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Released: 30-Aug-2021 12:40 PM EDT
Boosting Small Molecule Production in Super “Soup”
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

In Nature Communications, researchers supported through the DOE Joint Genome Institute’s Emerging Technologies Opportunity Program describe work that complements efforts to further develop sustainable alternative approaches for manufacturing bioproducts and biofuels.

Released: 27-Aug-2021 8:15 AM EDT
LED Material Shines Under Strain
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A team led by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley has demonstrated an approach for achieving LEDs with near 100% light-emission efficiency at all brightness levels.

23-Aug-2021 3:35 PM EDT
Mountains of Data: An Unprecedented Climate Observatory to Understand the Future of Water
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Mountain watersheds provide 60 to 90% of water resources worldwide, but there is still much that scientists don’t know about the physical processes and interactions that affect hydrology in these ecosystems. Now a team of U.S. Department of Energy scientists led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) aims to plug that gap, with an ambitious campaign to collect a vast array of measurements that will allow scientists to better understand the future of water in the West.

18-Aug-2021 6:55 PM EDT
This exotic particle had an out-of-body experience; these scientists took a picture of it
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Scientists at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have taken the clearest picture yet of electronic particles that make up a mysterious magnetic state called quantum spin liquid (QSL). The achievement could facilitate the development of superfast quantum computers and energy-efficient superconductors.

Released: 16-Aug-2021 10:05 AM EDT
Science Snapshots from Berkeley Lab
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Quick stories about exciting new research from Berkeley Lab this month

Released: 27-Jul-2021 11:00 AM EDT
Berkeley Lab Optical Innovation Could Calm the Jitters of High-Power Lasers
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator (BELLA) Center at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has developed and tested an innovative optical system to precisely measure and control the position and pointing angle of high-power laser beams with unprecedented accuracy – without interrupting or disturbing the beams. The new system will help users throughout the sciences get the most out of high-power lasers.

Released: 21-Jul-2021 7:00 AM EDT
How Managing Building Energy Demand Can Aid the Clean Energy Transition
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A comprehensive new study led by researchers from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) quantifies what can be done to make buildings more energy efficient and flexible in granular detail by both time (including time of day and year) and space (looking at regions across the U.S.). The research team found that maximizing the deployment of building demand management technologies could avoid the need for up to one-third of coal- or gas-fired power generation.

Released: 20-Jul-2021 10:00 AM EDT
Main Attraction: Scientists Create World’s Thinnest Magnet
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Scientists at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have created an ultrathin magnet that operates at room temperature. The ultrathin magnet could lead to new applications in computing and electronics – such as spintronic memory devices – and new tools for the study of quantum physics.

Released: 19-Jul-2021 10:00 AM EDT
Deconstructing the Infectious Machinery of SARS-CoV-2
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Scientists from three national labs have published a comprehensive study that – alongside other recent, complementary studies of coronavirus proteins and genetics – represents the first step toward developing treatments for COVID-19.

Released: 16-Jul-2021 4:05 AM EDT
Science Snapshots From Berkeley Lab
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Bite-sized science highlights from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory – July 2021

Released: 15-Jul-2021 2:30 PM EDT
What if We Could Give Viruses a One-Two Punch?
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Researchers at Stanford and Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry have developed virus-killing molecules called peptoids. The technology could make possible an emerging category of antiviral drugs that could treat everything from herpes and COVID-19 to the common cold.

   
Released: 6-Jul-2021 7:05 PM EDT
Empowering a Neighborhood to Breathe Easy
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Companies like Purple Air and IQAir, with air pollution sensors that cost under $300, have brought air quality monitoring to the masses. But when Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist Tom Kirchstetter looked at Purple Air’s map last year during wildfire season, he noticed a big hole in Richmond, a city of 110,000 to the north of Berkeley.

Released: 29-Jun-2021 7:15 AM EDT
This Crystal Impurity Is Sheer Perfection
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Scientists at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have developed a nanoparticle composite that grows into 3D crystals. The new 3D-grown material could speed up production and eliminate errors in the mass manufacturing of nanoscale photonics for smart buildings or actuators for robotics.

Released: 22-Jun-2021 5:55 PM EDT
How to Make Lithium-ion Batteries Invincible
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Berkeley Lab scientists have made significant progress in developing battery cathodes using a new class of materials that provide batteries with the same if not higher energy density than conventional lithium-ion batteries but can be made of inexpensive and abundant metals. Known as DRX, which stands for disordered rocksalts with excess lithium, this novel family of materials was invented less than 10 years ago and allows cathodes to be made without nickel or cobalt.

Released: 9-Jun-2021 4:25 AM EDT
Key to Cleaner Combustion? Look to the Stars
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

In a decade-long quest, scientists at Berkeley Lab, the University of Hawaii, and Florida International University uncover new clues to the origins of the universe – and land new chemistry for cleaner combustion engines

Released: 7-Jun-2021 8:05 PM EDT
Are Heavy Metals Toxic? Scientists Find Surprising New Clues in Yeast
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Scientists at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have compiled the most complete library yet of lanthanide heavy metals and their potential toxicity – by exposing baker’s yeast to lanthanides. Their findings could help researchers uncover hidden pathways between lanthanide metals and disease.

   
20-May-2021 6:00 PM EDT
Science Snapshots
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Science Snapshots from Berkeley Lab on forest soils, vaping cannabis risks, reusable PPE, hydrogen fuel generation

Released: 19-May-2021 10:00 AM EDT
We’ve Got the Dirt on Soil Protists
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The diverse collection of microbes known as protists are understudied, but their impact on ecosystems and agriculture could be huge.

Released: 18-May-2021 12:00 PM EDT
How X-rays Could Make Reliable, Rapid COVID-19 Tests a Reality
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Vaccines are turning the tide of the pandemic, but there's still a risk of COVID-19 infections. Instant at-home tests would help us return to normal, but current options aren't very accurate. A new discovery could get reliable tests on the market.

   
Released: 18-May-2021 9:00 AM EDT
‘Cool Walls’ Get a Boost from U.S. Green Building Council
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Sunlight-reflecting “cool walls” have been shown to reduce energy costs by lowering heat gain in buildings. But they do more – reflective walls can also cool cities, fighting the urban heat island effect. The concept has new support from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which has issued a pilot credit for the installation of cool exterior walls in new homes, schools, and commercial buildings to mitigate urban heat islands.

Released: 17-May-2021 9:00 AM EDT
Successful Start of Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Follows Record-Setting Trial Run
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A five-year quest to map the universe and unravel the mysteries of “dark energy” is beginning officially today, May 17, at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. To complete its quest, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will capture and study the light from tens of millions of galaxies and other distant objects in the universe.

Released: 6-May-2021 12:05 PM EDT
Supernovae Twins Open Up New Possibilities for Precision Cosmology
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Cosmologists have found a way to double the accuracy of measuring distances to supernova explosions – one of their tried-and-true tools for studying the mysterious dark energy that is making the universe expand faster and faster.

Released: 29-Apr-2021 10:00 AM EDT
Science Snapshots From Berkeley Lab
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Science Snapshots From Berkeley Lab – Water purification, infant-warming device, cuff-based heart disease monitor, ancient magnetic fields

   
Released: 22-Apr-2021 11:00 AM EDT
The Future Looks Bright for Infinitely Recyclable Plastic
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Plastics are ubiquitous, but they're not practical. Less than 10% are recycled, and the other ~8 billion tons are creating a pollution crisis. A Berkeley Lab team is determined to change that. A new analysis shows producing and recycling their game-changing new plastic could be easy and cheap enough to leave old plastics in the dust.

Released: 22-Apr-2021 9:00 AM EDT
How Techno-economic Analysis Can Improve Energy Technologies
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A Q&A with Berkeley Lab researcher Hanna Breunig on techno-economic analysis, and how she uses it to make negative emissions technologies more competitive

20-Apr-2021 5:40 PM EDT
To Design Truly Compostable Plastic, Scientists Take Cues From Nature
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Scientists at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have designed an enzyme-activated compostable plastic that could diminish microplastics pollution. Household tap water or soil composts break the hybrid plastic material down to reusable small molecules, called monomers, in just a few days or weeks.

20-Apr-2021 2:00 PM EDT
In Calculating the Social Cost of Methane, Equity Matters
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A new study by a team including researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Berkeley reports that the social cost of methane – a greenhouse gas that is 30 times as potent as carbon dioxide in its ability to trap heat – varies by as much as an order of magnitude between industrialized and developing regions of the world.

14-Apr-2021 5:30 PM EDT
Experts’ Predictions for Future Wind Energy Costs Drop Significantly
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Technology and commercial advancements are expected to continue to drive down the cost of wind energy, according to a survey led by Berkeley Lab of the world’s foremost wind power experts. Experts anticipate cost reductions of 17%-35% by 2035 and 37%-49% by 2050, driven by bigger and more efficient turbines, lower capital and operating costs, and other advancements.

Released: 14-Apr-2021 11:00 AM EDT
From Smoky Skies to a Green Horizon: Scientists Convert Fire-Risk Wood into Biofuel
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Reliance on petroleum fuels and raging wildfires: Two separate, large-scale challenges that could be addressed by one scientific breakthrough. Researchers from two national laboratories have collaborated to develop a streamlined and efficient process for converting woody plant matter like forest overgrowth and agricultural waste – material that is currently burned either intentionally or unintentionally – into liquid biofuel.

Released: 8-Apr-2021 11:00 AM EDT
The Spintronics Technology Revolution Could Be Just a Hopfion Away
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A research team co-led by Berkeley Lab has created and observed quasiparticles called 3D hopfions at the nanoscale (billionths of a meter) in a magnetic system. The discovery could advance high-density, high-speed, low-power, yet ultrastable magnetic memory “spintronics” devices.

2-Apr-2021 7:05 PM EDT
This hydrogen fuel machine could be the ultimate guide to self improvement
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Scientists at Berkeley have uncovered an extraordinary self-improving property that transforms an ordinary semiconductor into a highly efficient and stable artificial photosynthesis device

Released: 5-Apr-2021 8:55 AM EDT
April Snapshots
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Science Snapshots from Berkeley Lab: X-rays accelerate battery R&D; infrared microscopy goes off grid; substrates support 2D tech

Released: 29-Mar-2021 6:05 AM EDT
Science Snapshots From Berkeley Lab - Week of March 29, 2021
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

India’s Ambitious Clean Energy Goals, a Secret Pathway to Harnessing the Sun for Clean Energy, and a Supersmart Gas Sensor for Asthmatics

Released: 25-Mar-2021 9:00 AM EDT
How Microorganisms Can Help Us Get to Net Negative Emissions
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A Q&A with Berkeley Lab scientist Eric Sundstrom on a technology to turn electrons to bioproducts

Released: 25-Mar-2021 8:35 AM EDT
Revealing Nano Big Bang – Scientists Observe the First Milliseconds of Crystal Formation
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

At Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry, scientists recruited a world-leading microscope to capture atomic-resolution, high-speed images of gold atoms self-organizing, falling apart, and then reorganizing many times before settling into a stable, ordered crystal.

Released: 24-Mar-2021 8:15 AM EDT
Do You Know the Way to Berkelium, Californium?
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Scientists at Berkeley Lab have demonstrated how to image samples of heavy elements as small as a single nanogram. The new approach will help scientists advance new technologies for medical imaging and cancer therapies.

Released: 17-Mar-2021 1:20 PM EDT
Missing Baryons Found in Far-Out Reaches of Galactic Halos
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Researchers have channeled the universe’s earliest light – a relic of the universe’s formation known as the cosmic microwave background – to solve a missing-matter mystery and learn new things about galaxy formation. Their work could also help us to better understand dark energy and test Einstein’s theory of general relativity by providing new details about the rate at which galaxies are moving toward us or away from us.

Released: 16-Mar-2021 7:00 AM EDT
Commercial Truck Electrification is Within Reach
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Researchers from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California, Los Angeles published a new study that makes the case for prioritizing public policy to help move long-haul trucking from diesel to electric. Doing so will mean huge gains in addressing the climate crisis and avoiding premature deaths due to local vehicular pollution, which disproportionately affects communities of color.

Released: 11-Mar-2021 5:40 PM EST
Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Monitoring Capabilities Still in Use 10 Years After Fukushima Earthquake and Nuclear Power Plant Disaster
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The events following the Fukushima disaster, a decade ago, drew upon Berkeley Lab’s long-standing expertise in radiation measurements and safety, and led to the creation of long-term radiation-monitoring programs, both locally and in Japan, as well as a series of radiation surveys and technology demonstrations including drone- and helicopter-based surveys, and vehicle-based and hand-carried measurements.

Released: 3-Mar-2021 8:25 AM EST
A COSMIC Approach to Nanoscale Science
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

COSMIC, a multipurpose X-ray instrument at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source, has made headway in the scientific community since its launch less than 2 years ago, with groundbreaking contributions in fields ranging from batteries to biominerals.

Released: 26-Feb-2021 4:35 PM EST
HPC Explorations of Supernova Explosions Help Physicists Reach New Milestones
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Physicists have been studying the question of how supernova explosions occur for more than 60 years. Thanks to the increasing power of supercomputing resources such as those at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, they’re moving ever closer to an answer.

Released: 25-Feb-2021 10:00 AM EST
On the Line: Watching Nanoparticles Get in Shape
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Berkeley Lab scientists have captured real-time, high-resolution videos of liquid structures taking shape as nanoparticles form a solid-like layer at the interface between oil and water. Their findings could help advance all-liquid robotics for targeted cancer drug delivery and other applications.

Released: 22-Feb-2021 10:00 AM EST
A Sponge to Soak Up Carbon Dioxide in the Air
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Increasingly, scientists are recognizing that negative emissions technologies (NETs) to remove and sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere will be an essential component in the strategy to mitigate climate change. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), a multidisciplinary Department of Energy research lab, is pursuing a portfolio of negative emissions technologies and related research.

Released: 19-Feb-2021 7:00 AM EST
Researchers Hunt for New Particles in Particle Collider Data
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Berkeley Lab researchers participated in a study that used machine learning to scan for new particles in three years of particle-collision data from CERN’s ATLAS detector.

Released: 11-Feb-2021 7:30 PM EST
Applying Quantum Computing to a Particle Process
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A team of researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) used a quantum computer to successfully simulate an aspect of particle collisions that is typically neglected in high-energy physics experiments, such as those that occur at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.

Released: 9-Feb-2021 2:55 PM EST
Superfacility Model Brings COVID Research Into Real Time
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Finding a way to end the coronavirus pandemic has required a global response from thousands of people across scientific, medical, academic, and political entities. Among them are scientists working at NERSC and SLAC's LCLS, who teamed up to capture images of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and leverage the superfacility model for real-time data analysis.



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