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Polar vortices observed in ferroelectric

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Berkeley Lab researchers have observed polar vortices in a ferroelectric material that appear to be the electrical cousins of magnetic skyrmions. This discovery holds intriguing possibilities for advanced electronic devices and could also rewrite our basic understanding of ferroelectrics.

Journal: Nature
Funder: US Department of Energy's Office of Science

Scientists discover protein's starring role in genome stability, and possibly cancer prevention

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A protein called XPG plays a previously unknown and critical role helping to maintain genome stability in human cells. It may also help prevent breast, ovarian, and other cancers associated with defective BRCA genes.

Journal: Molecular Cell

Putting silicon 'sawdust' in a graphene cage boosts battery performance

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists have been trying for years to make a practical lithium-ion battery anode out of silicon, which could store 10 times more energy per charge than today's commercial anodes and make high-performance batteries a lot smaller and lighter. But two major problems have stood in the way: Silicon particles swell, crack and shatter during battery charging, and they react with the battery electrolyte to form a coating that saps their performance.

Journal: Nature Energy
Funder: Battery Materials Research program of the Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Office

Simplifying solar cells with a new mix of materials

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An international research team has simplified the steps to create highly efficient silicon solar cells by applying a new mix of materials to a standard design. Arrays of solar cells are used in solar panels to convert sunlight to electricity.

Journal: Nature Energy

Uncovering hidden microbial lineages from hot springs

DOE/Joint Genome Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Although global microbial populations are orders of magnitude larger than nearly any other population in, on or around the planet, only a fraction has been identified thus far. In a Nature Communications study published Jan; 27, 2016, a team led by researchers at the DOE Joint Genome Institute, a DOE Office of Science User Facility, utilized the largest collection of metagenomic datasets to uncover a completely novel bacterial phylum that they have dubbed "Kryptonia."

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

Seagrass genome sequence lends insights to salt tolerance

DOE/Joint Genome Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In the Jan. 27, 2016 issue of Nature, a team including DOE Joint Genome Institute researchers describe the first genome of a marine flowering plant: the eelgrass Zostera marina. Coastal seagrass ecosystems cover some 200,000 square kilometers. They account for an estimated 15 percent of carbon fixed in global ocean, and also impact sulfur and nitrogen cycles. Though seagrasses are key players in coastal marine ecosystem functions, they are also endangered.

Journal: Nature
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Moore Foundation funds Berkeley Lab for next-generation accelerators

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Grant and Award Announcement

Berkeley Lab researchers will receive $2.4 million from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to develop compact free electron lasers that will serve as powerful, affordable x-ray sources for scientific discovery. This new technology could lead to portable and high-contrast x-ray imaging to observe chemical reactions, visualize the flow of electrons, or watch biological processes unfold.

Funder: Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Explore galaxies far, far away at internet speeds

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Scientists have released an 'expansion pack' for a virtual tour of the universe that you can enjoy from the comfort of your own computer. The latest version of the publicly accessible images of the sky, which can be viewed using an interactive Sky Viewer tool, roughly doubles the size of the searchable universe from the project's original release in May.

Seeing the big picture in photosynthetic light harvesting

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Berkeley Lab scientists have created the first computational model that simulates the light-harvesting activity of thousands of antenna proteins that would interact in the chloroplast of an actual leaf. The results point the way to improving the yields of food and fuel crops, and developing artificial photosynthesis technologies for next generation solar energy systems.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: US Department of Energy's Office of Science

Weaving a new story for COFS and MOFs

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An international collaboration led by Berkeley Lab scientists has woven the first 3-D covalent organic frameworks (COFs) from helical organic threads. The woven COFs display significant advantages in structural flexibility, resiliency and reversibility over previous COFs.

Journal: Science
Funder: US Department of Energy's Office of Science