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Illustration of neutron diffraction data showing water distribution (red and white molecules) near lipid bilayers prior to fusion (left) and during fusion.
New 3D maps of water distribution during cellular membrane fusion are accelerating scientific understanding of cell development, which could lead to new treatments for diseases associated with cell fusion. Using neutron diffraction at the Department of Energy’s O...
As protons (pink) strike the target vessel and pass into the liquid mercury inside, the protons are absorbed, creating neutrons (blue) that are then sent through moderators and beam tubes to research instruments to study the fundamental properties of mate
The Spallation Neutron Source at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has reached a new milestone by operating a complete neutron production run cycle at 1.3 megawatts. Achieving the record power level with a remarkable 94 percent accelerator bea...
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Two Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers specializing in neutron and chemical science are among 84 recipients of Department of Energy’s Office of Science Early Career Research Program awards. The Early Career Research Program, now in its ninth year, supports...
Illustration of a nitrogen dioxide molecule (depicted in red and gold) confined within a nano-size pore of an MFM-300(Al) metal-organic framework material as characterized using neutron scattering at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Led by the University of Manchester, an international team of scientists has developed a metal-organic framework material (MOF) that exhibits a selective, fully reversible and repeatable capability to remove nitrogen dioxide gas from the atmosphere in ambient conditions.

Neutron interactions revealed the orthorhombic structure of the hybrid perovskite stabilized by the strong hydrogen bonds between the nitrogen substituent of the methylammonium cations and the bromides on the corner-linked PbBr6 octahedra.
Neutron scattering has revealed, in real time, the fundamental mechanisms behind the conversion of sunlight into energy in hybrid perovskite materials. A better understanding of this behavior will enable manufacturers to design solar cells with increased efficiency...
ORNL-designed nuclear fuel cladding is now undergoing tests at Southern Nuclear’s Hatch Nuclear Power Plant in Georgia, with additional tests planned for later this year. Credit: Jason Richards/ Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy
A team led by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a safer cladding for nuclear fuel rods. The new material, an alloy of iron, chromium and aluminum, avoids zirconium. As a result, it should give plant operators s...
The hCA II active site is flanked by hydrophilic (violet) and hydrophobic (green) binding pockets that can be used to design specific drugs targeting cancer-associated hCAs. Five clinical drugs are shown superimposed in the hCA II active site
New insights from neutron analysis of glaucoma drugs and their enzyme target may help scientists design drugs that more effectively target aggressive cancers. A team of researchers led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory used neutro...
ORNL and EPRI built an enclosed welding system in a hot cell of ORNL’s Radiochemical Engineering Development Center. C. Scott White (ORNL) performs operations with remotely controlled manipulators and cameras.

Scientists of the Department of Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program (LWRS) and partners from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) have conducted the first weld tests to repair highly irradiated materials at DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Neutrons probed two mechanisms proposed to explain what happens when hydrogen gas flows over a cerium oxide (CeO2) catalyst that has been heated in an experimental chamber to different temperatures to change its oxidation state. The first mechanism sugges
Having the right tool for the job enabled scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and their collaborators to discover that a workhorse catalyst of vehicle exhaust systems—an “oxygen sponge” that can soak up oxygen from air and store it for later use in oxidation reactions—may also be a “hydrogen sponge.”
ORNL’s Steven Dajnowicz (left) and Andrey Kovalevsky prepared a sample to begin neutron structural analysis of a vitamin B6-dependent protein using the IMAGINE beamline at ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor. Results of the study could open avenues for new a
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have performed neutron structural analysis of a vitamin B6-dependent protein, potentially opening avenues for new antibiotics and drugs to battle diseases such as drug-resistant