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ORNL-led team identifies process that can break down toxic methylmercury

Posted at 1:34 pm July 3, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

A team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory has identified a novel microbial process that can break down toxic methylmercury in the environment, a discovery that could potentially reduce mercury toxicity levels and support health and risk assessments. Microscopy images by Jeremy Semrau, University of Michigan. (Screenshot from a video by ORNL)

A team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory has identified a novel microbial process that can break down toxic methylmercury in the environment, a discovery that could potentially reduce mercury toxicity levels and support health and risk assessments. Microscopy images by Jeremy Semrau, University of Michigan. (Screenshot from a video by ORNL)

 

Note: This story was originally published by Oak Ridge National Laboratory on May 31.

A team led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has identified a novel microbial process that can break down toxic methylmercury in the environment, a fundamental scientific discovery that could potentially reduce mercury toxicity levels and support health and risk assessments.

Methylmercury is a neurotoxin that forms in nature when mercury interacts with certain microbes living in soil and waterways. It accumulates at varying levels in all fish—particularly large predatory fish such as tuna and swordfish—and, when consumed in large quantities, can potentially cause neurological damage and developmental disorders, especially in children.

A previous ORNL-led study, published in Science in 2013, unlocked the genetic code that led scientists to accurately identify microbes responsible for methylmercury production in the environment. Following this finding, the ORNL team has now discovered which bacteria perform the reverse process, called demethylation. Details are published in Science Advances.

“Much attention has focused on mercury methylation or how methylmercury forms, but few studies to date have examined microbial demethylation, or the breakdown of methylmercury at environmentally relevant conditions,” said Baohua Gu, co-author and a team lead in ORNL’s Mercury Science Focus Area. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Alan DiSpirito, Baohua Gu, demethylation, DOE, Iowa State University, Jeremy Semrau, Linduo Zhao, mercury, Mercury Science Focus Area, methantrophs, Methlyosinus trichosporium OB3b, methylmercury, Methylmercury uptake and degradation by methanotrophs, Methylococcus capsulatus Bath, microbial process, Muhammad Farhan Ul Haque, neurotoxin, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Office of Science, ORNL, Science Advances, toxic methylmercury, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Michigan, Wenyu Gu, Xia Lu

ORNL awarded $3.36 million for automated, connected vehicle research

Posted at 2:26 pm November 7, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

connected-vehicle-arpa-e

Connected, automated vehicles will be part of an integrated control technologies-based system that could increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (Image by ORNL)

 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been awarded $3.36 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, to develop novel control technologies for connected and automated vehicles with the goal of achieving a 20 percent improvement in vehicle energy efficiency, a press release said.

The project will focus on developing and implementing control technologies in a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, or PHEV, to achieve the following: compute optimal routing to bypass bottlenecks, accidents, special events, and other conditions that affect traffic flow; accelerate and decelerate optimally based on traffic conditions and the state of the surrounding roads; and optimize onboard powertrain efficiency.

“This approach changes the mathematical framework of how the vehicle is controlled and optimized today,” said ORNL’s Andreas Malikopoulos, the project’s principal investigator. “With our proposed concept, the vehicle will no longer operate in isolation but will be considered as part of an integrated system, which ultimately could help increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, Andreas Malikopoulos, ARPA-E, Boston University, Christos Cassandras, Huei Peng, Li Jiang, NEXT-Generation Energy Technologies for Connected and Automated On-Road Vehicle, NEXTCAR, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, PHEV, plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, Robert Bosch LLC, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Michigan, vehicle energy efficiency, vehicle research

Photos: Cardinal Invitational Regatta in Oak Ridge

Posted at 2:56 pm March 13, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Cardinal-Invitational-Regatta-March-12-2016-1

Twelve of the nation’s best NCAA Division I women’s rowing teams competed this weekend in the Cardinal Invitational Regatta in Oak Ridge. Pictured above, a Notre Dame team competes at Oak Ridge Marina on Saturday, March 12, 2016. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Twelve of the nation’s best NCAA Division I women’s rowing teams competed this weekend in the Cardinal Invitational Regatta in Oak Ridge. Here are photos by Julio Culiat.

The rowing races were hosted by the University of Louisville at the Oak Ridge Rowing Association on Melton Hill Lake.

The 2016 Cardinal Regatta included the following rowing teams: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Media, Photos, Rowing, Rowing, Slider, Sports Tagged With: 2016 Cardinal Regatta, Cardinal Invitational Regatta, Clemson University, Julio Culiat, Kansas University, Melton hill lake, NCAA Division I women's rowing teams, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Marina, Oak Ridge Rowing Association, University of Louisville, University of Michigan, University of Notre Dame, University of Virginia, West Virginia University

ORNL awarded two Energy Frontier Research Centers

Posted at 6:00 pm June 20, 2014
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

David Wesolowski and Yanwen Zhang

Pictured above are David Wesolowski, left, director of the Fluid Interface Reactions, Structures, and Transport Center; and Yanwen Zhang, director of the Energy Dissipation to Defect Evolution Center. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be home to two Energy Frontier Research Centers announced this week by U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. The Department of Energy awarded a total of $100 million to 32 EFRC projects to accelerate the scientific breakthroughs needed to build the 21st-century energy economy. 

“Today, we are mobilizing some of our most talented scientists to join forces and pursue the discoveries and breakthroughs that will lay the foundation for our nation’s energy future,” Secretary Moniz said. “The funding we’re announcing today will help fuel scientific and technological innovation.”

The two ORNL EFRCs are a renewal of the Fluid Interface Reactions, Structures, and Transport (FIRST) Center, which is led by David Wesolowski, and a new award to the Energy Dissipation to Defect Evolution (EDDE) Center, led by Yanwen Zhang.

ORNL scientists also partnered on successful proposals to lay the groundwork for fundamental advances in solar energy, electrical energy storage, carbon capture and sequestration, materials and chemistry by design, biosciences, and extreme environments. Those proposals include three new projects (led by the Georgia Institute of Technology, the State University of New York–Stony Brook, and Pennsylvania State University) and three renewals (led by Washington University in St. Louis, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Argonne National Laboratory, David Wesolowski, Drexel University, EDDE, EFRC, energy dissipation, Energy Dissipation to Defect Evolution Center, Energy Frontier Research Centers, energy technologies, Ernest Moniz, FIRST, Fluid Interface Reactions Structures and Transport Center, fluid-solid interfaces, irradiation, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Michelle Buchanan, nanoscale, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Science, ORNL, Pennsylvania State University, Thom Mason, U.S. Department of Energy, University of California–Berkeley, University of California–Davis, University of California–Riverside, University of Delaware, University of Michigan, University of Tennessee, University of Virginia, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Vanderbilt University, Yanwen Zhang

Nuclear arms consortium that includes ORNL receives $25 million grant from NNSA

Posted at 1:16 pm March 31, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Sign

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Sign

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A research and development consortium led by the University of Michigan has received a $25 million grant for nuclear arms control verification technologies, including nuclear safeguards effectiveness.

The consortium includes Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The grant was announced on Monday by the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development. The consortium will receive $5 million per year for five years, a press release said. The award is in response to a funding opportunity announcement issued in May 2013.

“Nuclear arms control verification technologies provide tools to support and improve the ability of the U.S. government to monitor compliance with nuclear arms control commitments and treaty obligations,” the press release said. “Nuclear safeguards support the International Atomic Energy Agency’s mission to monitor the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and the commitments of signatory countries to refrain from developing new nuclear weapons. Other work under the consortium will include efforts in geophysical modeling for the detection of underground nuclear detonations to support test monitoring.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: National Nuclear Security Administration, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Anne Harrington, arms control, development, International Atomic Energy Agency, National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA, nuclear arms, nuclear arms control verification technologies, nuclear nonproliferation, Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, nuclear safeguards, nuclear weapons, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, research, University of Michigan, verification

ORISE report shows nuclear engineering graduation rates on the rise in 2013

Posted at 12:31 pm March 4, 2014
By Oak Ridge Associated Universities Leave a Comment

Number of graduate degrees expected to remain consistent but undergraduate degrees could see decrease starting in 2015; UT among Top 3 degree-granting programs

The number of college students graduating with majors in nuclear engineering continues to increase, according to a report by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, which surveyed 32 U.S. universities with nuclear engineering programs. The report, titled “Nuclear Engineering Enrollments and Degrees Survey, 2013 Data,” includes degrees granted between Sept. 1, 2012, and Aug. 31, 2013.

Graduate, undergraduate nuclear engineering degrees increased from last year [Read more…]

Filed Under: College, Education, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: bachelor's degrees, college, degrees, doctorate degrees, DOE, employment, engineering degrees, Eric Abelquist, federal government, master's degrees, nuclear engineering, Nuclear Engineering Enrollments and Degrees Survey 2013 Data, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, ORAU, ORISE, Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D. degrees, students, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Michigan, University of Tennessee

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Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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