News By Location

News from CA

Select a state to view local articles and features

Study finds a way to prevent fires in next-generation lithium batteries

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a study that could improve the safety of next-generation batteries, researchers discovered that adding two chemicals to the electrolyte of a lithium metal battery prevents the formation of dendrites -- 'fingers' of lithium that pierce the barrier between the battery's halves, causing it to short out, overheat and sometimes burst into flame.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: The Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (a Department of Energy Innovation Hub)

Automating microbial genome sequence decontamination

DOE/Joint Genome Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Single cell genomics and metagenomics have helped researchers assess environmental microbial community structure and function. To help speed up the time-consuming sequence decontamination process of microbial genomes in public databases, a US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute team has developed the first computational protocol for quick and automated removal of contaminant sequences from draft genomes and describe it in a study published online June 9, 2015, in The ISME Journal.

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

Unravelling the mysteries of carbonic acid

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Berkeley Lab researchers report the first detailed characterization of the hydration structure of carbonic dioxide gas as it dissolves in water to form carbonic acid. Though carbonic acid exists for only a fraction of a second, it imparts a lasting impact on Earth's atmosphere and geology, and on the human body.

Journal: Chemical Physics Letters

What the blank makes quantum dots blink?

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Quantum dots promise an astounding range of applications, if scientists can conquer their annoying habit of blinking. Researchers computing at NERSC recently ran simulations that offer new insights into the problem.

Leaving on a biofueled jet plane

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the Energy Biosciences Institute have developed a catalytic process for converting sugarcane biomass into a new class of aviation fuel and lubricant base oils that could help biorefineries achieve net life-cycle greenhouse gas savings of up to 80 percent.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: Energy Biosciences Institute, BP

Newly discovered property could help beat the heat problem in computer chips

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

X-ray studies at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have for the first time observed an exotic property that could warp the electronic structure of a material in a way that reduces heat buildup and improves performance in ever-smaller computer components.

President Obama honors Claudio Pellegrini with Enrico Fermi Award

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Claudio Pellegrini, a visiting scientist and consulting professor at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and distinguished professor emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles, will receive the 2014 Enrico Fermi Award for his role in laying the scientific groundwork for the X-ray free-electron laser.

North to Alaska: Researchers rush to understand warming trend

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Business Announcement

Berkeley Lab scientists Sebastien Biraud and Margaret Torn are leading an aerial campaign for DOE's Atmospheric Measurement Research Climate Research Facility over Alaska's North Slope to take air samples and find out why current climate models underestimate how rapidly the Arctic is getting warmer.

Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Meraculous: Deciphering the 'book of life' with supercomputers

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A team of scientists from Berkeley Lab, JGI and UC Berkeley, simplified and sped up genome assembly, reducing a months-long process to mere minutes. This was primarily achieved by 'parallelizing' the code to harness the processing power of supercomputers, such as NERSC's Edison system.

Using robots at Berkeley Lab, scientists assemble promising antimicrobial compounds

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

There's an urgent demand for new antimicrobial compounds that are effective against constantly emerging drug-resistant bacteria. Two robotic chemical-synthesizing machines at the Molecular Foundry have joined the search.

Journal: Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy