US to restart plutonium production for deep space exploration

The end of NASA's plutonium shortage may be in sight. On Monday March 18th, NASA's planetary science division head Jim Green announced that production of Plutonium-238 (Pu-238) by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) ...

The formation of gold deposits in South Africa

At a first glance, the Witwatersrand basin, the largest known gold resource on our planet, is not automatically related to ocean research. However, in its 3 billion years old geological history, the Witwatersrand basin in ...

Researchers discover how bacteria can immobilize uranium

(PhysOrg.com) -- For several years, researchers have known that certain kinds of bacteria are able to "feed" off certain metals by either adding or removing electrons from their structure, but until now, haven’t really ...

'Hydraulic fracturing' mobilizes uranium in marcellus shale

Scientific and political disputes over drilling Marcellus shale for natural gas have focused primarily on the environmental effects of pumping millions of gallons of water and chemicals deep underground to blast through rocks ...

Lab confirms new commercial method for producing medical isotope

The effort to secure a stable, domestic source of a critical medical isotope reached an important milestone this month as the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory demonstrated the production, separation ...

Doubts raised on nuclear industry viability

(PhysOrg.com) -- The investment in nuclear power has been growing around the world over the last few years, being viewed as a means for countries to control their energy security, avoid the price fluctuations of other energy ...

How seawater could corrode nuclear fuel

Japan used seawater to cool nuclear fuel at the stricken Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant after the tsunami in March 2011 -- and that was probably the best action to take at the time, says Professor Alexandra Navrotsky of ...

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