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Portable CT scanner joins hunt for alternative energy

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists have developed the world's first x-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner capable of examining entire core samples at remote drilling sites. The portable device, which employs the same high-resolution imaging technology used to diagnose diseases, could help researchers determine how to best extract the vast quantities of natural gas hidden under the world's oceans and permafrost.

Funder: US Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory

Astrophysicists simulate comet X-ray emissions in laboratory

DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Physicists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have produced X-ray emissions in a laboratory setting by recreating the conditions that exist when solar winds collide with gases surrounding comets.

NIF project sets records for laser performance

DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recently produced 10,400 Joules or 10.4 kiloJoules (kJ) of ultraviolet laser light in a single laser beamline, setting a world record for laser performance.

Secrets of drug resistance revealed

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Scientists from the DOE Office of Science's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have obtained high-resolution images that offer insight on how bacteria survive attacks from antibiotics. The images were published in the May 9, 2003, issue of Science.

Secrets of drug resistance in bacteria

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In the race to stay one step ahead of drug-resistant bacteria, scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have obtained high-resolution images of a protein complex, found in bacteria, that repels a wide range of antibiotics.

Journal: Science
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, Howard Hughes Medical Instutute

A fiery debate about volcanoes

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a debate in the pages of Science magazine, geochemist Don DePaolo and geodynamicist Michael Manga of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Berkeley defend the view that deep mantle plumes underly Earth's major hotspots, against arguments from recent seismological findings that would seem to suggest otherwise.

Journal: Science

SLAC experiment identifies new subatomic particle

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's BaBar experiment have identified a new subatomic particle--Ds (2317)--which appears to be an unusual configuration of a "charm" quark and "strange" anti-quark. A scientific paper detailing this discovery has been submitted to Physical Review Letters.

JGI and Diversa Corp. announce large-scale microbial sequencing collaboration

DOE/Joint Genome Institute
Business Announcement

The U.S. Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and Diversa Corporation (Nasdaq: DVSA) today announced a collaboration to discover and sequence novel microbial genomes found in a diverse range of unique habitats. By studying their DNA, scientists hope to find ways to use microbes to develop new pharmaceutical and agricultural products, energy sources, industrial processes, and solutions to a variety of environmental problems.

Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, Office of Science

Phylogenetic shadowing: Apes and monkeys are helping scientists to understand the human genome

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed a new technique called "phylogenetic shadowing" that helped them identify a gene, found only in primates, that indicates the risk of heart disease.

SLAC experiment identifies new subatomic particle

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The BaBar experiment presented evidence for a new subatomic particle at the DOE's Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. Initial studies indicate an unusual configuration of a 'charm' quark and a 'strange' anti-quark. These unexpected properties will provide insight into the force that binds the quarks together. SLAC has a long tradition of discovery in the physics of charm quarks, beginning with the Nobel-prize-winning discovery of the first such particle in 1974.

Journal: Physical Review Letters