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Using tiny organisms to unlock big environmental mysteries

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Biological processes that influence climate and the environment, such as carbon fixation or nitrogen recycling are parts of these planet-wide processes are actually driven by the tangible actions of organisms at every scale of life, beginning at the smallest: the microorganisms living in the air, soil, and water. And now Berkeley Lab researchers have made it easier than ever to study these microbial communities by creating an optimized DNA analysis technique.

Journal: mBio

When semiconductors stick together, materials go quantum

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team of researchers led by DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has developed a simple method that could turn ordinary semiconducting materials into quantum machines -- superthin devices marked by extraordinary electronic behavior that could help to revolutionize a number of industries aiming for energy-efficient electronic systems -- and provide a platform for exotic new physics.

Journal: Nature
Meeting: 2019 APS March Meeting

How to catch a magnetic monopole in the act

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team led by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has created a nanoscale 'playground' on a chip that simulates the formation of exotic magnetic particles called 'monopoles.' The study could unlock the secrets to ever-smaller, more powerful memory devices, microelectronics, and next-generation hard drives that employ the power of magnetic spin to store data.

Journal: Science Advances

Laser 'drill' sets a new world record in laser-driven electron acceleration

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Combining a first laser pulse to heat up and 'drill' through a plasma, and another to accelerate electrons to incredibly high energies in just tens of centimeters, scientists have nearly doubled the previous record for laser-driven particle acceleration at Berkeley Lab's BELLA Center.

Journal: Physical Review Letters

Researchers watch molecules in a light-triggered catalyst ring 'like an ensemble of bells'

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

An international team has used an X-ray laser at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to get an incredibly detailed look at what happens to the structure of a model photocatalyst when it absorbs light.

New molecular blueprint advances our understanding of photosynthesis

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have used one of the most advanced microscopes in the world to reveal the structure of a large protein complex crucial to photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunlight into cellular energy. The finding will allow scientists to explore for the first time how the complex functions, and could have implications for the production of a variety of bioproducts, including plastic alternatives and biofuels.

Journal: Nature

Lynbrook High wins 2019 SLAC Regional Science Bowl competition

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Twenty-eight teams from 17 Bay Area high schools faced off Feb. 9 in the SLAC Regional DOE Science Bowl, a series of fast-paced question-and-answer matches that test knowledge in biology, chemistry, physics, earth and space sciences, energy and math. The competition is hosted annually by the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

First direct view of an electron's short, speedy trip across a border

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Electrons flowing across the boundary between two materials are the foundation of many key technologies, from flash memories to batteries and solar cells. Now researchers have directly observed and clocked these tiny cross-border movements for the first time, watching as electrons raced seven-tenths of a nanometer -- about the width of seven hydrogen atoms -- in 100 millionths of a billionth of a second.

Preparing for a new tool to study the 'glue that binds us all'

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

For several decades, the nuclear science community has been calling for a new type of particle collider to pursue -- in the words of one report -- 'a new experimental quest to study the glue that binds us all.' This glue is responsible for most of the visible universe's matter and mass. To learn about this glue, scientists are proposing a unique, high-energy collider that smashes accelerated electrons, which carry a negative charge, into charged atomic nuclei or protons, which carry a positive charge.

New measurements of exotic form of magnesium suggest surprising shape-shift

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An international team led by scientists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has reproduced an exotic form of magnesium, known as magnesium-40, and gleaned new and surprising clues about its nuclear structure.

Journal: Physical Review Letters

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