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Scientists print nanoscale imaging probe onto tip of optical fiber

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team of researchers has developed a way to print a nanoscale imaging probe onto the tip of a glass fiber as thin as a human hair, accelerating the production of the promising new device from several per month to several per day. The high-throughput fabrication technique opens the door for the widespread adoption of this and other nano-optical structures, which squeeze and manipulate light in ways that are unachievable by conventional optics.

Journal: Scientific Reports

Finding a new major gene expression regulator in fungi

DOE/Joint Genome Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Changing a single letter, or base, in an organism's genetic code impact its traits. Subtler changes can and do happen: in eukaryotes, one such modification involves adding a methyl group to base 6 of adenine (6mA). In Nature Genetics, researchers report the prevalence of 6mA modifications in the earliest branches of the fungal kingdom. This little-explored realm provides a repertoire of important and valuable gene products for DOE missions in bioenergy and environment.

Journal: Nature Genetics
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Researchers develop a new catalyst for water splitting

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Water-splitting systems require a very efficient catalyst to speed up the chemical reaction that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, while preventing the gases from recombining back into water. Now an international research team, including scientists at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, has developed a new catalyst with a molybdenum coating that prevents this problematic back reaction and works well in realistic operating conditions.

FIONA to take on the periodic table's heavyweights

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A new tool at Berkeley Lab will be taking on some of the periodic table's latest heavyweight champions to see how their masses measure up to predictions.

Origin of Milky Way's hypothetical dark matter signal may not be so dark

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A mysterious gamma-ray glow at the center of the Milky Way is most likely caused by pulsars. The findings cast doubt on previous interpretations of the signal as a potential sign of dark matter.

Special delivery: First shipment of magnetic devices for next-gen X-ray laser

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The first shipment of powerful magnetic devices for a next-generation laser project arrived at their destination on Wednesday after a nearly 3,000-mile journey. Berkeley Lab is overseeing the development and delivery of these devices, called undulator segments.

Where scientist meets machine: A fresh approach to experimental design at SLAC X-ray laser

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Big leaps in technology require big leaps in design -- entirely new approaches that can take full advantage of everything the technology has to offer. That's the thinking behind a new initiative at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Berkeley Lab scientists discover new atomically layered, thin magnet

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Berkeley Lab scientists have found an unexpected magnetic property in a 2-D material. The new atomically thin, flat magnet could have major implications for a wide range of applications, such as nanoscale memory, spintronic devices, and magnetic sensors.

Journal: Nature
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Machine learning dramatically streamlines search for more efficient chemical reactions

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

In theory, a catalytic reaction may follow thousands of possible paths, and it can take years to identify which one it actually takes so scientists can tweak it and make it more efficient. Now researchers at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have taken a big step toward cutting through this thicket of possibilities.

Beyond femtoseconds

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Hopefully you've discovered this week how femtosecond science provides revolutionary views of some of nature's fastest phenomena. You now know how mind-bogglingly fast a femtosecond passes, and you might be thinking things couldn't get much faster. Well, let's talk about the attosecond.