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Selenium Soil Contamination: Possible New Approach Identified

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A promising alternative means to immobilize selenium contamination in soil and sediment has been identified by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Green rust, a harmless natural iron oxide, was shown to chemically react with toxic selenium, converting it to a safer elemental form.

Journal: Science
Funder: U.S. Department of Energy

Fluid From Earth's Mantle Weakens The San Andreas Fault

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Geochemist Mack Kennedy of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has discovered that the San Andreas Fault is intimately connected with processes very deep in the Earth. Ratios of helium isotopes in fluids from the fault zone show that much of the fluid can have come only from Earth's mantle.

Journal: Science
Funder: U.S. Department of Energy

Mystery Of Vital Cell Protein Solved After 30 Years

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A 30-year quest to solve the structure of one of the most important types of proteins in a living cell has been achieved. Scientists with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have created the first 3-dimensional atomic model of tubulin, a protein that makes possible such vital life processes as cell division and the movement of materials within cells.

Journal: Nature

Distant Exploding Stars Foretell Fate Of The Universe

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New studies of exploding stars in the farthest reaches of deep space indicate that the universe will expand forever, according to findings of the Supernova Cosmology Project, an international team of astrophysicists based at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Journal: Nature
Funder: Department of Energy; National Science Foundation
Meeting: American Astronomical Society

Cellular Engineers Design Custom Cell Surfaces Able To Adhere To Synthetic Materials

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers have found a new way to plant artificial markers on the surfaces of living cells. With these markers, cell surfaces can be engineered to control cell adhesion to synthetic materials. Numerous potential uses include attaching nerve cells to nonbiological substrates and targeting cancer cells for selective binding to drugs or diagnostic probes.

Funder: U.S. Department of Energy

Atom-Sized Electronic Devices Identified Within Carbon Nanotubes

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have confirmed the existence of atom-sized electronic devices on nanotubes, hollow cylinders of pure carbon about 50,000 times more narrow than a human hair in diameter. Physicist Alex Zettl led a study in which nanotubes of pure carbon were shown to function as a two-terminal electronic device known as a diode.

Journal: Science
Funder: Department of Energy

Greenhouse Gas Options For Developing Countries Under Study

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists are helping the world's developing and transitioning nations explore ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A new report by this group examines the trend toward increasing GHG emissions in 14 developing nations, and how these nations may control the increases.

Funder: Asian Development Bank, United Nations

Shape Changes In Ceramic Particles: A Paradox Explained

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Equations that predict what will happen when compact ceramic powders are sintered -- heated just short of melting, until they coalesce -- assume the particles are spherical. On the contrary, as Alan Searcy and his colleagues at Berkeley Lab have demonstrated, these particles never lose their crystalline shapes. Uses of Searcy's new model include better high-temperature ceramics and layered semiconductors.

Journal: Journal of the American Ceramic Society
Funder: Department of Energy

Improved Solar Cell Efficiency In The Works

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Berkeley Lab researcher Scott McHugo has used the Lab's Advanced Light Source to study iron, copper, and nickel impurities at dislocations in polycrystalline silicon, the basic commodity in the manufacture of commercial solar cells. McHugo suggests economical methods for reducing impurities which can lead to increased solar cell efficiency and profitability.

Journal: Applied Physics Letters

New Process Coats Computer Hard Drives With Diamond Armor

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab researchers have devised a method of magnetically filtering plasmas produced by cathodic-arc deposition, allowing the deposition of 85% diamond-like carbon films less than 10 nanometers thick. This "diamond armor" allows closer contact between computer hard disks and sliders (reader heads), promising greater data density.

Journal: Optical Data Processing and Storage