Science Highlights 2007
Hybrid Semiconductors for Hardier Electronics and Optoelectronics?
DECEMBER 21, 2007
New research at the Advanced Photon Source has shed light on a semiconducting material with zero thermal expansion, and may play a role in the design of future generations of electronics and optoelectronics that can withstand a wide range of temperatures.
Unveiling the Molecular Structure of the Target of Many Drugs
DECEMBER 3, 2007
More than 40 years after beta blockers were first used clinically, scientists using a beamline at the Advanced Photon Source finally got a close-up look at the drug’s molecular target – the ß-adrenergic receptor – research that promises to speed the discovery of new and improved drugs and broaden our understanding of human health and disease.
A New Scenario for First Life on Earth
NOVEMBER 27, 2007
Experiments at the Advanced Photon Source have led researchers to some unexpected forms of liquid crystals of ultrashort DNA molecules immersed in water, providing a new scenario for a key step in the emergence of life on Earth.
Surface Orbital 'Roughness' in Colossal Magnetoresistive Oxide
NOVEMBER 21, 2007
Is electronic behavior, such as charge, orbital, or spin order, different at a material’s surface or the interface between two materials compared to the bulk of the material? Researchers using beamlines at the APS and at the National Synchrotron Light Source, both supported by the US. Department of Energy Office of Science, have found important new information about these behaviors.
Different Roads Toward Quantum Criticality
OCTOBER 17, 2007
The study of magnetic phase diagrams is essential to understanding the organizing principles of correlated electrons, as well as understanding the way in which physical parameters determine material properties.
Orbital Reconstruction at a Complex Oxide Interface
OCTOBER 15, 2007
A current problem of intense interest to the condensed matter physics community is the behavior of systems with strongly interacting electrons. Researchers using the Argonne Advanced Photon Source have gained important new insights into this phenomenon.
Bringing Antimicrobial Agents into the Light
OCTOBER 12, 2007
Improving and understanding antimicrobials—agents that help our bodies fight bacteria, fungi, or viruses at the point of infection—are the focus of new research carried out at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source that could help cystic fibrosis patients breathe easier, and provide all of us with new, more potent antibiotics.
Logic Tells Us that Appearances May Be Deceptive
SEPTEMBER 24, 2007
There is a worldwide effort to utilize magnetic rings for the development of novel computer-memory applications, such as magnetic random-access memories. Researchers using the Advanced Photon Source and Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne reveal, in the cover story of the 24 September 2007 issue of Applied Physics Letters, new insights into the behavior of multilayer ring structures for memories.
Detecting a Spin Transition Zone in Earth’s Lower Mantle
SEPTEMBER 21, 2007
A spin transition zone in Earth’s lower mantle that differs significantly from previously known structural transitions in the deep Earth has been detected by researchers using the Argonne Advanced Photon Source.
A 450-million-year-old Protein Reveals Evolution's Steps
AUGUST 23, 2007
Scientists using the Argonne Advanced Photon Source have obtained a detailed “map” that pinpoints the location of every atom in a 450-million-year-old resurrected protein, offering the first opportunity to see the precise mechanisms by which evolution molded a tiny molecular machine at the atomic level.
What Keeps Bugs from Being Bigger?
AUGUST 8, 2007
Research carried out at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source provides a specific explanation for what limits insect size.
A Mystery No More
AUGUST 1, 2007
The iron oxide ferrihydrite’s crystalline structure is no longer one of nature’s secrets, thanks to research at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source.
Understanding Materials Under High Pressure
JULY 12, 2007
The ability to reliably predict the bonding and interatomic forces in solids is an important topic in condensed-matter physics. This goal has been met by new research at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source.
Malaria-resistant Mosquitoes Battle Disease with “Molecular Warhead”
JULY 11, 2007
Understanding why some mosquitoes are resistant to malaria could help fight a disease that afflicts and kills millions of people. Researchers using the Structural Biology Center (SBC) beamline 19-ID at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source, have found the answer.
A New Picture of Earth's Lower Mantle?
JUNE 25, 2007
The Argonne Advanced Photon Source helped scientists measure a high-pressure mineral believed to exist deep within the Earth to show that the mineral may not, as geophysicists hoped, have the right properties to explain a mysterious layer lying just above the planet's core.
Immune System's Fat Problem Solved
JUNE 22, 2007
Understanding how the human immune system fights disease will help us develop new pharmaceuticals. We now have new, important information on this process, thanks to research at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source.
Getting to the Core of Luminescent Nanowires
JUNE 18, 2007
Researchers using the Argonne Advanced Photon Source have determined what is responsible for the luminescence exhibited by one-dimensional nanostructures that have great potential for optoelectronic devices such as blue-light lasers for next-generation optical storage media.
Giant Magnetocaloric Materials Could Have Large Impact on the Environment
JUNE 15, 2007
Amid the growing awareness of climate change as a concern in need of solutions, research at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source may help reduce the levels of environmentally damaging hydrofluorocarbons in our atmosphere.
Tracking the Origins of Fossil Fuels
MAY 29, 2007
Samples of oil precursors and coal can be persuaded to give up the secrets of their origin, thanks to a new synchrotron x-ray technique employed by researchers using the Argonne Advanced Photon Source.
Tailoring the Properties of Magnetic Nanostructures
MAY 23, 2007
Studies carried out at the Advanced Photon Source show that subtle variations in shape can tailor the properties of magnetic nanostructures that could be used for new high-speed electronic devices.
X-ray Holograms Expose Secret Magnetism
MAY 11, 2007
Collaborative research between U.K. and U.S. scientists using x-rays from the Argonne Advanced Photon Source has, for the first time, revealed the internal workings of antiferromagnets.
One Giant Leap for Radiation Biology?
MAY 2, 2007
Researchers using the Advanced Photon Source have found that the ability of cells to survive radiation is highly dependent on the amount of protein damage during irradiation, which may lead to new methods for recovery from short- or long-term exposures to radiation such as cancer therapies, accidents or nuclear events, and astronauts exposed to cosmic radiation.
How Dissolved Metal Ions Interact in Solution
MAY 2, 2007
Researchers using the Advanced Photon Source have determined how dissolved metal ions interact in solution, helping science better understand the ways these ions, such as those found in nuclear waste and other industrial processes, behave in the environment.
Novel Experiments on Cement Yield Concrete Results
MARCH 29, 2007
Using some of the most modern tools of materials research, researchers have shed new light on one of mankind's older construction materials - cement.
What's in the Cage Matters in Iron Antimonide Thermoelectric Materials
MARCH 29, 2007
Thermoelectric materials such as iron antimonide have drawn intense interest because they offer a pollution-free source of electricity and a vibration free source of refrigeration. Research at the Advanced Photon Source examined how the magnetism of cage-filler lanthanides may influence the thermoelectric properties of these materials.
Watching a Glycine Riboswitch "Switch"
MARCH 28, 2007
The APS has helped researchers get the first look at the "on" and "off" states of the molecules that regulate genetic expression, the process by which information in a gene is used to create protein structures.
Polyamorphism in a Metallic Glass
MARCH 14, 2007
A discovery by researchers using the Advanced Photon Source offers a new perspective on the amorphous state of metals and has implications for understanding the structure, evolution, and properties of materials that are of great technological interest for their corrosion and crack resistance as well as for electronic applications.
New Nanoscale Engineering Breakthrough Points to Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles
MARCH 7, 2007
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have developed an advanced concept in nanoscale catalyst engineering that will bring polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells for hydrogen-powered vehicles closer to massive commercialization.
Under Pressure, Vanadium Won't Turn Down the Volume
MARCH 7, 2007
Scientists using the Advanced Photon Source have discovered a new change in the form of vanadium, a metal that is extremely important in the industrial world as an additive that makes steel exceptionally strong, resistant to metal fatigue, and ideal for applications such as jet turbine blades that can withstand high speed and abrasion.
Patterning High-density Arrays of Nanospheres with Self Assembly
MARCH 6, 2007
A newly dedicated beamline at the APS can shed light on the physics that govern block copolymers, which have a wide range of applications, including high-density computer disk drives.
Cells Forming Blood Vessels Send Their Copper to the Edge
FEBRUARY 20, 2007
Researchers from Argonne and The University of Chicago, using an Advanced Photon Source beamline, have uncovered important information about a link between copper in our bodies and the blood vessel growth critical to cancer.
A Molecular Cause for One Form of Deafness
FEBRUARY 12, 2007
Scientists exploring the physics of hearing have found an underlying molecular cause for one form of deafness, and a conceptual connection between deafness and the organization of liquid crystals, which are used in flat-panel displays.
Water Theory is Watertight
JANUARY 22, 2007
There may be tiny bubbles in the wine, but not at the interface between water and a waxy coating on glass, according to a new study carried out at the Advanced Photon Source.
Nanowire Micronetworks from Carbon-Black Nanoparticles
JANUARY 11, 2007
Researchers using the APS have successfully demonstrated a simple approach for fabricating complex, interconnected three-dimensional systems of conductive nanoscale wires through self assembly of interconnected linear arrangements of nanoscale carbon black (CB) particles.
An X-ray Rainbow
JANUARY 10, 2007
Physicists using XOR beamline 3-ID at the Advanced Photon Source have spread out a beam of x-rays (which are, after all, just a more energetic version of visible light) into a rainbow of colors.
A Key Step in Repairing DNA Double-Strand Breaks
JANUARY 10, 2007
A team of Mayo Clinic researchers has uncovered a key step in the molecular pathway of repairing DNA double-strand breaks. The studies were carried out using the 19-ID beamline (SBC-CAT) at the Advanced Photon Source (APS, Argonne) and the X12-C beamline at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS, Brookhaven National Laboratory).
An Insulating Breakthrough
JANUARY 8, 2007
A new insulating material with the lowest thermal conductivity ever measured for a fully dense solid has been characterized at the APS. The principles involved could lead to improved insulation for a wide variety of uses.
