Back
Physical and Life Sciences
Study lays groundwork for arthritis prevention
Joint injury can lead to post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). In fact, about half of all people who rupture the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in their knee will develop PTOA within 10 to 20 years of the injury.But the molecular and cellular mechanisms leading to cartilage degeneration or PTOA due to trauma are not well understood.Recently, a team of scientists from…
Researcher cracks top 10 in 'most creative' list
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory chemist Dawn Shaughnessy has been named No. 9 on Fast Company’s Top 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2016.Shaughnessy is the principal investigator of the Heavy Element Group, where she has worked as a nuclear and radiochemist since 2002. In December 2015, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry added three new…
LLNL energy guru returns from Washington
Julio Friedmann never tired of seeing the monuments, memorials, the Capitol, the Mall, meetings in the West Wing of the White House and other historic buildings. As principal deputy assistant secretary for Fossil Energy for the Department of Energy since November 2013, Friedmann was on assignment in Washington, D.C., from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He returned…
Zavarin named Director of Glenn T. Seaborg Institute
Mavrik Zavarin has been named the new Director of The Glenn T. Seaborg Institute (GTSI) in the Physical & Life Sciences Directorate. In this capacity, Mavrik will continue to develop the GTSI's mission to carry out cutting-edge research in areas key to LLNL's Nuclear Security and Energy & Environment mission areas, with an emphasis on providing opportunities for…
Lab plays role in striking view of Mercury transit
Around 13 times per century, Mercury passes between Earth and the sun in a rare astronomical event known as a planetary transit. The 2016 Mercury transit occurred on May 9 between roughly 4:12 a.m. and 11:42 p.m. PDT.NASA's stunning video of the transit of Mercury across the sun was made possible in part by work done by Lawrence Livermore scientists. Regina Soufli, a…
Research finds clues to uncanny electrical conductivity in Earth's mantle
A team of scientists, including one at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), has found that the dehydration of chlorite is likely to be crucial in explaining the anomalously high electrical conductivity observed in the Earth’s mantle.The high electrical conductivity (EC) in the mantle wedge regions between depths of 40 and 100 km is often attributed to the aqueous…
DOE awards grants to early-career researchers
The Department of Energy on Tuesday named two Lawrence Livermore National Lab scientists among the winners of the prestigious DOE Office of Science’s Early Career Research Program (ECRP) awards, granting them up to $500,000 per year for five years.Félicie Albert, an experimental plasma physicist at the National Ignition Facility and expert in ultrafast X-ray sources and…
LLNL biodetection system bound for space
A biological detection system developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists that has found more than a dozen applications soon will be used in tests reaching a new frontier — outer space.The Lawrence Livermore Microbial Detection Array (LLMDA) is a versatile tool that has been employed for all kinds of studies, from analyzing the purity of infant…
Americans used less energy in 2015
Americans used less energy overall in 2015 than the previous year, according to the most recent energy flow charts released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.Each year, the Laboratory releases energy flow charts that illustrate the nation's consumption and use of energy. Overall, Americans used 0.8 quadrillion BTU, or quads, less in 2015 than in 2014 (a BTU or…
Lights, camera, action: Researchers develop method to measure crystalline equation of state
Beginning in the 19th century, scientists developed equations of state (EoS) to describe how material properties such as volume or internal energy are affected by intensive pressure or temperature. Experiments are conducted to determine the volume a sample occupies at various pressure-temperature conditions. But what happens when a suitable experimental technique does not…
Climate models underestimate global warming by exaggerating cloud 'brightening'
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Yale University have found that climate models are aggressively making clouds "brighter" as the planet warms. This may be causing models to underestimate how much global warming will occur due to increasing carbon dioxide. The research appears in the April 8 edition of Science.As the atmosphere warms, clouds become…
Tiny tubes move into the fast lane
For the first time, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers have shown that carbon nanotubes as small as eight-tenths of a nanometer in diameter can transport protons faster than bulk water, by an order of magnitude.The research validates a 200-year old mechanism of proton transport.A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. By comparison, the diameter of a…
Reducing Reliance on Critical Materials
High-technology products, from car motors to fluorescent lighting, often rely on small amounts of scarce raw materials that possess key properties, such as strength, thermal resistivity, and magnetism.
Early and Mid-Career Scientists Recognized
Eight PLS researchers have been named to LLNL's second annual Early and Mid-Career Recognition (EMCR) Program. "Recognizing and encouraging early and mid-career technical staff is a key element in our strategy for retaining talent," Director Bill Goldstein said. "This program rewards employees at this stage in their careers who are exceptionally accomplished and show…
Scientists pump up batteries with metal oxides
Material scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have found certain metal oxides increase capacity and improve cycling performance in lithium-ion batteries.The team synthesized and compared the electrochemical performance of three graphene metal oxide nanocomposites and found that two of them greatly improved reversible lithium storage capacity.The research…
New gas-signature models can help inspectors locate and identify underground nuclear tests
Through experiments and computer models of gas releases, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have simulated signatures of gases from underground nuclear explosions (UNEs) that may be carried by winds far from the point of detonation.The work will help international inspectors locate and identify a clandestine UNE site within a 1,000 square kilometer search…
Atmospheric carbon-14 measurements reveal natural production rate by cosmic rays
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have measured the carbon-14 isotope (14C) produced by cosmic rays in the stratosphere and found its production rate is less than most previous estimates.The team, led by Kristie Boering of the University of California, Berkeley and including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists, measured the 14C content of…
Shaving time to test antidotes for nerve agents
A simulation for drug-membrane permeability developed at LLNL increases the development speed for nerve-agent treatmentsImagine you wanted to know how much energy it took to bike up a mountain, but couldn’t finish the ride to the peak yourself. So, to get the total energy required, you and a team of friends strap energy meters to your bikes and ride the route in a relay,…
Lab researchers hunt for clues in transmission of deadly Middle Eastern respiratory virus
Lawrence Livermore Lab researchers have used new genetic sequencing technology and bioinformatics analysis to define how a novel and deadly respiratory virus changes when it passes from one host to another.The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), an RNA virus related to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), can cause serious respiratory illness,…
Researcher sheds light on ocean observations
Oceanographer Paul Durack of the Laboratory’s Program for Climate Modeling and Intercomparison (PCMDI) recently opined about the importance of ocean salinity observations and needed urgent attention for the ocean observing system in the journal, Nature Climate Change. The global water cycle — where, when and how it rains, and the corresponding changes to water availability…
