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Lawrence Livermore researchers find wind power not enough to affect global climate

DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Though there is enough power in the earth's winds to be a primary source of near-zero emission electric power for the world, large-scale high altitude wind power generation is unlikely to substantially affect climate.

Journal: Nature Climate Change

Rust never sleeps

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A multi-institutional team led by scientists at Berkeley Lab have directly observed electron hopping in iron oxide particles, a phenomonon that holds huge significance for a broad range of environment- and energy-related applications.

Journal: Science
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, Office of Science, National Cancer Institute

Forcing the molecular bond issue

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry developed a first-of-its-kind model for providing a comprehensive description of the way in which molecular bonds form and rupture. This model enables researchers to predict the "binding free energy" of a given molecular system, a key to predicting how that molecule will interact with other molecules.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Synchronized lasers measure how light changes matter

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

How matter responds to light lies at the core of vision, photosynthesis, solar cells, and many other fields of scientific and practical import. But until now, it hasn't been possible to see just how light does it. A team led by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has used SLAC's Linac Coherent Light for the first demonstration that x-ray and optical wave mixing reveals both structure and evolving charge states on the atomic scale.

Journal: Nature
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Nutrition tied to improved sperm DNA quality in older men

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study led by Berkeley Lab scientists found that a healthy intake of micronutrients is strongly associated with improved sperm DNA quality in older men. In younger men, however, a higher intake of micronutrients didn't improve their sperm DNA.

Journal: Fertility and Sterility
Funder: NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Supernovae of the same brightness, cut from vastly different cosmic cloth

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The multi-institutional Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) team presents the first-ever direct observations of a Type 1a supernova progenitor system. Astronomers have collected evidence indicating that the progenitor system of a Type 1a supernova, called PTF 11kx, contains a red giant star. They also show that the system previously underwent at least one much smaller nova eruption before it ended its life in a destructive supernova.

Journal: Science
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, NASA, National Science Foundation

Berkeley Lab scientists develop new way to study inner workings of algae cells

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Berkeley Lab scientists have developed a way to send molecules and proteins across the cell wall of algae, a feat that opens the door for a new way to study and manipulate these tiny organisms. The research could advance the development of algae-based biofuels, pharmaceuticals, and other useful compounds.

Speeding the search for better carbon capture

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Berkeley Lab researchers helped develop the first computational model to accurately predict the interactions between flue gases and a special variety of the carbon dioxide-capturing molecular systems known as metal-organic frameworks. This new model should greatly accelerate the search for new low-cost and efficient ways to burn coal without exacerbating global climate change.

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

Marine species at risk unless drastic protection policies put in place

DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Many marine species will be harmed or won't survive if the levels of carbon dioxide continue to increase. Current protection policies and management practices are unlikely to be enough to save them. Unconventional, non-passive methods to conserve marine ecosystems need to be considered if various marine species are to survive.

Journal: Nature Climate Change

Good vibrations

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Using a unique optical trapping system that provides ensembles of ultracold atoms, Berkeley Lab scientists have recorded the first direct observations of distinctly quantum optical effects -- amplification and squeezing -- in an optomechanical system. Their findings point the way toward low-power quantum optical devices and enhanced detection of gravitational waves among other possibilities.

Journal: Nature
Funder: Office of Scientific Research (Grant FA8655-09-1-3065);MH15750 training fellowship UCLA, US Air Force Research Laboratory, National Science Foundation