Sustainable Farming May Help Maintain Healthy Climate

(Science Daily) "This is a tool one could use to measure changes in soil carbon over time and try to establish whether soil carbon stocks are increasing or decreasing as a result of land-use practices," said lead author Madhavi Martin of ORNL's Environmental Sciences Division. "Although it is possible to measure these properties in the laboratory, the simplicity and portability of the device allow researchers exponentially greater flexibility to conduct their investigations."...11/19

ORNL-Led Team Takes Prize for World's Top Science App

(HPC Wire) A team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Markus Eisenbach was named winner Thursday of the 2009 ACM Gordon Bell Prize, which honors the world's highest-performing scientific computing applications. Another team led by ORNL's Edoardo Aprà was also among nine finalists for the prize. Results of the contest were announced in Portland, Ore., during the SC09 international supercomputing conference. The prize is supported by high-performance computing pioneer Gordon Bell and is administered by the Association for Computing Machinery....11/19

Previous ORNL Stories

DOE

Oak Ridge contractor pay posted

(Knoxville News Sentinel) An off-shoot of the Recovery Act has provided a rare glimpse at executive salaries among the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge contractors....11/20

Incinerator shutdown reset for Nov. 30

(Knoxville News Sentinel) According to the lastest info from Bechtel Jacobs Co., the government's environmental contractor in Oak Ridge, "The TSCA Incinerator is now scheduled to shut down November 30."...11/19

IG investigates Oak Ridge steroid use

(Knoxville News Sentinel) The Department of Energy should "consider" the possibility of expanding the drug testing program for employees in the Human Reliability Program, the Inspector General's Office said in a report released this week....11/19

National

Obama says talks underway on Iran, North Korea

(USA Today) President Obama wrapped up his eight-day Asian visit Thursday with tough talk for Iran and North Korea over nuclear weapons, but he gained no major policy breakthroughs after meeting with leaders of four nations in the region....11/20

State & Regional

TVA executives, managers, specialists take hit for ash spill, drop in sales

(Knoxville News Sentinel) "It was a year overshadowed by Kingston and the economic downturn," said TVA President and Chief Executive Tom Kilgore, who will take the biggest hit of all....11/20

energy & science policy

Foreign waste bill advances in House

(Knoxville News Sentinel) A bill that would ban the importation of foreign nuclear waste into the United States has gained approval from a House committee....11/19

Industrialized Nations Unveil Plans to Rein in Emissions

(New York Times) Prior to a climate change meeting scheduled for Copenhagen, industrialized countries, except the United States, are offering targets to curb greenhouse gases....11/19 [Registration Required]

science & technology

Dung Fungus Provides New Evidence in Mammoth Extinction

(Wired) The latest evidence in the disappearance of the mammoths, and nine other North American species weighing over a ton, comes from fossilized dung fungus....11/20

Sounds During Sleep Aid Memory, Study Finds

(New York Times) Scientists at Northwestern University report that playing specific sounds while people slept helped them remember more of what they had learned before they fell sleep, to the point where memories of individual facts were enhanced....11/20 [Registration Required]

Farmer Ants Fertilize Their Gardens With Bacteria

(Wired) Thanks to their vast underground fungus farms, leafcutter ants are one of Earth’s most successful species — and one secret of their agricultural success is bacteria, which the ants use like fertilizer....11/19