http://www.pnnl.gov/science/ Fundamental and Computational Sciences Directorate en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss suraiya.farukhi@pnnl.gov christine.sharp@pnnl.gov http://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1388Radiation Research. The review, by Laboratory Fellow Dr. William F. Morgan and retired PNNL scientist Dr. William J. Bair, highlights critical areas of controversy in low-dose radiation biology, and suggests areas of future research to address these issues.  ]]>Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1387Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1385Results: A multi-institutional team from the Department of Energy's Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) used metagenomic and metaproteomic approaches to provide insight into the symbiotic relationship between leaf-cutter ants, fungi, and bacteria. In doing so, they have mapped the first draft genome of the predominant fungus and clarified its role in lignocellulose degradation in underground fungal gardens tended by the ants. Ultimately, scientists hope that this understanding will help the development of cellulosic biofuels. ]]>Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1377Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1372Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1366the stories of these, and many more, women in STEM can inspire others as they think about the future. Only 24% of the STEM workforce is female, an alarming gap as over 51% of the workforce overall is female." ]]>Thu, 11 Apr 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1365Results:  To further the quest to harness microbes for beneficial uses, scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Purdue University developed a promising computational tool for analyzing microbial flux distribution and metabolic engineering. They used the Lumped Hybrid Cybernetic Model (L-HCM), developed by Purdue researchers Dr. Hyun-Seob Song and Dr. Doraiswami Ramkrishna, to predict and simulate the metabolic dynamics of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 during aerobic growth in a bioreactor. ]]>Mon, 08 Apr 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1359Results: Heme c is an important iron-containing post-translational modification found in many proteins. It plays an important role in respiration, metal reduction, and nitrogen fixation, especially anaerobic respiration of environmental microbes. Such bacteria and their c-type cytochromes are studied extensively because of their potential use in bioremediation, microbial fuel cells, and electrosynthesis of valuable biomaterials. ]]>Thu, 28 Mar 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1340Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1322Results: With a novel technique that noninvasively analyzes microbes, scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory profiled, for the first time, the chemicals that a cyanobacterium makes available to others. Over 4 days, Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 steadily secretes two molecules that could be used as resources by other bacteria that are nearby. The technique that chemically profiles the microbial communities in both space and time is Nanospray Desorption Ionization Electrospray Mass Spectrometry, or nano-DESI. This instrument was built by Dr. Julia Laskin and her team at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. This research graced the cover of Analyst. ]]>Mon, 04 Mar 2013 00:00:00 PST