Feature Articles

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 26-Oct-2026 06:16 ET (26-Oct-2026 10:16 GMT/UTC)

Bioenergy scientists discover genetic pathway for better biofuel processing

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

A team of researchers working with the Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has discovered a pathway to encourage a type of lignin formation in plants that could make the processing of crops grown for products such as sustainable jet fuels easier and less costly.

Journal: Science Advances

Spero Renewables 'taps' Idaho National Laboratory

DOE/Idaho National Laboratory

Recently, researchers at Spero Renewables, a California-based green technology company, tapped into Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) Technical Assistance Program to work with researchers at the Biomass Feedstocks National User Facility. The program provides U.S.-based small businesses with access to INL experts and unique capabilities at no cost. Spero is using environmentally friendly practices to manufacture renewable chemicals from plant-based materials.

Truman and Hruby 2022 fellows explore their positions

DOE/Sandia National Laboratories

Truman and Hruby postdoctoral fellows at Sandia National Laboratories are given extraordinary latitude to pursue their own ideas, rather than being trained by fitting into the research plans of more experienced researchers. To give wings to this concept, the four annual winners — two for each category – are 100 percent pre-funded for three years. This enables them, like bishops or knights in chess, to cut across financial barriers, walk into any group and participate in work by others that might help illuminate the research each has chosen to pursue.

Printing circuits on rare nanomagnets puts a new spin on computing

DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory

New research artificially creating a rare form of matter known as spin glass could spark a new paradigm in artificial intelligence by allowing algorithms to be directly printed as physical hardware.

Accelerated Box of Flash: Powerful computational storage for big data projects

DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory

Data is a vital part of solving complicated scientific questions, in endeavors ranging from genomics, to climatology, to the analysis of nuclear reactions.

A laser-powered upgrade to cancer treatment

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Biologists and particle accelerator physicists have teamed up to develop more effective and more accessible cancer treatments using laser-powered plasma ion beams.

Journal: Scientific Reports

Preserving the past

DOE/Sandia National Laboratories

Christina Chavez, Sandia National Laboratories' first full-time archaeologist, works with teams throughout Sandia to ensure the U.S. Department of Energy remains in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

Energy codes pilot study takes flight in New York

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Applying new approaches in energy codes may support improved building efficiency and decarbonization in the Big Apple and beyond.

Fixing spinal cord injuries with ‘dancing molecules’

DOE/Argonne National Laboratory

Research conducted at the Advanced Photon Source contributed to a groundbreaking new molecular therapy to treat paralysis. These new "dancing molecules" signaled cells to repair damaged spinal cord tissue, curing paralyzed mice.

Meet Richard Buttery, Director of the DIII-D National Fusion Facility

DOE/US Department of Energy

Meet Richard Buttery, director of DIII-D, the largest magnetic fusion device in the United States. As a Department of Energy Office of Science user facility, DIII-D plays a leading role in the advancement of #fusionenergy research. This is one in a series of profiles on the directors of the SC-stewarded user facilities.