Oak Ridge Today

ORNL researchers Buchanan, Liang, Mayes named AAAS fellows

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

ORNL AAAS Fellows 2014

New fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science from Oak Ridge National Laboratory are, from left, Michelle Buchanan, Liyuan Liang, and Melanie Mayes. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

 

Three staff members at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for scientific contributions that range from administrative leadership to discoveries in the environmental sciences.

Michelle Buchanan, Liyuan Liang, and Melanie Mayes and are among those to receive this year’s recognition to AAAS members by their peers. AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and elects fellows based on their distinguished contributions to the advancement of science or its applications, a press release said.

Buchanan is ORNL’s associate laboratory director for physical sciences, where she guides the Chemical Sciences, Materials Science, and Technology and Physics divisions, as well as the Center for Nanophase Materials Science.

She was elected “for exceptional technical leadership and service in the chemical and physical sciences, and for contributions to setting the nation’s research priorities.” [Read more…]

ORNL research reveals new challenges for mercury cleanup

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Mercury Cycle

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers are learning more about the microbial processes
that convert elemental mercury into methylmercury. (Submitted image)

More forms of mercury can be converted to deadly methylmercury than previously thought, according to a study published Sunday in Nature Geoscience. The discovery provides scientists with another piece of the mercury puzzle, bringing them one step closer to understanding the challenges associated with mercury cleanup.

Earlier this year, a multidisciplinary team of researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory discovered two key genes that are essential for microbes to convert oxidized mercury to methylmercury, a neurotoxin that can penetrate skin and at high doses affect brain and muscle tissue, causing paralysis and brain damage.

The discovery of how methylmercury is formed answered a question that had stumped scientists for decades, and the findings published this week build on that breakthrough. [Read more…]

FORNL monthly luncheon lecture Tuesday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Liyuan Liang

Liyuan Liang

The Friends of ORNL will hold its monthly luncheon lecture meeting on Tuesday, June 11.

This month, Liyuan Liang and members of her team will discuss “ORNL Mercury Research Program and the Story of Methylation Gene Discovery.” This meeting is open to the public.

Liang, who heads the U.S. Department of Energy-funded mercury research program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Northeastern University at Boston, and a master’s and doctorate from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in environmental engineering sciences. [Read more…]

ORNL scientists solve mercury mystery, Science reports

Posted at
By 2 Comments

By identifying two genes required for transforming inorganic into organic mercury, which is far more toxic, scientists today have taken a significant step toward protecting human health.

The question of how methylmercury, an organic form of mercury, is produced by natural processes in the environment has stumped scientists for decades, but a team led by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has solved the puzzle. Results of the study, published in the journal Science, provide the genetic basis for this process, known as microbial mercury methylation, and have far-reaching implications.

[Read more…]