Scientists at DOE’s Ames Laboratory may have found a way to take cancer down for the count. Capillary Electrophoresis-Fluorescence Line-Narrowing Spectroscopy (CE-FLNS) unites two established analytical methods, CE and FLNS, to quickly and accurately analyze the structure of molecular compounds, including the potent and cancer-causing polycyclic aromatic compounds. A 1998 R&D 100 award-winner, CE-FLNS may one day help scientists assess an individual’s risk of getting cancer from chemical pollutants that damage cellular DNA. Besides packing a promising “one-two” punch against cancer, CE-FLNS has potential applications in other areas of biological research and forensics. 
 

Chemical Treatments for Environmental Remediation  

Experiments at the DOE’s Stanford Linear Accelerator Center Synchrotron Division are pointing the DOE to new directions in environmental remediation of uranium contaminated sites. Soil can act as a filter by adsorbing uranium-contaminated groundwater, a process in which particles cling to the soil surfaces. But the adsorption process is reversible, and in time the loaded soil could become the source of contamination. Knowledge about the adsorption process can help assess present and future risk at contaminated sites. With such information, researchers can design cost efficient chemical treatments to remove or immobilize uranium at the subsurface of contaminated sites. 
 

Dark Matter  

An international team from four continents, including researchers from DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has reported a possible solution to the problem of "dark matter" in our Milky Way Galaxy -- the unseen material astronomers have spent decades searching for.  Interpreting observations made at Australia's Mt. Stromlo Observatory, Dr. Charles Alcock of Livermore reported that the dark matter appears to be in small, unlit stars, whimsically called MACHOs, that are too far away to been seen by ordinary means.  He noted that dark matter remains a topic of lively debate, however, with other scientific groups continue pursuing alternative
explanations. 
 

Giving Smokey a Hand  

Instead of fueling forest fires, dead branches and small trees could possibly help fuel the electrical needs of people in the western, dry mountainous regions of the United States. First, however, researchers need to determine what precautions must be taken to ensure that harvesting these materials crops will not harm the forest ecosystem by removing too many nutrients, exposing soil to erosion or altering animal habitat. The DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the U.S. Forest Service and local community groups aim to find out by using forest stand growth simulators and hydrology models to predict the probable impacts of removing this highly flammable material. 
 

Lead-Free Solder Spans Globe  

An environmentally friendly form of solder patented by DOE’s Ames Laboratory is making its way into world markets. Nihon Superior Co., a Japanese solder manufacturer, recently became the third company to sign an agreement to make, use and sell tin-silver-copper solder. The two other licensees are Johnson Manufacturing of Iowa and Multicore Solders Inc., which has a manufacturing plant in Texas and sells to electronics and automotive clients worldwide. A team of scientists from Ames and Sandia laboratories developed the tin-silver-copper solder. The lead-free alloy is as easy to use as tin-lead solder but is stronger and performs better in high-heat conditions, and isn’t toxic like lead. 
 

Molecule Motel a Friendly Place for Metals 

Self-Assembled Monolayers on Mesoporous Supports, or SAMMS, is a new option for treating metals contamination. The technology, which was developed at DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, is effective in water, non-aqueous solutions and gas phase waste streams. It consists of tiny grains of porous ceramic material and chemically tailored "monolayers"-- or single layers of densely packed molecules. The monolayers are attached within the pores, with the molecules strongly binding at one end to the ceramic material. The free ends of the tethered molecules then are available for binding to a targeted metal passing through the pore. In addition to treatment applications, SAMMS may have industrial uses, such as metals recovery.
 

These “Seashells” Not Sold at the Seashore  

A technique to produce thin, tough, seashell-like coatings that may prove useful for applications including automotive finishes and protecting implements and optical lenses has been announced by researchers at DOE’s Sandia National Laboratories and the University of New Mexico (UNM). The rapid, efficient method of assembling diverse materials into coatings that mimic seashell structures as disclosed by Sandia researchers Jeff Brinker and Alan Sellinger and two UNM students in a July 16 Nature article. The coatings—laminations of alternating layers of flexible, cushioning biopolymers and hard calcium carbonate—are about twice as hard as the same materials mixed randomly and are crack resistant.