Research Highlights Archive
Research is our business. With an unwavering focus on our missions, scientists and engineers at PNNL deliver science and technology. We conduct basic research that advances the frontiers of science. We translate discoveries into tools and technologies in science, energy, the environment and national security.
For more than four decades, our experts have teamed with government, industry and academia to tackle some of the toughest problems facing our nation. The result: We’re delivering the science, technology and leadership our customers need to succeed.
To view previously featured research and scientist’s achievements, click on a month.
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January
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Cutting Air Pollution Got Boost from Weather
New research suggests that China's impressive feat of cutting Beijing's pollution up to 50 percent for the 2008 Summer Olympics had some help from Mother Nature. Rain just at the beginning and wind during the Olympics likely contributed about half of the effort needed to clean up the skies, scientists found. The results also suggest emission controls need to be more widely implemented than in 2008 if pollution levels are to be reduced permanently. [ Full Story ]
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Squeezing the Most out of U.S. Natural Gas Reserves
Researchers discovered a method that could dramatically cut the amount of heat needed during the processing of natural gas by at least 10 percent. Currently, natural gas extracted from the nation's coal beds and methane-rich geologic features must first be purged of hydrogen sulfide before it can be used as fuel. [ Full Story ]
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Translating Data into Decisions
A new tool developed by PNNL helps grid operators respond to complex outage predictions more effectively and even predict potential network failures. [ Full Story ]
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MARS on the Move
PNNL adapted the Multi-Sensor Airborne Radiation System (MARS) for first-time deployment on a helicopter. The technology, developed for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration, could be used for detecting radiation at distances of up to ten meters. [ Full Story ]
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Cloud Droplets Ready for Primetime
Scientists were looking for promising atmospheric particles that turn into cloud droplets and then plotting their origins. Separating the formed droplets from the inactive particles, they uncovered the chemical structure of those that formed droplets. Results will help solve some of the mystery of clouds and their effects on floods and droughts. [ Full Story ]
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Fingerprinting Uranium
It may become easier to determine if uranium zips through the soil or not. Researchers from PNNL and the University of Texas used x-rays to identify mobile, stationary forms of atomic pollutant. Using this method allows scientists to more accurately predict the atomic pollutant's behavior. [ Full Story ]
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February
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The Great Gas Hydrate Escape
Computer simulations revealing how methane and hydrogen pack into gas hydrates could enlighten alternative fuel production and carbon dioxide storage. Researchers have explored flammable ice for low-carbon or alternative fuel or as a place to store carbon dioxide. Now, a computer analysis of the ice and gas compound reveals key details of its structure. [ Full Story ]
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Characterizing Protein-Nanoparticle Interactions in Biofluids
PNNL researchers using equipment at EMSL devised an elegant, novel method to characterize blood plasma proteins that attach to nanoparticles. Their work offers new insights into how the human body interacts with nanoparticles and resulted in the largest protein-nanoparticle dataset to date. [ Full Story ]
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Gauging Water's Future—Earth System Model Tested to Estimate Watershed Runoff
Scientists found ways to improve the capabilities of a land model within global and regional Earth system models to estimate water runoff. Accurate runoff predictions can lead to better information for managing sustainable water for personal and industrial consumption. [ Full Story ]
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An About-Face on Electrical Conductivity at the Interface
To improve the electronic devices that keep our modern, hyper-connected world organized, scientists are on the hunt for new semiconductor materials, which control the flow of electricity that powers smart phones and other electronic devices. [ Full Story ]
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New Mass Spec Raises Bar for Mass Accuracy, Resolving Power
A new high-resolution mass spectrometer developed by PNNL researchers using equipment at EMSL now allows the biological research community to identify and map the location of biomolecules on a sample with higher mass accuracy and mass resolving power than ever before. Because biological molecules with very different functions can have almost identical masses, this holistic analysis will open new doors in biological research and offer scientists unique insights into biological systems and how they work [ Full Story ]
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March
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Using Graphene Oxide to Examine Molecules in Living Cells Proves to be Popular
Whether indicating the onset of disease or exposure to toxins, the molecular machinery of cells can provide a wealth of information if scientists can track and examine the molecules. Scientists at PNNL and Tsinghua University in China devised a novel method to track certain molecules inside live cells. [ Full Story ]
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Catalyst Masters Reverse
When it comes to driving hydrogen production, a new catalyst built at PNNL can do what was previously shown to happen only in nature: store energy in hydrogen and release that energy on demand—an essentiality for viable energy alternatives to fossil fuels. This new nickel-based complex drives the reaction, but is not consumed by it. While slow, the catalyst wastes little energy. It turns electrons and protons into hydrogen. [ Full Story ]
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Toppling Raman Shift in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide
Just as a wine glass vibrates and sometimes breaks when a diva sings the right note, carbon dioxide vibrates when light or heat serenades it. When it does, carbon dioxide exhibits a vibrational puzzle known as Fermi resonance. With that researchers studying geologic carbon storage learned a bit more about the nature of carbon dioxide [ Full Story ]
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Studying Chemistry as It Happens in Catalytic Reactions
While retaining their speed, catalysts have lost some of their secrets, thanks to a new probe built by PNNL to help clarify the steps catalysts take in promoting reactions. Making existing catalysts more effective or devising new ones could reduce costly inefficiencies in current processes, and could enable new commercial processes to generate fuels and chemicals. [ Full Story ]
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When Atoms Collide
A novel technique for materials research is unexpectedly contributing to the nuclear safety efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency. PNNL scientists developed an analytical method for measuring the concentration of oxygen atoms at different depths in solid samples. The technique can be used to detect metal corrosion as well as to validate theoretical models of complex nuclear interactions. [ Full Story ]
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April
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Turning Plants into Biofuels
Known for carrying green leaves as they march through tropical forests, leafcutter ants also cultivate underground gardens of fungi and bacteria. New PNNL research about the roles bacteria play in those gardens could eventually help scientists turn plants into biofuel. [ Full Story ]
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Better Models for Forecasting Extreme Weather
Uncertainty just became more certain. PNNL’s atmospheric and computational researchers used a novel scientific approach called “uncertainty quantification” that allowed better precipitation simulation. They applied a method to select model inputs for precipitation representations, one of the most difficult climate components to simulate. Better atmospheric model simulations give planners the tools to forecast the probability of extreme weather and climate events. [ Full Story ]
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Diatom Biosensor Could Shine Light on Future Nanomaterials
A PNNL biosensor made of fluorescent proteins embedded in the shell of microscopic marine algae called diatoms could someday help us detect chemicals and other substances in water samples. The discovery also could help researchers develop a variety of new, diatom-inspired nanomaterials that could solve problems in sensing, catalysis and environmental remediation. [ Full Story ]
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Making Homes More Energy Efficients
Two research facilities at PNNL will serve as a test bed for studying energy efficient and smart homes. The project—the first of its kind in the Pacific Northwest—will be used to test smart and energy-efficient technologies that ultimately may be used in homes in the Northwest and throughout the U.S. [ Full Story ]
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May
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Research Provides Insights to Alzheimer’s Disease
In Alzheimer's disease, brain neurons clog with tangled proteins. Scientists suspect these tangles arise partly due to malfunctions in a little-known regulatory system within cells. Now, researchers have dramatically increased what they know about this particular regulatory system in mice. Such information will help scientists better understand Alzheimer's and other diseases in humans and could eventually provide new targets for therapies. [ Full Story ]
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Save Big on Heating, Cooling Costs with Efficiency Controls
U.S. commercial building owners could save between 28 and 67 percent on their heating and cooling bills if they installed four energy efficiency controls to their rooftop HVAC systems, according to research at PNNL. [ Full Story ]
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Scientists Use New Method to Zero In On Source of Tropical Clouds
PNNL scientists found a technique to identify the clouds' origins. Using several satellite data sources, they identified cloud formation mechanisms that occur in two distinct conditions. Knowing the different formation mechanisms will help scientists predict the amount of water vapor in the upper atmosphere, which affects the balance of warming and cooling that determines the Earth's climate change. [ Full Story ]
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Regional Stakeholder Input Helps Construct Better Models for Climate Change Decisions
PNNL researchers built a modeling structure for policy-making decisions addressing climate change. Their research identified specific regional stakeholder needs, including real-world decisions faced by industry, regional planners, and policy makers. This unique modeling framework will provide decision support for regional climate mitigation and adaptation planning. [ Full Story ]
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New Computer Program Detects Texting While Driving
What if we could effectively and inexpensively detect a driver who is significantly distracted by texting and—with the flick of a switch—stop the distraction? PNNL researchers engineered a computer algorithm that enables a cell phone to recognize when a driver is texting versus a passenger. Current apps do not have the ability to make that distinction. [ Full Story ]
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June
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New computer program detects texting while driving
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Collaborative study looks for clues on hard-to-treat breast cancer
PNNL teams with the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on a research project that aims to find new diagnostic tools and options for treating triple negative breast cancer. The cancer is more common in young and black women. [ Full Story ]
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New Small Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Reaches Record Efficiency
Individual homes and entire neighborhoods could be powered with a new, small-scale solid oxide fuel cell system developed by PNNL that achieves up to 57 percent efficiency. [ Full Story ]
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Pollution + Storm Clouds = Warmer Atmosphere
PNNL scientists discovered that dust kicked up from the desert floor acts like a heat pump in the atmosphere, fueling the annual climate system called the North American Monsoon. As the climate warms, more regions of the world will be affected by drought. [ Full Story ]
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Scientists Discover that Carbon Dioxide Moves into and Expands a Common Mineral in Carbon Sequestration Caprocks
For the first time, PNNL scientists have direct evidence that high-pressure carbon migrates into clay causing it to expand. By understanding the fundamental reactions, including those of caprocks, scientists can inform industry and the public about the cost and safety of different options for carbon sequestration. [ Full Story ]
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July
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PNNL Technology Probes the Depths of Radioactive Waste
PNNL scientists are collaborating with Hanford Site contractors in eastern Washington state to deploy—for the first time—telescopic Raman spectroscopy to remotely identify mineral and chemical compounds in radioactive waste left at the bottom of waste storage tanks after liquid waste has been pumped out. Monitoring the many types of chemically complex radioactive waste found at Hanford is challenging, expensive and potentially hazardous to workers and the environment. The technology will help mitigate these concerns. [ Full Story ]
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Annotating Plague with Proteogenomics
Strains of bacteria from the genus Yersinia are infectious and virulent: one causes intestinal distress, another plague. To better understand and potentially design ways to mitigate Yersinia's effects on human health, PNNL researchers and others refined the genome maps of three Yersinia strains. They used the proteome and transcriptome, collections of proteins and transcripts in the bacteria, to discover new information about the genome. [ Full Story ]
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PNNL Environmental Reviews Inform NRC Decisions
Construction permits for the first nuclear power plants in several decades were issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. PNNL is the NRC’s prime contractor for environmental reviews for new nuclear power plants. Environmental impact studies conducted by PNNL played a key role in the NRC’s decision to issue the permits. Nuclear energy is considered one of a diverse mix of technologies needed to produce clean, carbon-free power for our nation. [ Full Story ]
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Utilities Leading the Way to Grid Security with New Assessment Tool
A first-of-its-kind, self-evaluation model and survey developed with the help of PNNL will provide utilities with a way to benchmark and measure their cybersecurity readiness. Available online, the model provides a common language and point of reference for utilities to understand, describe and share information anonymously about cybersecurity practices. [ Full Story ]
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Researchers Develop a New, Efficient Aerosol Module for Climate Models
Thinking small, scientists achieved big impact. PNNL researchers led a team developing a new computational module to depict tiny atmospheric particles that have a large effect on climate. Coming closer to a realistic depiction of these atmospheric bits MAM also achieves a new level of computational efficiency. [ Full Story ]
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August
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New Chemical Imaging Method Probes the Communications of Live Microbial Colonies
Once impossible, researchers now can sample a microbial community more than once, gaining a time-lapse view of metabolite production and use. The new technique developed by PNNL and three universities will help advance microbial biology research in a variety of areas, ranging from biofuel production to bioremediation to health to defense. [ Full Story ]
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Local, Global Pollution Suppress South Asian Summer Rainfall
Billions in South Asia depend on the summer monsoon rains. Now, pollution exhaust threatens this primary water source for crops and daily living. PNNL researchers found that pollution from sources like motorcycles and coal-fired power plants reduce monsoon rainfall. Such pollution increases cloud cover to cool the Earth's surface, reduces evaporation and, in turn, slows the momentum of air current bands that drive the global climate. [ Full Story ]
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New Lithium Ion Battery Strategy Offers More Energy, Longer Life Cycle
EMSL equipment helped develop a new lithium ion battery system that compared to commercial batteries holds seven times more energy and can be discharged and recharged five times as many times before wearing out. [ Full Story ]
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Modeling Microbes to Manage Carbon Dioxide
Model Developed to Understand Microbial Processes in Cellulose Degradation
In the past decade, microbiologists began realizing that communities of microbes process energy and materials, which affects their environments. To understand how microbial communities function in a natural ecosystem, PNNL scientists developed a novel kinetic model that represents microbial community dynamics in soil pores. The microbial breakdown of cellulose and related byproducts is a key process in the global carbon cycle. [ Full Story ]
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September
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Stalking the Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay
PNNL researchers and collaborators are on the hunt for the elusive neutrino mass. This difficult-to-detect elementary particle travels close to the speed of light, is electrically neutral, and can pass through ordinary matter almost undisturbed. The discovery of neutrinoless double beta decay would lead to a revision of the Standard Model of particle physics that governs the laws of all visible matter in the universe, essentially revising the laws of physics. [ Full Story ]
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Fueling Nuclear Power Plants with Seawater
PNNL is testing an adsorbent that could more effectively extract trace amounts of uranium from seawater and help fuel future nuclear power development. [ Full Story ]
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Fresh Water Feed Hurricanes' Furry
PNNL researchers discovered that hurricanes and tropical cyclones become up to 50 percent more intense when passing over oceans inundated with fresh water. Their findings might help improve predictions of a hurricane's power in certain regions. [ Full Story ]
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Unusual Reaction Keeps Away High Temperatures and Water to Lock Away Climate-Changing Carbon Dioxide
When it comes to reducing the environmental impacts of coal-powered plants, one option is to remove gaseous carbon dioxide (CO2), pump it into underground reservoirs, and have it become part of the mineral formations. Keeping the CO2 trapped by transforming it into minerals takes place much more readily at high temperatures. But PNNL scientists discovered a reaction that breaks the rules. At relatively low temperature, and while recycling the water it needs, this reaction transforms CO2 into the mineral magnesite. [ Full Story ]
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Scientists Use Satellites to Measure How Pollution Particles Affect Clouds
Researchers directly linked a cloud's inclination to rain to its effects on the climate. Using global satellite data and complex calculations, they were able — for the first time — to develop a proxy measurement for one of the most vexing questions in atmospheric science: how tiny particles in the atmosphere affect the amount of water in and the size of clouds. Using this new metric, they showed that aerosols' effects on clouds are overestimated by as much as 30 percent in a global climate model. [ Full Story ]
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October
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Ranking Methane’s Impact on Future Climate Change
Changing methane's relative importance as a greenhouse gas does little to change the overall outcome of climate change projections. PNNL researchers working at the Joint Global Change Research Institute tested the importance of methane compared to carbon dioxide. Policy makers need to assess the relative importance of all greenhouse gas emissions to forge effective climate change policies. [ Full Story ]
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Research Helps Clarify How Minerals Grow and Disintegrate
Rust — iron oxide — is a poor conductor of electricity, which is why an electronic device with a rusted battery usually won't work. But electrons do move through iron oxide — seemingly geologic timescales. Now, PNNL scientists and others explain how electrons do this and provide the strongest evidence yet for the leading theory of such movement. Electron mobility in iron oxide can hold huge significance for a broad range of environment- and energy-related reactions. [ Full Story ]
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Images Show How Nickel Appears to Hinder Charging Rates
PNNL scientists examining battery materials on the nano-scale reveal how nickel forms a physical barrier that impedes the shuttling of lithium ions in the electrode, reducing how fast the materials charge and discharge. Many ideas to reduce the nation's oil addiction, such as electric cars, require an effective battery. [ Full Story ]
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Mass Spec Makes Clinical Grade
PNNL researchers developed a new technique using mass spectrometers that matches the sensitivity and accuracy of antibody-based clinical tests to identify protein biomarkers associated with cancer and other diseases. The new technique, called PRISM, could speed drug discovery and basic biology research. [ Full Story ]
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LEDs Winning Light Race to Save Energy, the Environment
Today's light-emitting diode light bulbs have a slight environmental edge over compact fluorescent lamps. The gap is expected to grow significantly as technology and manufacturing methods improve in the next five years, according to a report from PNNL and UK-based N14 Energy Limited. [ Full Story ]
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November
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Identifying and Protecting Alaskan Fishery Habitats
PNNL scientists employed satellite technology to characterize the impacts of oil development on the environment. They detected critical fish overwintering habitats by identifying where ice was grounded or floating. Fishery managers can use this information to suggest locations for energy-development activities that increase the sustainability of fishery resources and minimize the environmental impact. [ Full Story ]
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Learning from the Past to Prevent the Spread of Nuclear Materials
Shown here are soil particles from 1945 that were altered by the world’s first nuclear explosion in New Mexico. Using microscopic imaging tools, PNNL scientists and others rapidly identified the microstructure of crystalline and glassy particles altered by the intense heat of the explosion. This research is important to identify and examine forensic information extracted from samples at nuclear blast sites. [ Full Story ]
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Environmental Conditions that Push Tropical Clouds from Fair-Weather to Stormy
PNNL scientists developed a unique mathematical technique that integrates field observations and cloud-resolving models to identify environmental variables important for tropical storm-cloud creation. The research will enable better predictions of these climate forces in global climate models. [ Full Story ]
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New Bacteria Divisions Discovered
PNNL Proteomics experts contributed to a study centered on discovery of new bacteria and the metabolic roles, such as carbon cycling, of bacteria in the environment. The research contributes new insights into the physiology and diversity across several major branches of the tree of life. [ Full Story ]
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December
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Minerals for CO2 Capture to Reduce Adverse Effects of Energy Production
Minerals for CO2 Capture to Reduce Adverse Effects of Energy Production Capturing and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases deep underground is a promising option for reducing the effects of energy production on the Earth. PNNL scientists use electron microscopes to understand the reaction of CO2 and minerals found underground. [ Full Story ]
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Pollution from Fossil Fuel and Forest Burning Hitches Ride to Arctic
PNNL scientists found that secondary organic aerosols formed in the presence of the toxic pollutant known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) trapped the PAH molecules inside, shielding them from degradation. Scientists gained improved understanding of how pollution is transported over long distances far from the pollution sources to improve air-quality and particle transport models. [ Full Story ]
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Experiments Validate Quantitative Model Predictions for Cell Activation Dynamics
PNNL computational biology researchers used a model-based analysis approach to predict cell activation dynamics of epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) in different cellular compartments. Knowing whether surface and internal receptors function the same way can help better understand drug responses and determine correct types and levels of treatments. [ Full Story ]
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Predicting the Future for Stroke Victims
PNNL researchers developed a model for predicting what's happening during a stroke, how the process evolves over time, the potential outcomes, and the effects of different treatment options. The ability to model and simulate different treatments prior to administering them to a patient can help predict with more certainty which therapeutic approaches are the most effective. [ Full Story ]
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New Software Provides Near Real-Time Look at Experimental Data
A new tool developed at PNNL provides near real-time interactive analysis of mass spectrometry imaging data. The tool provides a critical component in moving away from post-experimental analysis toward active observation and influence to view the experiment as it unfolds. [ Full Story ]
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