Office of Biological and Environmental Research Weekly Report

April 7, 2008

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Named a National Historic Chemical Landmark. The American Chemical Society (ACS) has awarded this designation to ORNL for its production of radioisotopes for peacetime uses, particularly for diagnostic and therapeutic uses in medicine. The Clinton Laboratories, forerunner of ORNL, began distribution of isotopes in August 1946, sending carbon-14 to a Saint Louis hospital for cancer treatment. By the early 1950s, ORNL was providing tens of thousands of radioisotope shipments annually for medical, scientific and industrial uses. Most of the enabling scientific research was supported by BER and its predecessors, as well as the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy. ACS President Bruce Bursten of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, made the presentation at a recent ceremony at ORNL. The ACS Landmark program has, over a 15-year period, honored some 60 sites in the chemical sciences that have made major contributions to society, such as the laboratories where nylon and synthetic rubber were first produced. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory was designated by the ACS in 2000 for its discovery of the transcurium elements, such as Berkelium, Californium and Seaborgium. More information is available at http://acswebcontent.acs.org/landmarks/

Media Interest: No

Contact: Roland F. Hirsch, SC-23.2, (301) 903-9009

Rising Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Concentration May Not be All Good News for Crops: It has been widely recognized for decades that the marketable yield of most crops is increased when they are grown in an elevated CO₂ concentration, but a recent field experiment found that attack on soybeans by western corn rootworm, and by Japanese beetle, was increased with elevated CO₂. A BER-sponsored research project investigating the underlying cause of this increased insect attack in elevated CO₂ recently reported (April 1, 2008, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci.) that elevated CO₂ reduced the effectiveness of normal biochemical systems that plants use to help defend themselves against insects. The researchers concluded that changes in the plant’s natural defense systems caused by the ongoing increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentration (which is caused mainly by energy production from fossil fuels) has the potential to exacerbate pest problems in crops of the future.

Media Interest: This story has already been picked up by UPI (March 26)

Contact: Jeffrey S. Amthor, SC-23.3, (301) 903-2507

Increased Cold Damage to Plants With Warmer Springs? Plant ecologists have long been concerned that global warming (caused in large part by energy production from fossil fuels) may actually increase the risk of plant frost damage. The underlying hypothesis is that mild winters and warm, early springs, which are expected to occur as warming continues, may induce "premature" leaf growth in many ecosystems, resulting in exposure of young leaves to subsequent late-spring frosts. The 2007 spring freeze in the eastern United States provided an excellent opportunity to evaluate this hypothesis and assess its potential consequences. A group of BER-sponsored researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (collaborating with NASA, NOAA, and university scientists) analyzed the course of events over a period of early spring leaf growth, caused by unusually warm conditions, followed by a dramatic (and unusual) regional-scale late-spring freeze. The freeze resulted in regional-scale leaf damage and death, with extensive defoliation at many locations, which was observed from the ground and in satellite data. The researchers concluded that the possibility of future increased fluctuations in spring temperatures pose a real threat to some plants in temperate climates. The results were published in the March issue of BioScience.

Media Interest: Possibly

Contact: Jeffrey S. Amthor, SC-23.3, (301) 903-2507