2003 Argonne News Releases and Features

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Researchers guide light with metal nanoparticles

ARGONNE, Ill. (Dec. 26, 2003) — In the world of nanoscience, which is scaled to widths of atoms and molecules, the miniscule dimensions make it virtually impossible for light waves to be transmitted. This principle explains why an everyday phenomenon such as light bending, or diffraction, turns into a Herculean task when scientists try to harness its power at the nanoscale level. More...

Ceramic membranes could help fuel hydrogen future

ARGONNE, Ill. (Dec. 19, 2003) — Ceramic membranes developed at Argonne could bring fuel-cell cars closer to reality by efficiently and inexpensively extracting hydrogen from fossil fuels. More...

Nobel Prize in physics awarded to Abrikosov at Stockholm ceremony

ARGONNE, Ill. (Dec. 10, 2003) — The 2003 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded today to Alexei A. Abrikosov of the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory at a ceremony in Stockholm. Abrikosov shared the prize with two colleagues for theories about how matter can show bizarre behavior at extremely low temperatures. More...

Argonne, industry to tackle end-of-life vehicle recycling

ARGONNE, Ill. (December 2, 2003) — The "junk" from junked cars will find new uses under a new research partnership for recycling plastics. More...

New catalyst could help diesels meet NOx deadlines

ARGONNE, Ill. (Nov. 28, 2003) — A new catalyst could help auto makers meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's deadline to eliminate 95 percent of nitrogen-oxide from diesel engine exhausts by 2007, while saving energy. More...

Faster tree growth may not stem global warming

ARGONNE, Ill. (November 21, 2003) — A new study, published today in Science , indicates that the potential for soils to soak up atmospheric carbon dioxide is strongly affected by how long roots live. Large differences in root replacement rates between forest types might alter current predictions of how carbon absorption by soil will act to ameliorate global warming from excess human-caused carbon dioxide. More...

Researchers at APS make graphite hard as diamond

ARGONNE, Ill. (Nov. 14, 2003) — Science has yet to achieve the alchemist's dream of turning lead into gold. But a group of researchers using the Argonne's Advanced Photon Source may have found a way to turn ordinary soft lead into a new, super-hard material that "looks" just like diamond. More...

Argonne researcher named to Scientific American 'Top 50' list

ARGONNE, Ill. (November 10, 2003) — Khalil Amine of the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory has been named by Scientific American magazine as one of top 50 research leaders of 2003. The " Scientific American 50" are recognized for their outstanding leadership and capability in helping to make technology a constructive force for people and societies around the world. More...

Nanoparticles eyed as biohazard treatment

ARGONNE, Ill. (Nov. 7, 2003) — Nanoparticles may someday come to the rescue of people exposed to chemical, biological or radiological hazards. Argonne researchers are in the early testing stages of a system that would cleanse the blood of contaminants using tiny magnetic particles and a portable, external magnetic separator. More...

Argonne scientist wins Humboldt Award

ARGONNE, Ill. (Nov. 7, 2003) — Valerii Vinokur, a senior scientist and director of the Materials Theory Institute at Argonne National Laboratory, has won a prestigious Humboldt Research Prize for his work in the area of superconductivity and nanophysics. More...

Gamma ‘camera’ eyed for security, medicine

ARGONNE, Ill. (Oct. 31, 2003) — A device originally developed for nuclear physics research may find applications in homeland security and medicine. A “Compton Camera” being developed at Argonne could be used to create detailed images of radioactive materials, from smuggled weapons to “tracers” used in nuclear medicine. More...

Access Grid technology allows Native Americans to bridge digital divide

ARGONNE, Ill. (Oct. 24, 2003) — It was the sudden appearance of cutting-edge Internet technology that first created a "digital divide" between Native Americans and the rest of the United States. Now, thanks to Argonne National Laboratory's Access Grid™ project, a group seeking to preserve Native American culture is putting technology to work in hopes of bridging that gap. More...

Oct. 15 meeting to discuss proposed biosafety lab

ARGONNE, Ill. (Oct. 9, 2003) — Representatives from the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory will speak and be available to answer questions from the public on plans for a recently-funded facility for research on infectious diseases. The public meeting is planned for Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. at Ashton Place, 341 75th Street, Willowbrook, Ill. More...

Argonne scientist wins 2003 Nobel Prize for Physics

ARGONNE, Ill. (Oct. 7, 2003) — Alexei Abrikosov of the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory today shares the Nobel Prize in physics with two colleagues for theories about how matter can show bizarre behavior at extremely low temperatures. More...

APS X-rays reveal secrets of Mars' core

ARGONNE, Ill. (Sept. 26, 2003) — While astronomers peer at the surface of Mars, now making its closest approach to Earth in 60,000 years, scientists are learning the secrets of its deep interior using the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne. More...

Battery powers tiny, implants that aid neurological disorders

ARGONNE, Ill. (Sept. 19, 2003) — A new miniature battery is powering tiny, implantable devices that could help millions who suffer from a variety of neurological disorders, such as urinary urge incontinence. More...

Structure determined for critical SARS enzyme

ARGONNE, Ill. (Sept. 12, 2003) — Moving one step closer in the battle against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), researchers from a California company using the powerful X-rays at the Advanced Photon Source have determined the first structure of the main protease from the coronavirus that causes SARS. A protease is a viral enzyme critical in the SARS life cycle. More...

Symposium examines aerosols from World Trade Center collapse

ARGONNE, Ill. (Sept. 5, 2003) — Contaminants from the collapse of the World Trade Center in New York City two years ago hit the city in two waves, according to researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, who are organizing a presentation on research results. More...

Argonne, NASA team up on shuttle safety

ARGONNE, Ill (Aug. 29, 2003) — Argonne is collaborating with National Aeronautics and Space Administration to develop a method of inspecting the leading-edge thermal protection system for Space Shuttle wings. Researchers in Argonne's Energy Technology Division have been conducting tests on shuttle wings since April and are working to meet an early fall deadline to provide two to three of their best potential investigation methods. More...

Huge underground detector may explain matter-antimatter riddle

ARGONNE, Ill. (Aug. 22, 2003) — Twenty years ago, Argonne scientists began tinkering around in a historic iron mine in Minnesota, looking for the theoretically predicted phenomenon of proton decay. They didn't find it, but they did find something only a very few other physicists had seen — atmospheric neutrino oscillations, the shifting of the tiny neutral particles from one type to another as they travel. More...

Argonne transforms college students into science teachers

ARGONNE, Ill. (Aug. 15, 2003) — In an effort to improve science education in both elementary and high school, an undergraduate internship program at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory is transforming budding teachers into scientists. More...

Three Argonne technologies win R&D 100 awards

ARGONNE, Ill. (Aug. 8, 2003) — Three technologies developed or co-developed at Argonne have been recognized with R&D 100 Awards, which highlight some of the best products and technologies from around the world. More...

Precise nuclear measurements give clues to astronomical X-ray bursts

ARGONNE, Ill. (July 11, 2003) — Argonne physicists have precisely measured the masses of nuclear isotopes that exist for only fractions of a second or can only be produced in such tiny amounts as to be almost nonexistent in the laboratory. Some isotopes had their masses accurately measured for the first time. More...

Argonne scientists win top superconductivity awards

ARGONNE, Ill. (June 19, 2003) — Two top prizes in the field of superconductivity have been awarded to scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. More...

Gammasphere featured in new 'Hulk' movie

ARGONNE, Ill. (June 12, 2003) — Gammasphere, a nuclear physics instrument now at Argonne National Laboratory, plays a supporting role in the new science-fiction thriller "The Hulk." More...

Winners named in Argonne exhibit contest

ARGONNE, Ill. (June 5, 2003) — Two teams have tied for first place in an interactive-exhibit design contest sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. A team from Maine East High School in Park Ridge and a team from Delphi Community High School in Delphi, Ind. took the top honors. More...

Roosevelt Middle School heads to national Science Bowl

ARGONNE, Ill. (June 4, 2003) — A team of students from Roosevelt Middle School in River Forest will represent the Chicago region at the National Middle School Science Bowl in Golden, Colo. June 25-28. More...

Advanced Life Sciences licenses promising technology from Argonne

ARGONNE, Ill. (May 21, 2003) — Advanced Life Sciences (ALS) has licensed a promising proteomics-based technology from Argonne National Laboratory. The license involves a compound called ALS-499 that has demonstrated activity in the laboratory toward inhibiting amyloid protein aggregation that is characteristic of the development of several diseases, including Alzheimer's and type-2 diabetes. More...

New cancer-fighting drugs possible through studies at Argonne

ARGONNE, Ill. (May 16, 2003) — Proteins that could lead to drugs that stop tumor growth and cancer have been identified by biologists studying capillary formation, or angiogenesis, at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. More...

Research offers clues to Alzheimer's plaques

ARGONNE, Ill. (May 2, 2003) — Researchers from Argonne and the University of Chicago have developed methods to directly observe the structure and growth of microscopic filaments that form the characteristic plaques found in the brains of those with Alzheimer's Disease. More...

Roosevelt leads regional Science Bowl; part 2 of competition set for May 3

ARGONNE, Ill. (April 18, 2003) — A team of students from Roosevelt Middle School in River Forest took the top spot in the academic contest portion of the 2003 Chicago Regional Middle School Science Bowl, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and Argonne National Laboratory. More...

Joint research to help U.S. steel industry

ARGONNE, Ill. (April 11, 2003) — Argonne National Laboratory has joined a $1.29 million project that will make U.S. steel companies more competitive and maximize furnace life. The U.S. steel industry produces more than 100 million tons of steel annually. Blast furnaces that convert iron into molten iron are crucial components of steel companies, many of which are located in northwest Indiana. Because of aging technology, Indiana's steel industry is losing its competitive edge. More...

Fremd High School wins state championship Rube Goldberg contest

ARGONNE, Ill. (April 7, 2003) — A team of students from William Fremd High School has won the state championship Rube Goldberg machine contest, held April 5 at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. More...

Argonne software helps emergency responders plan and prepare

ARGONNE, Ill. (April 4, 2003) — In today's challenging world of new and complex threats, emergency responders at all levels need ways to effectively create and coordinate response plans. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have developed a powerful new tool to help those on the frontlines plan for and carry out their duties in the event of a large scale emergency. More...

Electric field provides 'handle' to manipulate tiny particles

ARGONNE, Ill. (March 25, 2003) — Intricate patterns formed by granular materials under the influence of electrostatic fields have scientists at Argonne National Laboratory dreaming of new ways to create smaller structures for nanotechnologies. More...

Morgan Park wins 8th annual Rube Goldberg machine contest

ARGONNE, Ill. (March 7, 2003) — Morgan Park Academy, Chicago, today won Argonne National Laboratory's eighth annual Rube Goldberg machine contest held at Chicago Children's Museum on Navy Pier. More...

Conference encourages young women to explore scientific and technical careers

ARGONNE, Ill. (Feb. 27, 2003) — The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory will host the 16th annual Science Careers in Search of Women conference, Thursday, March 13. More...

Argonne researchers create powerful stem cells from blood

ARGONNE, Ill. (Feb. 24, 2003) — The particularly powerful — and very scarce — flexible forms of stem cells needed for medical research and treatment may now be both plentiful and simple to produce, with a new technology developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory — and the source is as close as your own bloodstream. The finding may eventually offer researchers a practical alternative to the use of embryonic stem cells for research, drug discovery, and transplantation. More...

Finalists named in student design contest at Argonne

ARGONNE, Ill. (Feb. 24, 2003) — Nine teams of high school students have made it to the second round in a design contest sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. The students have been challenged to design interactive exhibits that demonstrate the scientific principles of synchrotron X-ray science. The best designs will be used for displays at the lab's Advanced Photon Source (APS). More...

Argonne, NASA-Ames researchers build new biological machines

ARGONNE, Ill. (Feb. 14, 2003) — Building on tiny organisms, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory are helping to create a new generation of tiny machines for electronic and photonic devices. More...

Students challenged to can simplicity, build complex recycling machines

ARGONNE, Ill. (Feb. 6, 2003) - Argonne's eighth annual Rube Goldberg Machine Contest challenges 12 teams from Chicago-area high schools to build machines that take at least 20 steps to select and crush an empty 12-oz. aluminum soft drink can and move it into a recycling bin. More...

Argonne sponsors regional Science Bowl

ARGONNE, Ill. (Jan. 29, 2003) — Argonne National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy will sponsor the 2003 Chicago Regional Middle School Science Bowl to be held during two separate contests this spring. More...

Field Museum, Argonne discover insect breathing mechanism

ARGONNE, Ill. (January 24, 2003) - A surprising new insect breathing mechanism similar to lung ventilation in vertebrates has been discovered by scientists at The Field Museum and the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. More...

Globus Toolkit 3.0 delivers Grid standards

SAN DIEGO (Jan. 13, 2003) — Grid computing takes a major step forward today with the first implementation of emerging standards known as the Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA). The Globus Project ™ issued its alpha release of the Globus Toolkit 3.0 (GT3), a set of open-source software and services whose earlier versions have transformed the way on-line resources are shared across organizations. More...