Science Highlights

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Visualization of a molecule. Image: Mark J. Winter/Science Photo Library
 Rapid procedure for the exploration of chemical compound space

By combining quantum chemistry with artificial intelligence (machine learning), researchers at the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics at UCLA achieved a scientific breakthrough expected to

February 27, 2012
A New Discovery Answers an Old Question

The transition-metal monoxide FeO is an archetypal example of a Mott insulator—a material that should conduct electricity under conventional band theories but becomes an insulator when measured, es

 February 20, 2012
Understanding the processes controlling the chemical speciation of radionuclide contaminants is key for predicting their fate and transport in aquatic and terrestrial environments. Photo courtesy of Carolina Biological Supply Company.
 Microbes influence the movement of uranium contaminants in the environment

Understanding the processes controlling the chemical speciation of radionuclide contaminants is key for predicting their fate and transport in aquatic and terrestrial environments.

 January 20, 2012
The assemblies, just half a millimeter wide, are composed of microparticles. Confined between two liquids, they assemble themselves into star shapes when an alternating magnetic field is applied.
 Smart Colloids Perform Simple Robotic Functions

An innovative approach for the directed formation and manipulation of colloidal assemblies that perform elaborate mechanical functions such as grasping, transporting and releasing cargo has been developed by scientists at Argonne.

 January 13, 2012
Simulation of velocity distribution in a 19-pin wire-wrapped fuel bundle, computed using Nek5000 on Argonne Leadership Computing Facility's Intrepid. Image by Paul Fischer.
 Meeting highlights applications of Nek5000 simulation code

Thirty researchers from around the world gathered for the first Nek5000 meeting, held at Argonne on December 9 and 10, 2010. The objective was to enable developers and users of Nek5000 to exchange information, address technical issues and share experiences in areas of common interest.

 December 12, 2011
The structure of NDM-1 shows the protein’s enlarged active site, which lets it latch onto and disable a broad range of antibiotics.
 Decoding the proteins behind drug-resistant superbugs

To create the next line of defense against the most drug-resistant pathogens, scientists have determined the structure of a protein that confers drug resistance against our best antibiotics.

 December 11, 2011
Diagrammatic hypothesis of the refined BHJ model for PTB7/fullerene solar cells.
 Rethinking the idealized morphology in high-performance organic photovoltaics

Traditionally, organic photovoltaic (OPV) active layers are viewed as an interpenetrating network of pure polymers and fullerenes with discrete interfaces.

 December 9, 2011
Improving HPC I/O performance on leadership class supercomputers

On the leadership computers at Argonne National Laboratory, these approaches yield up to 53% improvement in performance over the existing I/O forwarding mechanism and close to

 November 1, 2011
Accelerating insights gleaned from leadership-class supercomputing simulations

Argonne computer scientists have devised a software-based approach, called GLEAN, to improve I/O performance on its IBM Blue Gene/P by exploiting the machine's network topology to intelligently agg

 November 1, 2011
Creating the Heart of a Planet in the Heart of a Gem

Although materials scientists have theorized for years that a form of super-dense aluminum exists under the extreme pressures found inside a planet's core, no one had ever actually seen it, until n

 November 1, 2011