Genetics and birthplace have a big effect on the make-up of the microbial community in the gut, according to new research published in the journal Nature Microbiology.

Six PNNL researchers named to the list of the most highly cited in the world. The list features scientists from around the world whose citations rank in the top one percent within 22 subject areas.

PNNL tools that track underground contaminants and speed carbon capture technology development are among R&D Magazine's 100 most innovative scientific breakthroughs of the year.

Nuclear power figures prominently in our country's energy portfolio and is essential to our economic and environmental security.

In fast-neutron reactors, fuel is sealed in ~7 millimeter diameter steel tubes called cladding. When a high-energy "fast" neutron strikes an atom in the steel, it can knock the atom out of place, like a cue ball striking another billiard ball. This leaves two types of damage in the metal: an empty spot where the atom was, and the displaced atom wedged between other atoms. Over time, these defects typically drive undesirable rearrangement of the microstructure, potentially reducing the life of the cladding.

How might getting old—really old—affect the glass waste form chosen to immobilize radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington state? Researchers are seeking answers from walls containing ancient glass in Europe. These walls, known as hillforts, are defense structures that date as far back as the Bronze Age. The researchers progress is the cover story in the May 2016 American Ceramic Society Bulletin.

PNNL takes pride in advancing scientific frontiers and developing solutions to vexing problems. In particular, we apply our technical expertise to address national needs in security, energy and the environment.

As a Department of Energy national laboratory, you would expect Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to perform research in chemistry, physics and engineering in support of our energy, environmental and security missions.

Software that can reason like an analyst and a new way of disinfecting rooms won awards from the Federal Laboratory Consortium.

Scientists have made a "vitamin mimic" - a molecule that looks and acts just like a natural vitamin to bacteria - that offers a new window into the inner workings of living microbes.

Scientists have shown that a process known as oxidative stress is at work during the rendezvous between certain nanoparticles and immune cells known as macrophages.

On October 22, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)​​​​​​​granted Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA's) Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station a 40-year operating license for its new Unit 2 reactor. This is the first nuclear reactor to be granted an operating license by the NRC in two decades.