Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Biological Systems (18)
- (-) Climate and Environmental Systems (14)
- (-) Energy Sciences (5)
- Advanced Manufacturing (34)
- Biology and Environment (177)
- Biology and Soft Matter (5)
- Building Technologies (12)
- Chemical and Engineering Materials (4)
- Chemistry and Physics at Interfaces (11)
- Clean Energy (522)
- Computational Biology (6)
- Computational Chemistry (5)
- Computational Engineering (5)
- Computer Science (19)
- Data (1)
- Earth Sciences (1)
- Electricity and Smart Grid (3)
- Energy Frontier Research Centers (14)
- Fossil Energy (3)
- Fuel Cycle Science and Technology (3)
- Functional Materials for Energy (16)
- Fusion and Fission (54)
- Fusion Energy (17)
- Geographic Information Science and Technology (3)
- Isotope Development and Production (3)
- Isotopes (35)
- Materials (433)
- Materials Characterization (2)
- Materials for Computing (36)
- Materials Synthesis from Atoms to Systems (13)
- Materials Under Extremes (12)
- Mathematics (1)
- National Security (79)
- Neutron Data Analysis and Visualization (4)
- Neutron Science (190)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (74)
- Nuclear Systems Modeling, Simulation and Validation (3)
- Nuclear Systems Technology (1)
- Quantum Condensed Matter (4)
- Quantum information Science (9)
- Reactor Technology (1)
- Renewable Energy (4)
- Sensors and Controls (5)
- Supercomputing (311)
- Transportation Systems (11)
Media Contacts
![Two hybrid poplar plants, middle and right, engineered with the PtrXB38 hub gene exhibited a drastic increase in root and callus formation compared with a wild-type control plant, left. Credit: Tao Yao/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-10/Poplar%20root%20story%20tip%20as%20JPEG_0.jpg?h=7bc542ef&itok=HNxpeEt6)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists identified a gene “hotspot” in the poplar tree that triggers dramatically increased root growth. The discovery supports development of better bioenergy crops and other plants that can thrive in difficult conditions while storing more carbon belowground.
![ORNL and Enginuity researchers proved that a micro combined heat and power prototype, or mCHP, with an opposed piston engine can achieve more than 93% overall energy efficiency. The environmentally friendly mCHP can replace a back-up generator or traditional hot water heater. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Department of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/storytipjb.png?h=ddb1ad0c&itok=0ZTdSit5)
ORNL researchers, in collaboration with Enginuity Power Systems, demonstrated that a micro combined heat and power prototype, or mCHP, with a piston engine can achieve an overall energy efficiency greater than 93%.
![Diverse evidence shows that plants and soil will likely capture and hold more carbon in response to increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to an analysis published by an international research team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-12/Climate%20%E2%80%93%20Global%20change%20analyses.jpg?h=468b42ad&itok=lhTGb-s4)
![ORNL researchers determined lower heat exchange in lithium-ion batteries is caused by the strong non-harmonic forces among ions and weak interaction between layers, providing guidance for high-density battery design. Credit: Tianli Feng/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-11/Batteries-Catching_heat.jpg?h=8268b4f9&itok=A6MFlGFT)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers proved that the heat transport ability of lithium-ion battery cathodes is much lower than previously determined, a finding that could help explain barriers to increasing energy storage capacity and boosting performance.
![Pine trees in the Tuolumne Valley of Yosemite National Park show the effects of drought and fire. Credit: Anthony Walker/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-06/fire%20regrowth_1.jpg?h=4521fff0&itok=eNEQ_Mih)
A multi-institutional research team found that changing environmental conditions are affecting forests around the globe, leading to increasing tree death and uncertainty about the ability of forests to recover.
![Misha Krassovski, a computer scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, stands in front of the Polarstern, a 400-foot long German icebreaker. Krassovski lived aboard the Polarstern during the first leg of the MOSAiC mission, the largest polar expedition ever. Credit: Misha Krassovski/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-10/IMG_0851_large.jpg?h=0d27ee61&itok=SDcaxULh)
In the vast frozen whiteness of the central Arctic, the Polarstern, a German research vessel, has settled into the ice for a yearlong float.
![Heat impact map](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-07/Winter_HDD_Change_ORNL.gif?h=e87b941e&itok=8t83D_u_)
A detailed study by Oak Ridge National Laboratory estimated how much more—or less—energy United States residents might consume by 2050 relative to predicted shifts in seasonal weather patterns
![Coexpression_hi-res_image[1].jpg Coexpression_hi-res_image[1].jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/Coexpression_hi-res_image%5B1%5D_0.jpg?itok=OnLe-krT)
While studying the genes in poplar trees that control callus formation, scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have uncovered genetic networks at the root of tumor formation in several human cancers.
![Plants in the warmest of several study areas at the SPRUCE experimental site remained green and functional up to six weeks longer than plants growing at ambient temperatures. Credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy Plants in the warmest of several study areas at the SPRUCE experimental site remained green and functional up to six weeks longer than plants growing at ambient temperatures. Credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/SPRUCE_for_Nature.jpg?itok=I3_XAiHF)
A futuristic experiment simulating warmer environmental conditions has shown that peatland vegetation responds to higher temperatures with an earlier and longer growth period.
![EPSP_gene_study2_ORNL.jpg EPSP_gene_study2_ORNL.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/EPSP_gene_study2_ORNL.jpg?itok=3uwX_49J)
For decades, biologists have believed a key enzyme in plants had one function—produce amino acids, which are vital to plant survival and also essential to human diets. But for Wellington Muchero, Meng Xie and their colleagues, this enzyme does more than advertised. They had run a series of experiments on poplar plants that consistently revealed mutations in a structure of the life-sustaining enzyme that was not previously known to exist.