Research
Highlights...
Images of the protein cyanese permit biologists
to understand how it works.
See below.
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| Number 47 |
January 24, 2000 |
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Best photos
of Neptune and Titan
The best Earth-based images
ever of Neptune and of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, were reported
by researchers from DOE's Lawrence Livermore Lab, University of
California at Berkeley, UCLA and Keck Observatory in Hawaii. The
infrared images were captured on Keck-II telescope using a new form
of adaptive optics to compensate for Earth's atmospheric turbulence.
The unprecedentedly clear images reveal giant storms on Neptune
and possible hydrocarbon lakes on Titan. The work, announced to
the American Astronomical Society in Atlanta, was supported by DOE,
NASA and NSF.
[Gordon Yano,
925/423-3117, yano1@llnl.gov]
New process could
turn chemical industry green
New "green chemistry" technology that substitutes
benign carbon dioxide for noxious industrial solvents holds great
promise for the $368 billion per year U.S. chemical industry.
The chemical industry plays a vital role in the nation's economy,
representing 10 percent of all manufacturing and employing more
than 1 million Americans. It uses about 3.8 million tons of solvents
per year, most of which are potentially hazardous to health, safety
and the environment. Solvents are necessary as media for chemical
reactions, chemical separations and cleaning. A new approach utilizes
newly developed chemicals, called surfactants, to disperse insoluble
substances in carbon dioxide. It is being pioneered by DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of North Carolina, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Texas.
[Ron Walli, 423/576-0226;
wallira@ornl.gov]
'Roadmap' to guide U.S. photovoltaics industry
in 21st century
Americans want solar electricity. The U.S. photovoltaics
industry wants them to have it. Solar cell manufacturers and suppliers
see photovoltaics (PV) producing at least 15 percent of the additional
electrical power the United States will need in 2020. But how
will the industry bring down costs, overcome market barriers,
increase production and accelerate research and development? The
recently released Report
of the PV Industry Roadmap Workshop provides a guide. The
report outlines goals and strategies for industry and its R&D;
partners through 2020. The National Center for Photovoltaics,
which includes researchers from DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory
and DOE's Sandia National Laboratories, coordinated
the roadmapping effort. The report is available online at http://www.nrel.gov/ncpv/pdfs/27450.pdf
and can be ordered via e-mail from pvsac@sandia.gov
. [George
Douglas, 303/275-4096, george_douglas@nrel.gov]
Rugged
new CCD sharpens images of universe
A new kind of charge-coupled device developed
by electrical engineer Steve Holland at DOE's Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory, inspired by detectors built for high-energy
physics, is being tested at California's Lick Observatory by
astronomers searching for planets around distant stars. Meanwhile,
an eight-million-pixel version of the new CCD is being fabricated
for the Keck Telescope in Hawaii. Unlike conventional fragile
astronomical CCDs, which must be thinned to less than the width
of a human hair and cost tens of thousands of dollars, the new
high-resistivity, voltage-biased, pure silicon chip is thick,
rugged, and far more sensitive in the red and infrared regions
of the spectrum.
[Paul Preuss, 510/486-6249, paul_preuss@lbl.gov]
Solar
energy provides backup power
A solar powered generator is now part of the
permanent supplemental power supply at DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. A photovoltaic generator and battery storage
system was installed recently at NREL's Site Entrance Building,
which houses the laboratory's security staff and critical security
functions. The generator's 600-watt photovoltaic array is made
of crystalline silicon solar cells and is attached to a storage
system of eight rechargeable batteries. The solar energy backup
power supply will enable NREL's security staff to maintain critical
functions if the utility grid fails. If a power failure should
be protracted, a secondary propane backup generator is part
of the emergency system.
[Patrick Summers, 303/275-4050, patrick_summers@nrel.gov]
Spinal cord patients can rehabilitate
online
A new computer program now being tested could
help reduce some of the difficulties associated with a spinal
cord injury by providing at-home rehabilitation assistance online.
The Rehabilitation Learning Center was the idea of Dr. Anthony
Margherita at the Washington University School of Medicine in
St. Louis, Mo., who learned of a computer tool called Pachelbel™.
This Web-based education tool was developed at DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The RLC uses the Pachelbel architecture
to provide training and reference materials to patients working
from a personal computer. Content ranges from types of spinal
cord injuries to lifestyle changes to video instruction on correctly
moving from a wheelchair to a bed.
[Staci Maloof, 509-372-6313, staci.maloof@pnl.gov]
The Accidental Seismologist
A math-packed computer program, a sandwich-sized
piece of polycarbonate, and a green-glowing laser may someday
change our understanding of plate tectonics. Using interferometry
and a unique software program, mechanical engineer Eric Steffler
at DOE's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory
developed cracks and fractures in stressed materials reminiscent
of those found in geologic fractures and fault lines. Steffler
simultaneously squeezed, pushed, and pulled sample materials
in his dissertation work. The cracks and fractures that developed
deviated from what was expected, but closely matched actual
geologic data published by Stanford University. Future research
may result in lab-scale experiments that can better predict
earthquake and slip events.
[Deborah Hill, 208-526-4723, dahill@inel.gov]
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Every
picture tells a story
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This image of the
protein cyanese permits biologists to understand how it
works. The enzyme may be important for technologies that
use biological species to clean the environment.
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For Andrzej Joachimiak, every picture tells a story in Argonne's
Structural Biology Center.
Ever since Watson and Crick made a stick and ball model of DNA
and the secret of biological inheritance unfolded before their
eyes, 3-D models have been the key to understanding biological
activity.
Now, scientists at DOE's Argonne National Laboratory are setting speed records in collecting
data for those 3-D models. For example, in just 23 minutes, they
obtained data needed to fully construct a 3-D image of a portion
of a molecular structure involved in protein folding. Previously,
such an experiment would have taken 24 to 36 hours.
The work is being done at Argonne's Structural Biology Center,
part of the Office of Basic Energy Sciences-funded Advanced Photon
Source, where the nation's most brilliant X-rays are produced.
"Because we can work so quickly, we can actually test the crystal,
learn its diffraction properties and optimize the experiment before
collecting the data needed for determining 3-D images," said Joachimiak,
who leads the team of scientists at SBC.
So what's the rush? Biologists can now work fast enough to investigate
smaller, fragile crystals before the X-rays break them down. Scientists
can also study smaller crystals and much larger proteins and protein
complexes. "But most important," said Joachimiak, "we can apply
the most advanced methods of structure determination because we
can readily change the energy of the X-rays and quickly get several
complementary data sets from the same crystal. This approach greatly
simplifies the structural analysis." "Our product is precise,
high-resolution 3-D structure," he said. "In about a year, more
than 1,200 data sets were produced and more than 100 structures
have been solved." Compare that to the slightly more than 7,500
structures identified over the past 50 years.
Submitted by
DOE's Argonne National Laboratory
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Designed
and built by Sandia, MTI satellite has the ability to "see" reflected
and thermally radiated electromagnetic waves that are not visible
to the human eye, and performs at a level currently achievable only
in a laboratory