Energy management system sparks savings - An energy management system developed at the U.S. Department of Energys Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and installed at a New York City Housing Authority boiler plant in Manhattan has delivered cost savings of more than $300,000 in its first year. Decision Support for Operations and Maintenance, or DSOM, is a state-of-the-art monitoring and diagnostic system that optimizes system performance. Under a contract with the New York City Housing Authority, the system went online in 2001 at the Smith House central boiler plant, which provides steam and hot water to 12 housing units, covering nearly one million square feet. Developed for the U.S. Marine Corps, DSOM was first implemented at two major Corps facilities. In every installation DSOM has improved process efficiency, reduced maintenance expenses, extended equipment life and cut energy consumption and associated harmful emissions. DSOM received an R&D 100 Award for technology innovation in 2001. For more on DSOM, see .

Scientists see a vivid picture of DNA repair process - All known life forms, including humans, spend a considerable portion of their energy making and repairing their cellular DNA. Damaged DNA left unrepaired can lead to mutations, cancer and other abnormalities. In an effort to better understand how DNA is repaired, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers successfully have applied a powerful microscopic process, called single-molecule spectroscopy. This is the first time single-molecule spectroscopy has been used in research focused specifically on interactions between DNA and DNA repair proteins. The researchers also are developing advanced chemical physics tools to study one of the first steps of this process, namely how the damaged DNA is recognized so that it can then be repaired. By better understanding how the repair mechanism works and why it occasionally fails, PNNL researc
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2-May-2002

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