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Physical and Life Sciences
U.S. scientists celebrate Nobel Prize for Higgs discovery
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in physics today to theorists Peter Higgs and Francois Englert to recognize their work developing the theory of what is now known as the Higgs field, which gives elementary particles mass.U.S. scientists, including researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), played a significant role in…
LLNL scientists pioneer the use of established technology for analyzing uranium ore concentrate samples
A team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers has pioneered the use of a long-standing technology for a new application -- analyzing the chemical composition of uranium samples.In a paper published as the cover story in the September edition of Applied Spectroscopy , the Laboratory scientists describe the first reported use of near-infrared…
HPC's potential to transform bioscience explored at conference
The latest generation of high performance computers has the potential to transform the biomedical field in ways unthinkable just a few years ago.That was the theme that emerged from the "Current Challenges in Computing 2013: Biomedical Research" conference, or CCubed, held earlier this month in Napa. Sponsored by IBM with support from the Laboratory, the meeting brought…
Physicist Jim Hammer receives prestigious Edward Teller Award
Jim Hammer, a physicist in the Weapons and Complex Integration Directorate (WCI) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is a recipient of the 2013 Edward Teller Medal.The Fusion Energy Division of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) presented the award recently during the International Inertial Fusion Science Applications (IFSA) conference in Nara, Japan. Hammer was…
LLNL hosts plasma physics summer school
Three students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) participated in a two-week plasma physics summer school at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The course, "Introduction to the Analysis of Spectra from High-Temperature Plasmas," was a concentrated introduction to the study of astrophysical plasmas, magnetic fusion plasmas and laser…
It's a shock: Life on Earth may have come from out of this world
A group of international scientists including a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher have confirmed that life really could have come from out of this world.The team shock compressed an icy mixture, similar to what is found in comets, which then created a number of amino acids - the building blocks of life. The research appears in advanced online publication…
Researchers from Lawrence Livermore, Florida company plan to demonstrate bioenergy technology
Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Florida-based Chemergy Inc. plan to demonstrate an innovative bioenergy technology that converts wastewater treatment plant byproducts into hydrogen gas to produce electricity. The $1.75 million project will demonstrate an integrated system on a limited industrial scale at the Delta Diablo Sanitation…
Association between virus, bladder cancers detected using Lawrence Livermore technology
A Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)-developed biological detection technology has been employed as part of an international collaboration that has detected a virus in bladder cancers.The research, performed in conjunction with scientists from the University of Split in Croatia, LLNL and the University of Jordan in Amman is believed to be the first study to…
Early solar system garnet-like mineral named for Livermore cosmochemist
A recently discovered mineral appears to be clear but may have a tinge of light blue. No matter its color, you won't be able to make earrings from it.For one, you can't see the material with the naked eye. Hutcheonite, recently named after Lawrence Livermore meteorite researcher Ian Hutcheon, can be seen only with high powered scanning electron microscopes.Known also by…
Lawrence Livermore scientists make new discoveries in the transmission of viruses between animals and humans
Outbreaks such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS) have afflicted people around the world, yet many people think these trends are on the decline.Quite the opposite is true.The efforts to combat this epidemic are being spearheaded by a team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists. Led by…
Lab researchers achieve record pressure for solid iron
Iron is the most abundant element in Earth's core and the sixth most abundant element in the universe. As a key component of terrestrial planets and exoplanets, iron has been one of the most studied materials under extreme conditions.In a series of campaigns led by the Lab's Yuan Ping using the OMEGA laser at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) at the University of…
Microbial who-done-it for biofuels
One of the keys to commercialization of advanced biofuels is the development of cost-competitive ways to extract fermentable sugars from lignocellulosic biomass. The use of enzymes from thermophiles -- microbes that thrive at extremely high temperatures and alkaline conditions -- holds promise for achieving this development. Finding the most effective of these microbial…
Lawrence Livermore celebrates 25 years of carbon dating
From developing the first accelerator mass spectrometer for use in the biology field to tracking radionuclides from the Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster, the Laboratory's Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (CAMS) has spent 25 years in the spotlight of not only dating ancient artifacts but solving global challenges.CAMS is celebrating its 25th anniversary this…
Carbon dating impacts non-proliferation, drug research and climate change
Research conducted at the Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (CAMS) spans the universe, the depths of time and everything in between. Although not all elements and isotopes are able to be utilized by AMS, CAMS' researchers make the most of what nuclear physics has given them.Here is a sampling of some of the many ways CAMS is utilized, along with the important…
Laboratory academy provides teachers with 'real world' context to teach science
LIVERMORE, Calif., - California and Hawaii teachers seeking real-world knowledge to teach biotech and computational modeling are attending the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) Teacher Research Academy that began on July 22.The academy is a summer-long series of professional development workshops for teachers and enrichment programs for students. The programs…
Underwater survival story presents physics puzzle
When Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory physicist Maxim Umansky flipped through the news, a startling underwater survival story caught his attention. In May, a boat cook survived a 60-hour underwater ordeal 100 feet below the surface after his tugboat sank near the Nigerian coast.Harrison Okene's survival underwater while the rest of the crew perished was astounding…
Livermorium goes down in the history books
Laboratory employees and city officials celebrated the discovery of the two heaviest elements on the periodic table -- 114, Flerovium, and 116, Livermorium -- during a daylong celebration Monday. The day started with a colloquium hosted by the Laboratory, titled "Elemental Science: Livermorium and the Periodic Table," with distinguished lecturers in the Bldg. 123…
Livermore scientists capture crystallization of materials in nanoseconds
Lawrence Livermore researchers for the first time have created movies of irreversible reactions that occur too rapidly to capture with conventional microscopy.The team used multi-frame, nanosecond-scale imaging in the dynamic transmission electron microscope (DTEM) to create movies of the crystallization of phase change materials used for optical and resistive memory. A…
Livermore develops the world's deepest ERT imaging system for CO2 sequestration
LIVERMORE, Calif.-- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have broken the record for tracking the movement and concentration of carbon dioxide in a geologic formation using the world's deepest Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT) system.The research provides insight into the effects of geological sequestration to mitigate the impact of greenhouse gases.The…
Weapons testing data determines brain makes new neurons into adulthood
LIVERMORE, Calif. -- Using data derived from nuclear weapons testing of the 1950s and '60s, Lawrence Livermore scientists have found that a small portion of the human brain involved in memory makes new neurons well into adulthood.The research may have profound impacts on human behavior and mental health. The study supports the importance of investigating the therapeutic…
