Scientific
Discovery
Science at Our Core
With the addition of color and various photo editing effects, this artistic rendition of cyanobacteria illustrates how one PNNL scientist imagines cells communicate, work together and exchange nutrients—processes often not visible even with the help of microscopes. Using state-of-the-art science and patented photobioreactors, PNNL researchers are studying photosynthesis in cyanobacteria as it relates to producing biofuels. With support from DOE’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research, scientists are optimizing the growth rates of cyanobacteria and other organisms that can be used together to capture methane and carbon dioxide from landfills, dairy farms or industrial processes. Cyanobacteria use photosynthesis to transform carbon dioxide into carbon-based products like protein and lipids, while the other organism uses the oxygen from that process to convert methane into carbon dioxide, which is used by the cyanobacteria.
Research Team: Alex Beliaev and Eric Hill (PNNL).
Instrument: Phase contrast setting on a light microscope, with added Photoshop techniques for visual interest.
Science is the centerpiece of what we do at PNNL. It’s the foundation of our work in energy resiliency and national security, opening new lines of inquiry to address the nation’s most significant challenges.
We explore the impact of the vast whirl of aerosol-laden clouds on our climate. We turn to nature as a guide for developing catalysts that speed up key chemical reactions a million times or more. We explore the promise of neural networks to detect a faint signal of illicit nuclear activity across the globe.
Simply put, we do the difficult, demanding, and exhilarating fundamental research to make the world safer and more secure. The research serves as a catalyst for further innovation that makes its way into our lives in the form of a reliable electricity supply, for instance, or secure gatherings free from threat.
We draw upon a host of resources, including two Department of Energy user facilities that we host, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory and the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement user facility—EMSL and ARM. But our most important resource is our people—experts across the range of scientific disciplines who collaborate with colleagues worldwide, teaming together to take on the biggest scientific challenges of our time.
