Latest News from: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

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Released: 24-Jul-2015 2:05 PM EDT
Unlocking the Rice Immune System
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

JBEI, UC Davis and Berkeley Lab researchers have identified a bacterial signaling molecule that triggers an immunity response in rice plants, enabling the plants to resist a devastating blight disease.

Released: 16-Jul-2015 2:05 PM EDT
A Most Singular Nano-Imaging Technique
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

“SINGLE” is a new imaging technique that provides the first atomic-scale 3D structures of individual nanoparticles in solution. This is an important step for improving the design of colloidal nanoparticles for catalysis and energy research applications.

16-Jul-2015 2:00 PM EDT
Unearthing Cornerstones in Root Microbiomes
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

In a study published online July 16, 2015 in Science Express, scientists looked at roles of three phytohormones, regulatory chemicals produced by a plant’s immune system, in controlling the composition of the root microbiome in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

13-Jul-2015 11:00 AM EDT
Gut Microbes Enable Coffee Pest to Withstand Extremely Toxic Concentrations of Caffeine
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Scientists discovered that coffee berry borers worldwide share 14 bacterial species in their digestive tracts that degrade and detoxify caffeine. They also found the most prevalent of these bacteria has a gene that helps break down caffeine. Their research sheds light on the ecology of the destructive bug and could lead to new ways to fight it.

Released: 10-Jul-2015 12:30 PM EDT
The MiSIng Piece Revealed: Classifying Microbial Species in the Genomics Era
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A team from the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) and their collaborators developed and evaluated the MiSI method for classifying microbial species that could be supplemented – as needed – by traditional approaches relied on by microbiologists for decades.

8-Jul-2015 9:00 AM EDT
Berkeley Lab Study Finds that Future Deployment of Distributed Solar Hinges on Electricity Rate Design
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Future distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment levels are highly sensitive to retail electricity rate design, according to a newly released report by researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). The study also explores the feedback effects between retail electricity rates and PV deployment, and suggests that increased solar deployment can lead to changes in PV compensation levels that either accelerate or dampen further deployment.

Released: 7-Jul-2015 5:05 PM EDT
Radiation Safety for Sunken-Ship Archaeology
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A WWII aircraft carrier used for atomic-bomb target practice is scuttled off the coast of California in the 1950s. Berkeley Lab researchers help scientists determine the radiation risk of exploring the sunken ship.

Released: 6-Jul-2015 3:05 PM EDT
A Bridge to Better Batteries
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

As it seeks to accelerate innovation leading to a breakthrough battery technology, Berkeley Lab’s battery group has made industry engagement a top priority. The mechanisms are detailed in a new website, energystorage.lbl.gov.

2-Jul-2015 2:05 PM EDT
Autonomous Taxis Would Deliver Significant Environmental and Economic Benefits
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Imagine a fleet of driverless taxis roaming your city, ready to pick you up and take you to your destination at a moment’s notice. While this may seem fantastical, it may be only a matter of time before it becomes reality. And according to a new study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, such a system would both be cost-effective and greatly reduce per-mile emissions of greenhouse gases.

Released: 24-Jun-2015 1:05 PM EDT
Berkeley Lab Scientists to Develop Better Way to Screen Chemicals for Cancer-Causing Effects
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Berkeley Lab scientists are developing a cell culture that could help researchers better identify chemicals that increase breast cancer susceptibility. The scientists will grow the culture using adult stem cells obtained from breast tissue. Their test will show if a chemical causes a breakdown in cell-to-cell communication, which is a fundamental defect of cancer.

Released: 16-Jun-2015 12:00 PM EDT
Automating Microbial Genome Sequence Decontamination
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A study in The ISME Journal describes a tool called ProDeGe developed by U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) scientists that is the first computational protocol for quick and automated removal of contaminant sequences from draft microbial genomes.

Released: 15-Jun-2015 4:00 PM EDT
What the Blank Makes Quantum Dots Blink?
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Quantum dots promise an astounding range of applications, if scientists can conquer their annoying habit of blinking. Researchers computing at NERSC recently ran simulations that offer new insights into the problem.

Released: 8-Jun-2015 4:05 PM EDT
North to Alaska: Researchers Rush to Understand Warming Trend
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Berkeley Lab scientist Sebastien Biraud and Margaret Torn are leading an aerial campaign for DOE’s Atmospheric Measurement Research (ARM) Climate Research Facility over Alaska’s North Slope to take air samples and find out why current climate models underestimate how rapidly the Arctic is getting warmer.

Released: 1-Jun-2015 1:05 PM EDT
Using Robots at Berkeley Lab, Scientists Assemble Promising Antimicrobial Compounds
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

There’s an urgent demand for new antimicrobial compounds that are effective against constantly emerging drug-resistant bacteria. Two robotic chemical-synthesizing machines at the Molecular Foundry have joined the search.

Released: 1-Jun-2015 6:00 AM EDT
Meraculous: Deciphering the ‘Book of Life’ With Supercomputers
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A team of scientists from Berkeley Lab, JGI and UC Berkeley, simplified and sped up genome assembly, reducing a months-long process to mere minutes. This was primarily achieved by “parallelizing” the code to harness the processing power of supercomputers.

Released: 26-May-2015 4:50 PM EDT
The Future of Energy Looks Bright at Berkeley Lab
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The Solar Energy Research Center (SERC), renamed to Chu Hall, opened today at Berkeley Lab. It will house laboratories and offices devoted to photovoltaic and electro-chemical solar energy systems designed to improve on what plants do and make transportation fuels. The building houses the lab’s programs in the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP) and the Kavli Energy NanoSciences Institute. The three-story, nearly 40,000 square-foot, building cost $59 million will house approximately 100 researchers and was named after former Berkeley Lab Director Steven Chu, who went on to become U.S. Energy Secretary.

19-May-2015 1:00 PM EDT
Supernova Hunting with Supercomputers
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Using a "roadmap" of theoretical calculations and supercomputer simulations performed by Berkeley Lab's Daniel Kasen, astronomers observed a flash of light caused by a supernova slamming into a nearby star, allowing them to determine the stellar system from which a Type Ia supernova was born. This finding confirms one of two competing theories about Type Ia supernovae birth.

Released: 18-May-2015 1:00 PM EDT
Moore Foundation Funds Berkeley Lab Researchers for Promising New Technique for Studying Materials
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A novel X-ray scattering concept by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (Berkeley Lab) Advanced Light Source (ALS) is receiving support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation in the amount of $2.4M.

Released: 14-May-2015 12:05 PM EDT
CLAIRE Brings Electron Microscopy to Soft Materials
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Berkeley Lab researchers, working at the Molecular Foundry, have invented a technique called “CLAIRE” that extends the incredible resolution of electron microscopy to the non-invasive nanoscale imaging of soft matter, including biomolecules, liquids, polymers, gels and foams.

Released: 12-May-2015 12:05 PM EDT
Using Microbial Communities to Assess Environmental Contamination
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A study sponsored by ENIGMA, a DOE “Scientific Focus Area Program” based at the Berkeley Lab has found that statistical analysis of DNA from natural microbial communities can be used to accurately identify environmental contaminants and serve as quantitative geochemical biosensors.



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