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Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new method to peer deep into the nanostructure of biomaterials without damaging the sample. This novel technique can confirm structural features in starch, a carbohydrate important in biofuel production.

Valentino ('Tino') Cooper of the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory uses theory, modeling and computation to improve fundamental understanding of advanced materials for next-generation energy and information technologies. 'I'm trying to understand how materials respond down to the level of atoms and electrons--their basic building blocks,' said Cooper, who leads ORNL's Condensed Matter Theory Group, which aims to understand complex electronic and magnetic behavior of solid systems of about 100 atoms.

Teeth damaged by trauma or disease require treatment to look and feel as good as new, but the restorative materials available to dentists don't always last and can be costly for patients. Researchers from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center's College of Dentistry are using neutrons at ORNL's High Flux Isotope Reactor to change that.

Scientists used unique scanning probe microscopy and spectroscopy techniques to control how electrons moved on the surface of a bismuth-based material (Bi2Te2Se).