News From the Field
A Surprising New Kind of Proton Transfer

March 18, 2012

Common wisdom has it that protons only travel between molecules via hydrogen bonds: No hydrogen bonds, no proton transfer. Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Advanced Light Source and their colleagues at the University of Southern California, investigating molecular components of RNA, were surprised to find that protons can find ways to transfer even when hydrogen bonds are blocked. Full Story

Source
DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2012, its budget was $7.0 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 50,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards about $593 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

 Get News Updates by Email 

Useful NSF Web Sites:
NSF Home Page: http://www.nsf.gov
NSF News: http://www.nsf.gov/news/
For the News Media: http://www.nsf.gov/news/newsroom.jsp
Science and Engineering Statistics: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/
Awards Searches: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/