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Energy News- Secretary Chu Highlights Recovery Act Tax Credits for Home Energy Efficiency Improvements March 26, 2010On March 26, Secretary Chu highlighted the tax credits available to American families as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. […]
- DOE, DOI, and Army Corps of Engineers Sign Memorandum of Understanding on Hydropower March 24, 2010U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu and US Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced today that the two agencies, along with the Army Corps of Engineers, will cooperate more closely and align priorities to support the development of environmentally sustainable hydropower. […]
- DOE Cites Recovery Act Benefits for Small Clean Energy Businesses March 24, 2010DOE has released a new report demonstrating that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and related programs have helped boost small businesses in the clean energy industry with $5.4 billion in grants so far. Companies involved in wind and solar power, biofuels, and energy efficiency are among the recipients. […]
- Secretary Chu Highlights Recovery Act Tax Credits for Home Energy Efficiency Improvements March 26, 2010
- Renewable Energy
- NREL's New Robots Scrutinize Solar CellsProcess Development and Integration Laboratory is faster, more precise, gives industry quicker answers. […]
- Tool That Tracks Solar Installations is Open to AllNREL's new Open PV Web site lets users download information about installations, explore trends in photovoltaic markets. […]
- High-Speed Pipeline Revs Up Biomass AnalysisHigh throughput system can analyze enzymes, poplars, switch grass, thousands at a time to help determine which plants are best suited for biofuels. […]
- NREL's New Robots Scrutinize Solar Cells
- Energy And The Environment
- Five EPA Region 9 Metro Area Cities Rank Among Top 25 in Nation for Most Energy Efficient Buildings March 24, 2010SAN FRANCISCO - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a list of U.S. metropolitan areas with the largest number of energy efficient buildings that earned EPA’s Energy Star in 2009 […]
- Boston and New England Buildings Receive Energy Star Recognition March 24, 2010(Boston, Mass. – March 24, 2010) – Boston and New England businesses are again being recognized by EPA’s Energy Star program for their commitment to save energy and money through energy efficiency […]
- Seattle Recognized as a National Leader in Energy Efficient Buildings March 23, 2010(Seattle—March 23, 2010) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released a list of the metropolitan areas with the largest number of energy efficient buildings to garner the EPA Energy Star label. Seattle clocked in at number 14 in the nation […]
- Five EPA Region 9 Metro Area Cities Rank Among Top 25 in Nation for Most Energy Efficient Buildings March 24, 2010
- Energy Research
- Stojanoff deciphers crystal structures, promotes role of women in science March 30, 2010Vivian Stojanoff spends her workdays studying a special kind of crystals ??? protein crystals. […]
- SRNL assesses bamboo for closure caps March 30, 2010The very traits that can make some bamboos troublesome for landowners???quick to grow and hard to kill???make it potentially useful for cleanup, according to the Savannah River National Laboratory. […]
- MTI satellite celebrates 10 years in orbit, continues to serve March 30, 2010For researchers at DOE's Sandia National Laboratories, the evening of March 12 marked a proud moment. […]
- Stojanoff deciphers crystal structures, promotes role of women in science March 30, 2010
- Agriculture
- Cutting Fat--and Calories--from Cakes and FrostingsRead the magazine story to find out more. ARS scientists have worked out a way to reduce the fat and calories from cake mixes and frosting by adding Fantesk, an ARS-developed product of microdroplets of trans-fat free cooking oil encapsulated in cornstarch or wheat flour. Click the image for more information about it. Fat-fighting secrets of whole-grain food […]
- ARS Publishes Guide for Remote Solar Water PumpsA guide to choosing a solar water pump for remote (off-grid) applications, like this one, has been published by ARS agricultural engineer Brian Vick and colleagues. Click the image for more information about it. National Arboretum unveils first solar-powered irrigation system Farmers have antidotes to oil dependency Agricultural Research Service has wi […]
- Keeping Cattle Cool and Stress-Free
- Cutting Fat--and Calories--from Cakes and Frostings
- Food, Drugs And Health
- FDA Approves Asclera to Treat Small Varicose VeinsThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Asclera (polidocanol) injection for the treatment of small types of abnormally swollen or twisted veins called varicose veins. […]
- Public Health Agencies Collaborate to Prevent Further Illnesses from Norovirus Outbreak Associated with Oysters Recently Harvested from Area Near Port Sulphur, La.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working with state health officials from Mississippi and Louisiana to notify consumers, food service operators and retailers nationwide about an outbreak of norovirus associated with oysters recently harvested from an area near Port Sulphur, La. known as Area 7. The oysters were sold or distributed nationwide. […]
- Two Arrested for Illegally Trafficking Counterfeit Weight Loss MedicationTwo Arrested for Illegally Trafficking Counterfeit Weight Loss Medication […]
- Public Health Agencies Warn of Outbreaks Related to Drinking Raw MilkThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with several state agencies, is alerting consumers to an outbreak of campylobacteriosis associated with drinking raw milk. At least 12 confirmed illnesses have been recently reported in Michigan. Symptoms of campylobacteriosis include diarrhea, abdominal pain and fever. […]
- FDA Takes Action Against New York Dairy FarmerA New York State dairy farmer cited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for selling cows that had illegal residues of antibiotics was ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York this week to stop offering the animals for slaughter until he complies with federal law. […]
- FDA Approves Asclera to Treat Small Varicose Veins
The Spider Web: Paradox Of Super-strength
Research finds weakest chemical bonds produce materials stronger than steel
Since its development in China thousands of years ago, silk from silkworms, spiders and other insects has been used for high-end, luxury fabrics as well as for parachutes and medical sutures. Now, National Science Foundation-supported researchers are untangling some of its most closely guarded secrets, and explaining why silk is so super strong.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Materials Science and Engineering say the key to silk’s pound-for-pound toughness, which exceeds that of steel, is its beta-sheet crystals, the nano-sized cross-linking domains that hold the material together.
Markus Buehler, the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Associate Professor in MIT’s department of civil and environmental engineering, and his team recently used computer models to simulate exactly how the components of beta sheet crystals move and interact with each other. They found that an unusual arrangement of hydrogen bonds–the “glue” that stabilizes the beta-sheet crystals–play an important role in defining the strength of silk.
They found that hydrogen bonds, which are among the weakest types of chemical bonds, gain strength when confined to spaces on the order of a few nanometers in size. Once in close proximity, the hydrogen bonds work together and become extremely strong. Moreover, if a hydrogen bond breaks, there are still many hydrogen bonds left that can contribute to the material’s overall strength, due to their ability to “self-heal” the beta-sheet crystals.
The researchers conclude that silk’s strength and ductility–its ability to bend or stretch without breaking–results from this peculiar arrangement of atomic bonds. They say controlling the size of the area in which hydrogen or other chemical bonds act can lead to significantly enhanced properties for future materials, even when the initial chemical bonds are very weak.
The journal Nature Materials reported the findings online March 14.
-NSF-