Science Highlights
Hearing the Highest Pitches
JULY 16, 2008
Sound waves in a solid with wavelengths not much longer than the distance between atoms can potentially probe material properties almost on atomic scales. But detecting such vibrations is no easy feat. Two research teams offer new ways to detect these vibrations, paving the way for studies of nanostructures, thin films, and interfaces between materials with high resolution in both space and time. (From “Physical Review Focus”)
Newly Described “Dragon” Protein Could Be Key to Bird Flu Cure
JULY 16, 2008
Scientists and researchers using x-ray crystallography at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source have taken a big step closer to a cure for the most common strain of avian influenza, or “bird flu,” the potential pandemic that has claimed more than 200 lives and infected nearly 400 people in 14 countries since it was identified in 2003.
Unveiling the Secrets of Nanoparticle Haloing
JUNE 9, 2008
A new colloidal stabilization method characterized by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Photon Source may give scientists a new way to control the stability of some colloidal suspensions, a process that could open pathways to new materials.
A Fruit-Fly Protein that Captures Tumor Growth Factors
MAY 30, 2008
Researchers using the Argonne Advanced Photon Source have shown how Argos, a fruit fly protein, acts as a “decoy” receptor, binding growth factors that promote the progression of cancer, information that may lead to new drug designs.
An X-ray Vortex on the Horizon?
MAY 5, 2008
Argonne physicists have shown theoretically that the harmonics of the x-ray radiation from a helical undulator have the twisted-phase front and singular core characteristic of an optical vortex, a tornado-like state of light that carries orbital angular momentum. An "x-ray vortex" beam has the capability to make tiny particles swirl in its field and may be useful for the exploration of previously inaccessible quadrupole and other electronic transitions. Until now, production of x-ray vortices has required inefficient optics that must be tuned to the x-ray beam energy.
A Protein that Repairs Damage to Cancer Cells
MAY 5, 2008
University of Chicago scientists using two x-ray beamlines at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source have shown how a protein detects and repairs damage in human cells; the study raises the possibility of designing a molecule that could interfere with the repair process, making a certain type of cancer treatment more effective.
Scientists Discover How Nanocluster Contaminants Increase Risk of Spreading
APRIL 24, 2008
Scientists have known that nanometer-size clusters of plutonium oxide are responsible for plutonium contamination spreading further in groundwater than expected, increasing the risk of sickness in humans and animals. But the nature of the clusters remained a mystery until researchers using x-ray beams from the Argonne Advanced Photon Source were able to solve the structure of the clusters and begin to unlock their secrets.
How Two Drops Become One
APRIL 24, 2008
Scientists from Argonne National Laboratory, using an x-ray beamline at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source, have found a window into the process of water drop coalescence, employing ultrafast pulses of full-spectrum, high-intensity x-rays to capture with unprecedented clarity and definition the moment of two water droplets becoming one.
Mobile RNA is Poised and Ready
APRIL 10, 2008
Research at two Advanced Photon Source x-ray beamlines has produced a new picture of a genetic parasite isolated from a deep-sea bacterium that is helping researchers see how certain specialized segments of RNA escape from their positions in the genome and invade new RNA or DNA. The mobility of these genetic elements has had a profound influence on evolution, promoting diversity among the world's most ancient organisms.
Glass Does a Double-Take
APRIL 4, 2008
How and why glass forms remains a scientific mystery. But experiments by scientists from Yale University and Argonne using the Advanced Photon Source have shown that, sometimes, heating a liquid can also turn it into a glass. By confirming predictions from recent theories about the transition of liquids to glass, their work might make glass a bit less mysterious.
Welcoming a New Family of Superconductors
APRIL 3, 2008
A new family of superconductors has been discovered by an international research team using the Argonne Advanced Photon Source. This research could eventually lead to the design of better superconducting materials for a wide variety of industrial uses.
Assembling Nanoparticles the Easy DNA-Way
FEBRUARY 26, 2008
Researchers from Northwestern University and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have produced a system that can be used to guide the assembly of colloidal crystals—a material widely used in photonics and electronics among other areas. Their results appeared as the cover article in Nature magazine.
The Collagen Protein Viewed at Unprecedented Detail
FEBRUARY 26, 2008
The structure and behavior of one of the most common proteins in our bodies has been resolved at a level of detail never before seen, thanks to new research performed at the Advanced Photon Source at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory.
A Lensless X-ray Camera for Nanoscale Materials and Biological Specimens
FEBRUARY 26, 2008
A lensless x-ray technique that can take images of ultra-small structures buried in nanoparticles and nanomaterials, and features within whole biological cells such as cellular nuclei, has been developed by researchers using the Argonne Advanced Photon Source.
Better, cleaner fuel injectors for automobiles?
FEBRUARY 20, 2008
Scientists are getting a better look inside high-speed, dense liquid jets thanks to a new experimental technique and the extreme-brightness x-ray beams from the Argonne Advanced Photon Source.
Poxvirus Potency Uncovered in New Atomic Map
FEBRUARY 11, 2008
New details about the infectious potency of poxviruses have been uncovered by researchers using a South East Regional Collaborative Access Team x-ray beamline at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source, furthering our understanding of how one protein in viral infections can subvert the body’s immune system and potentially speeding the discovery of drugs to combat inflammation and immune diseases such as atherosclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Striking Nano Gold
FEBRUARY 6, 2008
Researchers using the General Medicine and Cancer Institutes Collaborative Access Team facility at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source have acquired new information that will accelerate the development of practical applications for monolayer-protected gold nanoparticles, an area of intense research activity.
Oldest Known Magnet’s Secrets Revealed Under High Pressures
FEBRUARY 1, 2008
Researchers using two high-brightness x-ray beamlines at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source have uncovered new information about the coupling between magnetic and electrical properties of this venerable and highly useful material magnetite.
Shedding Light on Protein Drug Interactions
JANUARY 23, 2008
Proteins, the biological molecules that are involved in virtually every action of every organism, may themselves move in surprising ways, according to a recent study carried out at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source. This work may shed new light on how proteins interact with drugs and other small molecules.
