded conference season. Rapra to improve the industrial plastics extrusion process by the use of supercritical CO2 06 September 2006 - Rapra Technology Limited Rapra Technology, Europe's leading polymer research and test house, has secured 1.4 Million Euros of EU funding together with a 14 strong European consortium to improve the industrial plastics extrusion process by the use of supercritical CO2. Wasting time and money trying to bond plastics? 05 September 2006 - Rapra Technology Limited Bonding experts had a frequent complaint that joining is not considered until the product design is complete and materials have been specified. Sometimes clients don't even know which plastics they are working with as components are purchased ready-made. This leads to problems in selecting adhesives or the appropriate welding technology. Rapra exploits expertise in food contact materials 04 September 2006 - Rapra Technology Limited Rapra Technology is renowned for its expertise in testing and analysing plastics for safety in contact with food. Expert analytical staff such as John Sidwell, Keith Scott and Dr Martin Forrest, have over 15 years of experience in this field. New report from Rapra discusses markets for Biodegradable Plastics 03 September 2006 - Rapra Technology Limited Biodegradable polymers have experienced strong growth over the last three years and are set to make further inroads into markets traditionally dominated by conventional thermoplastics in future. Dropping nano-anchor 27 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Touch the tines of a tuning fork and it goes silent. Scientists have faced a similar problem trying to harness the strength and conductivity of carbon nanotubes, regarded as material of choice for the next generation of everything from biosensors to pollution-trapping sponges. Big hopes for tiny, new hydrogen storage material 26 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are taking a new approach to 'filling up' a fuel cell car with a nanoscale solid, hydrogen storage material. Their discovery could hasten a day when our vehicles will run on hydrogen-powered, environmentally friendly fuel cells instead of gasoline engines. PNNL on fast track for hydrogen fuel reformer 26 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are developing a system to rapidly produce hydrogen from gasoline in your car. 'This brings fuel cell-powered cars one step closer to the mass market,' said Larry Pederson, project leader at PNNL. Researchers will present their developments at the American Institute for Chemical Engineers spring meeting in New Orleans. Energy system of the future being developed by PNNL 26 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory America got a wake-up call when the East Coast suffered a wide-spread power outage that left millions without electricity. Before the lights came back on, people began trying to determine who should take the blame. Regardless of the cause, the fact that the outage occurred and spread so quickly revealed a much larger problem. Our energy system lacks the flexibility and responsiveness it needs. PNNL balancing complex environmental issues 25 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Whether you get your power from its dams, water your crops from its irrigation systems, fish for salmon from its banks, or buy products that were shipped through its ports, you are participating in one of the complex environmental issues that affect the Columbia River Basin. At the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, our scientists and engineers are driving science to solutions to sustain the Columbia as a vital regional resource and help balance environmental quality with competing needs. PNNL testing reliability of radiation detectors 25 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory A marathon of testing is under way at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to ensure that personal radiation detection equipment purchased with Department of Homeland Security funds meets new standards for identifying potential threats. ICPB locks in license to improve plastics with corn 25 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory The Iowa Corn Promotion Board, ICPB, has signed its first commercial license with Battelle to produce a new plastic additive made from corn that offers a variety of commercial advantages. Battelle operates the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory based in Richland, Wash., where the research will occur. Chemical dynamic duo aids Navy 24 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory A new research effort is addressing 21st century energy needs of the U.S. Navy in a thoroughly modern way, on the computer. The research to develop new computational capabilities ultimately will lead to more efficient electric power for ships and tougher, lighter-weight materials. It will also help the Navy use energy resources more efficiently. Study reveals how body's repair machinery recognizes altered DNA 24 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Our knees may become stiff when injured, but banged up DNA becomes flexible, suggests the most detailed computer model of damaged DNA to date. Further, this flexibility explains how the body's enzymes recognize and fix damaged DNA, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Maciej Haranczyk reported today at the American Chemical Society national meeting. PNNL helping develop U.S. military for 21st Century 24 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Transformation will mean profound changes in numerous ways, including the way the military develops strategy and the way it's organized. Preparing for the future will require the military to adopt innovative approaches to how it operates, to think differently and creatively. PNNL propels economic future of the Tri-Cities 23 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory A year ago, the Tri-Cities economy was booming, swelled by a temporary influx of jobs and spending to clean up the Hanford site and build the vitrification plant. Now, forecasts show that Hanford funded-growth has reached its peak and is starting its inevitable downward slide as cleanup winds down. Experiment proves that 'fly-fishing theory' of protein-to-protein communication holds water 23 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Proteins pass messages to other proteins much like fly-fishermen flicker their lines against water, or so a current leading theory holds. The repeated weak slapping of protein surfaces against one-another is the critical first step in a chain of events that rule all subsequent cellular behavior. Chemical signatures for bioforensics 23 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory The scientific analysis of biological evidence isn't just determining what something is, it's also learning how and where it was developed. Lab to develop more economical and reliable space travel 22 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Images of deep space exploration in old sci-fi movies will take one giant leap toward reality as Battelle scientists manipulate microtechnology to produce rocket propellant in space and breathing oxygen for interplanetary travel, thanks to new funding from NASA. Peering inside the body, with a new spin-literally 22 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory This story is unabashedly all spin. What's the angle? Why, magic. Its subject, a mouse in a form-fitted Plexiglas tube, performs the honors, spinning like an old phonograph record, at a leisurely one to three revolutions a second. The mouse chamber is tilted just so inside a magnetic field being pelted with radio waves. The tiny rodent-adventurer and her cohorts are put under and are no worse for the wear. Blackout prevention effort launched as anniversary looms 22 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory As the dog days of summer approach, the electrical grid feels the heat, but a new integrated data network may help the aging transmission system weather the season without another massive blackout like the one experienced over much of the Eastern United States and Canada last August. Shocking surprise: high voltage + rats = ozone 21 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Rats subjected to extreme electromagnetic fields produce dangerous levels of the toxic gas ozone, according to a new study out of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory that is sure to reenergize the decade-dormant debate about safety around power lines and household appliances. PNNL-USC team discovers how protein in teeth controls bone-like crystals to form steely enamel 21 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory An electron microscope captures the weave structure of the long crystal strands that give enamel its strength. Bottom: A model based on nuclear magnetic resonance data derived at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory shows how an active portion of the enamel-building protein, an amelogenin called LRAP, interacts with the crystal hydroxyapatite, or HAP, used by the body to engineer both bone and enamel. Scientists team up for multiyear studies of microbial mysteries 21 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory The W.R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will embark on two 'grand challenges', innovative, multidisciplinary projects, to explore scientific enigmas in microbiology and biogeochemistry. NIH funding helps PNNL researchers study bacteria that commonly attack cystic fibrosis patients, and tumor development 21 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Two National Institutes of Health grants, totaling nearly $3 million, aim to alleviate painful conditions that affect millions of Americans. For cystic fibrosis patients, the research will be used to fight against infections caused by an aggressive bacterium called Pseudomonas aeruginosa that can wreak havoc in respiratory systems. For millions of tumor sufferers, the work will lead to understanding what goes wrong in the growth and development of cells. National laboratory develops ultra-strong, heat tolerant carbon alloys 20 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Materials scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a chemical process that adds a promising new dimension to the search for advanced catalyst technologies, as well as to cutting tools, abrasives and coatings. Findings reveal the human cytomegalovirus is even more complex than predicted 20 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Scientists have discovered a record number of proteins for one of the largest and most complex viruses, the highly infectious and stealthy human cytomegalovirus, a team from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Oregon Health & Science University reports in the October Journal of Virology. Wearable air-conditioners: Hot, new microtechnology keeps GI's cool 20 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Personal protective suits may protect soldiers from chemical and biological weapons, yet extreme heat inside that gear poses a different but equal threat. Without portable cooling technology to ward off heat exhaustion and heat stroke, suits meant to save lives can incapacitate soldiers in just minutes. PNNL envisions Smart Energy approach projected to save billions 19 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory While efficient, affordable electricity serves as a cornerstone of American prosperity, the nation's electric system suffers from aging infrastructure, security vulnerabilities and operating instabilities and inefficiencies. Ratepayers also must foot the bill for costly mortgages on large capital assets sized to meet peak demands that occur only a few hours per year. Efficient can lights open opportunities for energy savings 19 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory It turns out that the most popular form of residential lighting is generally the most inefficient. So inefficient, in fact, that new building codes in California will effectively limit new installation of incandescent recessed fixtures, commonly referred to as 'can' lights or 'downlights'. PNNL'S role in Science discovery on how microbe survives otherwise deadly radiation 19 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory The study suggests why the bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans is able to survive radiation that would kill most other life instantly: It contains a high level of the metal manganese where you would find iron in other organisms, including human beings. Smart new building controls may help manage peak energy demand in Northwest 18 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Can information technology and smart building controls reduce the need to build expensive new electricity transmission lines? Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory think they might. In a demonstration with the Bonneville Power Administration, PNNL is exploring the impacts of reducing electrical demand and on-site energy production at several buildings in Richland, where PNNL performs research for the federal government. New biosensor screens Air Force personnel and equipment for contamination – within minutes 18 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Air Force personnel will soon know within minutes if they or their equipment are contaminated with a biological agent, thanks to a new technology developed by the Air Force and a national laboratory. Personnel will use the biosensor system to collect and isolate samples, detect and identify agents, and assess the seriousness of the threat. Most complete human blood-plasma proteome map to date unveiled 18 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Researchers have identified an astounding 4,000 distinctive proteins in human blood plasma, a critical step toward cataloging biological markers for early diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. Highway to Hydrogen: A long and winding road 17 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Following the National Academy of Sciences criticism of the Bush administration's plans for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles last week, taxpayers are left wondering how realistic is the vision for a hydrogen economy, what kinds of approaches are scientists and engineers taking and just what are the technical hurdles involved. Ecologists spawn new use for PIT tags 17 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Fishing for a way to assess mixing behavior in treatment tanks for radioactive waste, ecologists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory came up with an innovative use of radio frequency technology previously used to track migrating fish. PNNL set to take advantage of new high-speed network connection 17 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory A new fiber optic network that connects Richland to Seattle will allow Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to increase the amount of data the research facility can exchange with the U.S. and international science communities by as much as 300 times current rates. The new high-speed connection and increased bandwidth will position the lab for major new research programs in homeland and cyber security, information visualization, and human and environmental health. New biological discoveries through data intensive computing 16 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory The field of biology is undergoing a revolution, transformed by sophisticated technologies from a qualitative, descriptive science to one that's quantitative and predictive. These technologies are producing a wealth of biological data that, once collected, analyzed and interpreted holistically, will form the basis for applications ranging from the development of cancer treatments to the creation of novel bioremediation technologies that will help clean up the worst Superfund sites. Groundwater sampling goes tubular 16 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 'Leave No Trace' is a popular ethic for outdoor recreationists who advocate a natural landscape. Now it is also applicable to groundwater sampling collection sites along the Columbia River in southeastern Washington State. PNNL develops mercury-absorbing pollution solution 16 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a novel material that can remove mercury and other toxic substances from coalburning power-plant waste water. For the sake of land and climate, coaxing soil to soak up carbon 15 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory In a novel approach to stalling global warming while reinvigorating nutrient-depleted farmland, chemists have found they can promote soil's natural ability to soak up greenhouse-gas carbon dioxide from the surrounding air. Scientists immersed in the life-blood of the Northwest 15 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory What is considered perhaps the northwest's most valuable natural resource will be the primary focus for hundreds of environmental science professionals as they convene for the Fourth Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry World Congress conference in Portland this November. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory group discovers a paradox: hydrophobic H2O 15 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory The textbooks say that water readily comes together with other water, open arms of hydrogen clasping oxygen attached to other OH molecules. This is the very definition of “wetness.” But scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have observed a first: a single layer of water, ice grown on a platinum wafer, that gives the cold shoulder to subsequent layers of ice that come into contact with it. PNNL collaborating with world-class research facilities via Biological Simulation Grid 14 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory In a bid to facilitate collaboration among other biomolecular researchers, the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has become the first institution outside the United Kingdom to join the Biological Simulation Grid Consortium of Great Britain. Team discovers large, new class of airborne particles unaccounted for in climate models 14 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 'Calcite-containing dust particles blow into the air and encounter gaseous nitric acid in polluted air from factories to form an entirely new particle of calcium nitrate,' said Alexander Laskin, a senior research scientist at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington. Lab discovers way to keep short-lived catalysts active for longer than five months 14 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Enzymes, the workhorses of chemical reactions in cells, lead short and brutal lives. They cleave and assemble proteins and metabolize compounds for a few hours, and then they are spent. Fuel cell executive to lead national laboratory's energy programs 13 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory The chairman of the National Hydrogen Association and former head of a successful fuel cell company is the new lead for energy science and technology at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. PNNL selects national architectural firm to develop design for replacement facility 13 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has selected Flad & Associates, a national architectural and engineering firm based in Madison, Wis., to design a new federal laboratory and office building that will partially replace critical capabilities being shutdown as a result of the federal government’s cleanup activities at the nearby Hanford Site. PNNL selects firm to design replacement facilities 12 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has selected CUH2A, an architecture engineering and planning firm headquartered in Princeton, N.J., to develop conceptual designs for new facilities that will replace laboratory and office space PNNL currently uses in the '300 Area' of the nearby Hanford Site. In China, cloud-free days do not mean sunshine; smog is to blame 11 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory China has darkened over the past half-century. Where has all the sunshine gone? The usual suspect, at least to a climatologist, would be cloud cover. But in the most comprehensive study to date of overcast versus cloud-free days in China, a team led by the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, reporting in the current advance online issue of Geophysical Research Letters, has found that cloud cover has been decreasing for the past 50 years. New nano-canary in the nanotoxicology coalmine: the body itself 10 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory There is growing consensus among scientists, regulators, politicians, industry and the public that we need to know more about the possible harmful or adverse effects of nanoparticles on human health. PNNL to invest $8 million for a national center to study chemical transformations important for 'secure energy future' 10 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Pacific Northwest National Laboratory today launched an $8 million Institute for Interfacial Catalysis to explore the fundamental chemical changes on surfaces where catalytic reactions take place. The Department of Energy lab also announced the appointment of University of Texas at Austin chemist John M. 'Mike' White as the institute's director. Port Townsend students create underwater remotely operated vehicle for use in scientific research 09 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory During the past two years, five Port Townsend High School students have invested more than 500 hours working intently with a local entrepreneur to develop, design and construct a highly specialized research vessel capable of diving to the depths of Puget Sound to conduct important marine research. Multi-institutional efforts to understand microbial biology and biogeochemistry converge 09 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory The W.R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy-sponsored national scientific user facility, is seeing early promise from its two scientific “grand challenges” that have been investigating enigmas in microbiology and biogeochemistry. Carbon fullerenes now have metallic cousins, hollow golden cages 08 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Scientists have uncovered a class of gold atom clusters that are the first known metallic hollow equivalents of the famous hollow carbon fullerenes known as buckyballs. The evidence for what their discoverers call “hollow golden cages” appeared today in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Students to help thwart global nuclear threats 08 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Seventeen graduate students will spend the next year helping the U.S. government prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. The program kicks off this summer as they train for internships in the field of nuclear nonproliferation. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientists can mineralize wood in record time 07 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Yongsoon Shin and colleagues at the Department of Energy lab have converted wood to mineral, achieving in days what it takes nature millions of years to do in such places as the Gingko Petrified Forest, an hour up the Columbia River. There, trees likely felled in a cataclysmic eruption and, buried without oxygen beneath lava, leached out their woody compounds and sponged up the soil's minerals over the eons. Multi-institutional efforts to understand microbial biology and biogeochemistry converge 07 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory The W.R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy-sponsored national scientific user facility, is seeing early promise from its two scientific “grand challenges” that have been investigating enigmas in microbiology and biogeochemistry. New coating protects steel and superalloys 06 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a new ceramic-based coating for steel and superalloys that prevents corrosion, oxidation, carburization and sulfidation that commonly occur in gas, liquid, steam and other hostile environments. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory set to launch million-dollar mobile atmospheric-measuring station 06 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Balloon-borne sounding system. Check. Micropulse lidar. Check. Infrared thermometer. Check. Eddy correlation flux measurement system. Eddy correlation flux measurement system?! Check already. Plasma technology offers breathable air in biological and chemical threat situations 05 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers are using the universe's most common form of matter, plasma, in a new filtration system that may one day save the lives of people seeking shelter from chemical or biological attacks. From Europa to the lab, a new recipe for oxygen on icy moons 05 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Some may be surprised to learn that bleach-blondes and the enabler of life elsewhere in our solar system have something in common. And, no, it’s not intelligence. It is, in fact, hydrogen peroxide. Capturing mercury from coal-fired power plant emissions and EPA’s list of mercury contamination sites are initial targets 04 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory A material designed to capture and remove mercury and other toxic substances from industrial waste streams is now available for commercial use. Battelle has licensed the SAMMS technology developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to Steward Environmental Solutions of Chattanooga, Tenn. Battelle operates the laboratory for the Department of Energy and transfers lab-developed technologies to the marketplace through licenses and other means. Pacific Northwest-led team devises powerful new system for tying genes to vital functions in cells 04 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Genomics, the study of all the genetic sequences in living organisms, has leaned heavily on the blueprint metaphor. A large part of the blueprint, unfortunately, has been unintelligible, with no good way to distinguish a bathroom from a boardroom, to link genomic features to cell function. El Niño's effects on a Pacific Northwest river valley offer forecasters a window to dry years ahead 03 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Global warming conversations have shifted from whether climate is changing to how we will deal with the inevitable consequences. And the price you pay will depend on where you live and how well you prepare, suggests one of the most detailed studies to date on global warming and its likely effect on human activity. Finding concentrations of invasive weed makes treatment dollars go farther 03 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory The Idaho Bureau of Land Management and several weed control groups are fighting back with new software that uses NASA satellite imagery and complex computer programs to show the location and growth of this noxious plant that has invaded the arid West from desert lowlands to high mountains. New system trains good grid operators with bad data 02 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Power grid operators now have the ability to train like pilots, with simulators providing faulty readings designed to throw them off. Such misleading data and resulting loss of “situational awareness” was identified as a major cause of the blackout, which cost the country between $4 billion and $10 billion. Better training to identify and resolve bad data was one recommendation in the final report on the blackout. New method could reduce fabrication costs and increase use of titanium and other metals 02 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a new method for powder injection molding of titanium and similar materials to form components for advanced engineering applications. Experiments point to ice to solve age-old mystery of how primordial dust pulled to form planets 01 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Gravity, always an attractive candidate to explain how celestial matter pulls together, was no match for stellar winds. The dust needed help coming together fast, in kilometer-wide protoplanets, in the first few million years after a star was born, or the stellar wind would blow it all away. Largest survey of proteins in mouse brain also applies to Alzheimer’s and other degenerative brain diseases 01 August 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s disease and other brain disorders are among a growing list of maladies attributed to oxidative stress, the cell damage caused during metabolism when the oxygen in the body assumes ever more chemically reactive forms. A microbiologist discovers our planet is hard-wired with electricity-producing bacteria 31 July 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Scanning electron microscopic images of how different bacteria can be made to sprout nanowires to pass electrons. The scanning tunneling microscopic images at right of individual nanowires confirm that they are conducting electricity. (A, B: a strain of the photosynthetic Synechocystis; and C, D: a fermenting strain, Pelotomaculum thermopropionicum). Newly patented system fights corrosion 31 July 2006 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory made a key advance in developing a fully automated system that fights corrosion and wear and tear in even the hardest-to-reach places. Synthetic life research shows progress 19 July 2006 - American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Scientists are becoming increasingly adept at using synthetic building blocks to design and construct living systems, an effort with great promise for the engineering of microbes to make drugs or other valuable products. Surge of interest for scanning vibrating needle curemeter 31 March 2006 - Rapra Technology Limited Rapra Technology, Europe's leading polymer research and test house, reports a surge of interest for its own-invented Scanning Vibrating Needle Curemeter whose principal use is in monitoring the cure of foam and liquid polymers, right through from the liquid to the solid phase in liquid curing systems for polymers, paints and resins. Rapra provides biocompostable standards and research 30 March 2006 - Rapra Technology Limited Rapra Technology, Europe's leading independent plastics and rubber research organisation, reports a significant growth in demand for its expertise associated with compostable materials. Rapra tackles manual handling risks 29 March 2006 - Rapra Technology Limited A morning seminar on overcoming risks in manual handling in the plastics industry will be held at Rapra Technology, Europe's leading plastics and rubber test house and technical consultancy, on Thursday July 21 at Rapra's Shawbury headquarters, near Shrewsbury. Rapra breaks the plastics design mould 28 March 2006 - Rapra Technology Limited Rapra Technology delivered a successful ground-breaking conference in Berlin last week: The Art of Plastics Design, October 18th-19th, featured industry luminaries such as Sebastian Conran and David Humphries and succeeded in exploring the uncharted territory between the aesthetics of product design and the technology of polymer science. Rapra goes with the FreeFlow 26 March 2006 - Rapra Technology Limited The project is entitled FreeFlow and the aims of the work are to increase output extrusion rates, reduce processing temperatures and reduce energy consumption in the plastics extrusion process. The research project is being part financed by the European Commission under the sixth framework programme as a Collective Research supporting the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises and industrial associations in European research (Contract number: COLL-CT-2005-516225). Developments in European chemical legislation 24 March 2006 - Rapra Technology Limited Chemical control measures in the EU are soon to be dramatically revised, and this new Rapra Review Report, entitled EU Regulation of Chemicals: REACH, sets the scene by describing the key facts of the existing measures and the objectives of the future chemicals policy: REACH. Rapra helps set the Plast 06 agenda 23 March 2006 - Rapra Technology Limited Rapra Technology, Europe's leading polymer research and test centre, has places available at the expert polymer seminars taking place at the Plast06 exhibition in Milan Italy, from February 14, 2006. The Plast 06 organisers approached the Rapra Technology conference department last year and asked Rapra to put in place the seminar activity that will enhance the value and attraction of Italy's premier plastics exhibition. Polymer Library just got cheaper 22 March 2006 - Rapra Technology Limited Every researcher needs a fast and accurate source of information and the field of polymer science is growing at a tremendous pace. Company libraries have been shutting down as costs become paramount, but now hours are wasted every day trying to find key facts on the Internet. Environmental law and the sustainable use of plastics 21 March 2006 - Rapra Technology Limited Over recent years a plethora of environmental legislation has been imposed on manufacturing industry. EuP, IPP, RoHS, and WEEE, are to name but some of those that directly impact on the manufacturing sectors that produce or use plastics materials in their products, resulting in companies being forced to rethink their materials sourcing, design and manufacturing practices. Surge of interest for its own-invented Scanning Vibrating Needle Curemeter 28 March 2005 - Rapra Technology Limited Inventor Bryan Willoughby notes that 'the instrument's use is always evolving. Materials-based niches as diverse as cast elastomers, PU foam systems, thermosets, unsaturated polyesters, silicone and liquid rubber, epoxies, polysulphides, PVC plastisols...all of these chemicaly reactive polymer sectors,' says Willoughby, 'are now using the SVNC in different ways; producing all sorts of high abrasion products such as golf balls, automotive, aeropspace and defence industry components and all manner of adhesives and sealants.' New lab delves into plants for fuels 02 March 2005 - DOE/National Renewable Energy Laboratory A new integrated facility designed to give scientists unprecedented insights into the chemical and biological reactions which can transform renewable plant and waste materials into useful sources of energy has been dedicated at the US Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). X-rays have become laser-like 23 February 2005 - Max Planck Society Radiologists and biologists have been dreaming - ever since the discovery of lasers - of a compact laboratory source emitting X-rays in one direction in a laser-like beam. Such a source would permit X-ray images to be recorded with far higher resolution at vastly reduced dose levels, allowing early-stage cancer diagnosis at dramatically reduced risk. Microscopes furnished with this source would make nanometer-sized biomolecules perceivable in their natural surrounding (in vivo). Rapra publishes two new reviews on rubber mixing and rubber bonding 17 February 2005 - Rapra Technology Limited Rapra has just published two new Rapra Review Reports focusing on key aspects of manufacturing with rubber. No single adhesive can provide the needed levels of adhesion and environmental resistance to all polymers. Open microfluidic and nanofluidic systems 16 February 2005 - Max Planck Society The labs of the future will be 'labs-on-a-chip', i.e., integrated chemical and biochemical laboratories shrunk down to the size of a computer chip. An essential prerequisite for such labs are appropriate microcompartments for the confinement of very small amounts of liquids and chemical reagents. External gas assisted moulding saves 15% energy 04 October 2004 - Rapra Technology Limited A programme of energy consumption trials has concluded that significant savings of up to 15% in energy consumption are possible using external gas assisted moulding instead of standard moulding. Marine Sciences Laboratory adopts green power 19 December 2003 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Marine Sciences Laboratory in Sequim, Wash., has turned to the garbage dump to power its operations. All of the research facility's electrical energy needs now are met by electricity generated by a plant that uses methane gas from a regional sanitary waste landfill, or green power. EGFR: a molecular lab rat let loose in systems biology 17 December 2003 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Epidermal growth factor and its receptor system, or EGFR, is well-trodden territory in molecular biology. And it's no wonder. This is one critical community of proteins, responsible for everything from the development of insect eyes and the mouse brain to human heart and skin. When EGFR breaks down, cancer and other diseases crop up. NASA and DOE lab team on fuel cell research 10 December 2003 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory The Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and NASA's Glenn Research Center have agreed to collaborate in solving one of the toughest technical challenges to the development of advanced solid oxide fuel cells. The two research organizations have signed a Space Act Agreement to team in the development of sealing technologies for the stacks of solid oxide fuel cells. PNNL supercomputer 5th fastest in the world 17 November 2003 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's supercomputer has been ranked No. 5 on the top 500 list of the fastest computers in the world that was released yesterday. The HP system installed at PNNL was designed specifically for complex computational environmental and biological sciences. Sky-high icebergs carried boulders from the Rockies to south-central Washington 03 November 2003 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Geologists have uncovered a scene in the Pasco Basin west of the Columbia River that shows how boulders piggybacked icebergs from what is now Montana and came to rest at elevations as high as 1,200 feet. Saliva spits out information on chemical exposure 22 October 2003 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Home testing of saliva to measure personal hormone levels is gaining popularity, with dozens of companies offering do-it-yourself, mail-in test kits. Battelle scientists at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory envision a day when it may be nearly as easy to detect chemical exposure or even nerve gas poisoning, simply by analyzing a victim’s saliva. And the results would be almost immediate. National lab contributes to power grid alliance 09 October 2003 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Battelle today announced that it has joined a coalition of six other corporations in forming the GridWise Alliance, a collaboration that will realize the vision of an electric power grid that leverages information technology to improve power generation, distribution and consumption. Battelle will provide scientific and technological expertise through the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, which it operates for DOE. Technological breakthrough in silicon photonics 27 August 2003 - Max Planck Society A technique for tailormaking silicon nanocrystals on 4-inch wafers has been developed and submitted for patent by Dr. Margit Zacharias and colleagues of the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Halle(Saale), Germany. Following a standard procedure in silicon technology, a thermally unstable silicon compound in the form of an ultra-thin layer (only two to five nanometers) is first deposited on a substrate. 11.8T HP supercomputer with Intel Itanium2 processors running Linux reaches full operations 26 August 2003 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory The Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is now home to the United States’ fastest operational unclassified supercomputer. The laboratory’s 11.8 teraflops industry-standard HP Integrity system came to full operating power this week, marking the next advance in high-performance computing designed to enable new insights in the environmental and molecular sciences, including chemistry, biology, climate and subsurface chemistry. PNNL advances power grid reliability, envisions Grid of the Future 15 August 2003 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory The Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is a leader in power grid reliability, from impacts of aging infrastructure, deregulation and vulnerabilities to terrorism to envisioning a power grid of the future using technological advancements. PNNL experts are supporting DOE and other industry stakeholders to provide insight to the factors that play a role in large-scale outages such as those that occurred on the East Coast on Aug. 14, and how susceptibility to such events can be minimized with new technology and tighter cooperation. Threatened juvenile salmon get scientific assistance 11 August 2003 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Research has found that thousands of miles of essential juvenile salmon habitat are blocked by tens of thousands of culverts that lay beneath Pacific Northwest roadways. Many of these culverts, that for years have successfully channeled water under roadbeds, are acting as barriers to young salmon preventing them the upstream passage required for growth and development. Breast fluid a better option for detecting cancer 08 July 2003 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory A new method of extracting and analyzing fluid from a woman’s breast may provide a more accurate, less expensive and noninvasive way to determine a patient’s risk for breast cancer or to diagnose the disease in its early stages. Study clarifies key chemical reaction 03 July 2003 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory While a breeze over the ocean may cool beach goers in the summertime, a new scientific study has revealed that tiny wind-blown sea salt particles drifting into the atmosphere participate in a chemical reaction that may have impacts on climate and acid rain. Systems tool new resource to aid groundwater cleanup 19 May 2003 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory After almost 50 years of nuclear materials production at the 586-square-mile Hanford Site in southeastern Washington, there are more than 700 waste sites with the potential to release contaminants to the soil and groundwater. These sites vary significantly in their inventories of radioactive and chemical contaminants and potential for contaminants to migrate through the soil to the groundwater and the Columbia River. Understanding which waste sites have the most significant impact and the cumulative effect of all the waste sites is important as decision makers investigate options for cleanup and closure of Hanford. Think small when powering today's electronic soldier 03 April 2003 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory On the battlefield, having a reliable source of power to operate the many advanced electronic devices a soldier carries is essential. But today’s heavy and cumbersome batteries fall short in satisfying the military’s needs. In search of both a lightweight and reliable alternative, the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has developed the smallest power system yet, all wrapped up in a micro-sized package. Science magazine reports research of WSU/PNNL team 02 February 2003 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory A team of experimental and theoretical researchers from Washington State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have observed that gold displays unexpected properties when it exists in extremely small particles. The current issue of Science magazine carries an article describing their research. New antibody library speeds search for new detection tools 20 January 2003 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have extracted part of the human immune system and reconstituted it in brewer's yeast in a fashion that enables powerful machines to quickly identify new antibodies. The advance could have major repercussions for fundamental biological science as well as industries that use antibodies for sensors, biodetectors, diagnostic tools and therapeutic agents. PNNL expands blood serum protein library 18 December 2002 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory In a significant scientific advance, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have identified or confirmed 490 proteins in human blood serum, nearly doubling the number of known serum proteins, according to a paper accepted for publication in the December issue of Molecular and Cellular Proteomics. New research into new markets for corn 09 December 2002 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory The National Corn Growers Association, Archer Daniels Midland and the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will continue collaborating to explore new markets for corn with a $2.4 million research grant from DOE. The award enables NCGA, ADM and PNNL to extend their research on corn fiber utilization by two and a half years. The highly skilled project team is multidisciplinary, consisting of business managers, engineers, chemists and biochemists from ADM, NCGA and PNNL. OSU, PNNL join forces in new microproducts institute 13 November 2002 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Oregon State University and the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory today agreed to form a research and educational center, called the Microproducts Breakthrough Institute, to develop and help market advances in the emerging and highly promising field of microtechnology. Research highlights from Pacific Northwest National Laborator rings up info security 10 October 2002 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Information security is all the buzz thanks to a new surveillance system designed by researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Called Secure Safe, this wireless communications system triggers an alarm if a worker leaves a room without properly closing and locking a safe, file drawer or other security container. PNNL to use power produced by local wind farm 01 October 2002 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory In an effort to jumpstart the use of clean wind power in the region, the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will purchase and use 8.8 million kilowatt hours of power produced by the new Stateline Wind Power Project, located on the Washington-Oregon border between Pasco and Walla Walla. As a result of the agreement, Richland residents might soon have the option to purchase energy produced by the mammoth wind project as well. Enzyme discovery to benefit homeland security, industry 12 September 2002 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have successfully immobilized enzymes while simultaneously enhancing their activity and stability, opening up new possibilities for using tailored nanoporous materials. High-tech investor network launched 09 September 2002 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory A regional partnership of economic development organizations, led by the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, today announced the launch of the Northwest Technology Investor Network (www.techinvestnw.com). The network is an online forum that links investors and entrepreneurs in the high-tech sector. Assists in studies of microbes, viruses 03 September 2002 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory A faster, more thorough mass spectrometry method for identifying proteins may significantly advance the technology infrastructure required to comprehend the role proteins play in cellular function and disease development. Already, the one-of-a-kind system, developed at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, is beginning to provide new insights into how microorganisms gobble carbon out of the atmosphere and the role proteins play in a virus known to cause blindness. PNNL gathers most complete protein map of world's toughest bacterium 12 August 2002 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have obtained the most complete protein coverage of any organism to date with the study of a radiation-resistant microbe known to survive extreme environments. This research potentially could open up new opportunities to harness this microorganism, called Deinococcus radiodurans, for bioremediation. Technology designed to detect hidden weapons is focus of new company 05 August 2002 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory A technology that is designed to rapidly identify hidden weapons, explosives and other contraband, even plastic, ceramic and other non-metallic weapons, through clothing is the cornerstone of a new company formed to commercialize the technology for a variety of security applications. Researchers devise approach to anchor metals to metal oxides 01 August 2002 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory A newly patented way to deposit metal atoms on very thin oxide layers may help next-generation computers boot up instantly, making entire memories immediately available for use. The technique also may help fabricate less expensive catalysts for chemical reactions and lead to better nanotechnology devices and ceramic/metal seals. Research Highlights From Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 07 July 2002 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory In this special issue dedicated to homeland security-related technologies and training, we are highlighting just a few projects that fall within PNNL's approximately $220 million national security portfolio. Climate monitoring goes mobile 02 April 2002 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Scientists now have the capability to document atmospheric and climate change at locations nearly anywhere in the world, thanks to a new mobile atmospheric monitoring system developed at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Sensor could increase safety of eye surgery 01 December 2001 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Precision is crucial during eye surgery, a slight miscalculation could result in partial blindness and damage to the retina. But a new sensor being developed at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory could reduce those risks by alerting surgeons to the location of critical retinal tissues. PNNL science, technology help keep America safe 15 November 2001 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory A holographic imaging system that scans people at airports for hidden weapons, a device that looks for threats and contraband in sealed containers, and an innovative polymer that helps detect nerve agents are among the many counter-terrorism technologies under development at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Virtual lung models every breath you take, and its impact 27 September 2001 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory A virtual lung model developed at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory may help predict the impact of pollutants on respiratory systems and provide new insights into asthma, a condition afflicting 15 million American adults, as well as other pulmonary diseases. New technology treats dairy wastes, odors 29 August 2001 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory A Battelle technology brought to the Northwest by researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is transforming a waste lagoon into a waste treatment facility at a Washington state dairy. PNNL captures first bird's-eye view of Puget Sound pollution 17 August 2001 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Launching what will be the first sky-based study of Puget Sound's air quality, scientists from the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will fly Seattle's periodically hazy skies this month in search of answers about regional ozone and other pollutants. Russian, PNNL scientists advance U.S. seed production, oil remediation 07 August 2001 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory While searching for a better way to grow turf grass in light of stricter government regulations, a Washington state seed company found help from an unlikely source, former Soviet Union scientists who supported the production of weapons of mass destruction during the Cold War, but who now share their expertise through a U.S. nonproliferation program. PNNL captures picture of fish passage with acoustic camera 06 August 2001 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory If a picture is worth a thousand words, then how valuable is a high-resolution image of fish seen through murky water? Very valuable, according to scientists seeking to understand fish movement near hydropower dams. Recently, fisheries biologists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory deployed an acoustic camera originally designed for the Navy at a dam in the Northwest to study and illuminate their understanding of fish behavior. Cell Systems Initiative & Pacific Northwest National Laboratory jointly probe mysteries of cell's inner workings 01 August 2001 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Two of the Northwest's largest research institutions, the University of Washington and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, have agreed to jointly study the biological process that could hold the key to longer and better life. New magnetic semiconductor material spins hope for quantum computing 30 July 2001 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory While the future of quantum computing offers the potential for substantially greater data storage and faster processing speeds, its advancement has been limited by the absence of certain critically important materials, in particular, a semiconductor that is magnetic at room temperature. Recent experiments only hinted at the possibilities. Study to test effectiveness of strobe light systems as a deterrent to resident fish entrainment 16 July 2001 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory In an effort to deter resident fish species from entering turbines at Grand Coulee Dam and leaving Lake Roosevelt, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation announced today that a 5-week study to test an underwater strobe light system began June 30. Scientists from the Tribe, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, U.S. Geological Survey and Bureau of Reclamation are conducting the work. Pit Viper takes bite out of worker radiation exposures 05 June 2001 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Radiation exposure to personnel working in highly contaminated nuclear tank waste equipment pits may be reduced by as much as 75 percent thanks to the Pit Viper, a remotely operated cleanup system unveiled today by the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Three major Labs join forces to develop faster semiconductors 15 May 2001 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Motorola Labs, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have entered a cooperative research and development agreement aimed at increasing the speed of future generations of integrated circuits. New technology reduces noxious emissions 23 April 2001 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory By combining an electrically charged gas with a specialized catalyst, researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have successfully reduced harmful oxides of nitrogen in a diesel engine by half. Laboratory results show even greater reductions are possible. Small fuel processor powers light-weight soldiers’ system 13 April 2001 - DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory When 21st century soldiers suit up for the battlefield in helmets featuring image displays and laser range finders, one of their most important accessories may be a new power generator so lightweight a soldier can carry it with him. The 'soldier-portable generator' is being developed at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the U.S. Army's Communications-Electronics Command.