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Physical and Life Sciences
CERN teams, including LLNL researchers, win 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
In 2012, the ATLAS and CMS collaborations at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN jointly announced the discovery of the Higgs boson — a missing piece in the Standard Model of particle physics. Since beginning work, the teams have also observed never-before-seen quark states, ruled out different theories of new physics, and studied the properties of quark-gluon plasma,…
Simulating hot-spot formation in insensitive high explosives
When high explosives are subjected to sudden shock waves, such as from an impact or detonation, tiny regions of intense heat — called hot spots — form at microstructural defects such as pores. These hot spots play a critical role in determining whether the explosive will initiate and fully detonate. Understanding how hot spots form and behave across length scales is key to…
LLNL and Sandia host hydrogen partner event at Livermore Open Campus
True to its mission, Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC) recently hosted a public-facing event where scientists and tech-transfer professionals from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Sandia National Laboratories engaged with external companies open to exploring partnership opportunities in hydrogen technologies. The event featured an industry partner forum…
New nucleotide database could improve microbe identification for science and medicine
Imagine creating a comprehensive, searchable index for a library containing hundreds of millions of books — a task that would take a single person a lifetime to complete. Now imagine discovering that many of these books contain mislabeled pages or paragraphs written by different authors than those credited. This dual challenge — creating an efficient system to quickly…
Probing deflagration to better understand detonation
Suddenly, there’s a flash of intense light and heat, followed by a rapidly expanding fireball. Combustion of high explosives is everywhere in popular culture, and it's also critical for ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. stockpile. While detonations often get all the credit in combustion, deflagrations — their subsonic, less famous precursors — are also…
LLNL’s Jennifer Pett-Ridge named 2024 AAAS fellow
Jennifer Pett-Ridge is a biogeochemist who likes to ‘dig deep’ into the soil. She knew early on that she wanted to pursue environmental science and has now become one of the world’s foremost experts in soil ecology and carbon cycling. Now, Pett-Ridge will be recognized as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest…
LLNL’s Aleksandr Noy named 2025 Materials Research Society fellow
Aleksandr Noy, a senior research scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), has been named a 2025 fellow of the Materials Research Society (MRS). The fellowship recognizes sustained contributions and dedication to the advancement of materials research and is a lifetime recognition of distinction in the field. The committee recognized Noy for his “seminal…
LLNL scientists use AI to optimize antibodies against mutations and accelerate pandemic preparedness
Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), in collaboration with other leading institutions, have successfully used an AI-driven platform to preemptively optimize an antibody to neutralize a broad diversity of SARS-CoV-2 variants. This pioneering approach, published in the journal Science Advances, represents a significant leap in the fight against…
Innovating antibody design driven by artificial intelligence
Dr. Dante Ricci, a scientist in the Synthetic Biology group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), is at the forefront of revolutionizing medical countermeasure development through artificial intelligence (AI).
Emilie Dunham shoots for the stars
What if we could determine what material built our solar system, how old it is, and even the type of star it came from? Emilie Dunham, postdoctoral researcher in the Nuclear and Chemical Sciences Division at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), is exploring the answers to these very questions, all while following a childhood passion. Dunham, a 2023 Lawrence…
A brighter future for the Jupiter Laser Facility
Since the 1970s, the Janus laser, now part of the Jupiter Laser Facility (JLF), has served as an experimental proving ground to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) laser and fusion programs and the broader high-energy-density and laser science communities. Today, JLF is not only home to Janus — one of the world’s few hands-on laser platforms producing…
LLNL scientists take new approach to understanding protein-membrane interactions
Proteins interacting with cell membranes play a vital role in countless biological processes, from how cells communicate to how they respond to external signals like hormones or medications. Understanding these interactions at a molecular level is crucial for advancing medicine, especially in designing drugs that target these proteins. A recent study, led by Lawrence…
Linking brain inflammation to long-COVID and other neurological conditions
Inflammation has long been linked to neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer’s) and psychiatric disorders (e.g., depression). More recently, long-COVID—a condition where symptoms persist long after the initial COVID-19 infection—has been associated with elevated levels of inflammation in the brain. People with long-COVID often report brain fog, memory problems, and…
Inspired by nature, proteins pick out mission-critical metals
Rare-earth elements are essential for many electronic, energy and advanced defense technologies. In particular, they are required for key national defense systems as well as permanent magnets in cell phones. However, most of the mining and processing of rare-earth elements happens in China, and establishing a domestic supply chain is a priority. Turns out, advanced…
Prominence of LLNL Laser Science on Display at NIF-JLF User Groups Meeting
This year’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) and Jupiter Laser Facility (JLF) User Groups Meeting, held from February 11–13, highlighted the progress made to capitalize on and sustain NIF’s capabilities as well as the scientific advancements made in JLF’s first full year of operations following a major refurbishment.
Lithium hydride for advanced technologies
A group of materials scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have made significant progress in developing a scalable and efficient method to produce dense lithium hydride (LiH), a material with immense potential for use in nuclear fusion, long-term human space travel, and thermal energy storage. In nuclear fusion, LiH has the potential to serve as a…
Mapping cosmic shear to illuminate dark energy
Gravitational lensing often evokes images of a cosmic funhouse mirror: duplicated galaxies, dramatic arcs and distorted shapes. But the web-like, large-scale structure throughout the universe also bends light in a weaker, less obvious way. This phenomenon, known as cosmic shear, can provide clues about the role of dark energy in shaping the universe. In a recent study…
Mimicking nature’s biological membrane channels
Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the University of Washington (UW) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have successfully designed and tested de novo (from the beginning) synthetic protein channels that mimic the natural precision of biological membrane pores. Their research, appearing on the front cover of the January 2025 issue…
‘Science on Saturday’ heads to Tracy in March
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL's) popular outreach series, “Science on Saturday,” will continue its programming in 2025 with the theme “Up in the Air” at the Grand Theatre Center for the Arts in Tracy, California. Designed to engage middle- and high-school students, the event will take place on Saturday, March 22, starting at 10 a.m. and lasting for one…
Mapping immune cell response to Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus
Researchers in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Bioscience and Biotechnology Division have made significant progress in understanding how our immune systems respond to the Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV), a highly infectious pathogen and weaponizable biothreat that causes neurological disease in humans. The research, published in Frontiers in…
