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DOE Funded News

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 27-Oct-2025 19:11 ET (27-Oct-2025 23:11 GMT/UTC)

From soft to solid: How a coral stiffens its skeleton on demand

University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have uncovered the first natural example of granular jamming, a process where loose particles lock into place under pressure, in the skeleton of a soft coral. The discovery explains a long-observed mystery in biology and could inspire new designs for medical devices, robotics and protective gear.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: Human Frontier Science Program, DOE/US Department of Energy, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, University of Pennsylvania

A 13-year record indicates differences in the duration and depth of soil carbon accrual among potential bioenergy crops

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment

While annual cropping systems such as maize/soy rotation perpetuate soil organic carbon (SOC) loss, perennial crops have been found to contribute to SOC increases. However, most perennial crop studies have been short-term, resulting in incomplete understanding of their long-term impacts on SOC. A new study found that planting perennial crops on land formerly used for annual maize/soy can slow or reverse soil carbon losses, with the greatest increases in soil organic carbon from species-rich prairie.

Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Identifying the best high-biomass sorghum hybrids based on biomass yield potential and feedstock quality affected by nitrogen fertility management under various environments

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment

There is growing interest in high-biomass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) as a bioenergy feedstock, but more information is needed to determine the most suitable varieties for the U.S. Midwest. A study by researchers at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) compared the yield performance of 13 high-biomass sorghum hybrids based on dry biomass yield, adaptability, and stability, and documented relationships and tradeoffs between traits that can be harnessed to maximize regional productivity. More work is needed to optimize nitrogen fertilization and assess the ecosystem service benefits of these new hybrids.

Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Nanoparticle blueprints reveal path to smarter medicines

University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Waters Corporation have revealed that lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) — the delivery vehicles for RNA therapies — come in a surprising range of shapes and structures. Reported in Nature Biotechnology, the study shows that these structural differences directly influence how well LNPs deliver their therapeutic cargo, offering a blueprint for tailoring nanoparticles to specific diseases. The findings open the door to a new era of precision design for RNA medicines, moving beyond today’s trial-and-error approach.

Journal: Nature Biotechnology
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, American Cancer Society, U.S. National Science Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Fund

Cool battery power

University of California - Riverside

A team of UC Riverside engineering scholars have discovered why a key solid-state battery ceramic material stays remarkably cool during operation — a breakthrough that could help make the next generation of lithium batteries deliver higher energy density while reducing overheating and fire risks.

Journal: PRX Energy
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. National Science Foundation, UCR Opportunity to Advance Sustainability Innovation and Social Inclusion, DOE/US Department of Energy, European Union NextGenerationEU

New ‘liquid metal’ composite material enables recyclable, flexible and reconfigurable electronics

University of Washington
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the UW have created a recyclable, flexible and self-healing composite material that could replace traditional circuit boards in future generations of wearable electronics.

Journal: Advanced Functional Materials
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation, DOE/US Department of Energy

Increasing heat is super-charging Arctic climate and weather extremes

North Carolina State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

By evaluating historical climate records, observational and projection data, an international team of researchers found a “pushing and triggering” mechanism that has driven the Arctic climate system to a new state, which will likely see consistently increased frequency and intensity of extreme events across all system components – the atmosphere, ocean and cryosphere – this century.

Journal: Nature Reviews Earth & Environment
Funder: NASA Earth Science Technology Office, NOAA Weather Program Office, DOE/US Department of Energy

Atom-scale stencil patterns help nanoparticles take new shapes and learn new tricks

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, News Bureau
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Inspired by an artist’s stencils, researchers have developed atomic-level precision patterning on nanoparticle surfaces, allowing them to “paint” gold nanoparticles with polymers to give them an array of new shapes and functions. The “patchy nanoparticles” developed by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers and collaborators at the University of Michigan and Penn State University can be made in large batches, used for a variety of electronic, optical or biomedical applications, or used as building blocks for new complex materials and metamaterials.

Journal: Nature
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

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