Latest Brookhaven Lab Stories
Sometimes, solutions for hard problems can turn out to be pretty basic. That's especially true for a team of researchers at the Office of Science's Brookhaven National Laboratory (Brookhaven Lab), where the solution for a hard problem they were working on turned out to be pretty basic . . . and also a bit acidic. The hard problem they were working on was how to store hydrogen fuel. Hydrogen gas (H2) is a clean and powerful fuel, but it's also extremely light, which makes it difficult and...
Evidence that brain's reward/motivation circuits are linked to compulsive overeatingA brain imaging study at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory reveals a subtle difference between ordinary obese subjects and those who compulsively overeat, or binge: In binge eaters but not ordinary obese subjects, the mere sight or smell of favorite foods triggers a spike in dopamine "” a brain chemical linked to reward and motivation. The findings "” published online on...
Reveals shape-shifting atomic interactions; suggests mechanism and possible drug targetsHow much difference can a tenth of a nanometer make? When it comes to figuring out how proteins work, an improvement in resolution of that miniscule amount can mean the difference between seeing where atoms are and understanding how they interact.Case in point: New, improved-resolution views of a zinc transporter protein deciphered at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory provide...
Low levels of dopamine markers may underlie symptoms; implications for treatmentA brain-imaging study conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory provides the first definitive evidence that patients suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have lower-than-normal levels of certain proteins essential for experiencing reward and motivation."These deficits in the brain's reward system may help explain clinical symptoms of ADHD,...
An international team of scientists has discovered extensive similarities between a strain of bacteria commonly associated with plants and one increasingly linked to opportunistic infections in hospital patients. The findings suggest caution in the use of the plant-associated strain for a range of biotech applications. The genetic analysis was conducted in part at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, and will be published in the July 2009 issue of Nature...
Decoded structure of secretion system, essential for infection, could lead to new drugsNew details of the composition and structure of a needlelike protein complex on the surface of certain bacteria may help scientists develop new strategies to thwart infection. The research, conducted in part at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, will be published April 26, 2009, in the advance online edition of Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.The scientists were...
When given a choice between viewing pictures of cocaine and a variety of other images, cocaine addicted individuals, as compared to healthy, non-addicted research subjects, show a clear preference for the drug-related images. Findings from this study, which was conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, were presented at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington D.C. on Sunday, November 16, by Scott Moeller, a psychology graduate student...
Findings may lead to new ways to protect crops and make other useful productsFlexible filamentous viruses make up a large fraction of known plant viruses and are responsible for more than half the viral damage to crop plants throughout the world. New details of their structures, which were poorly understood, have been revealed by scientists using a variety of sophisticated imaging techniques at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborating institutions.These...
