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Los Alamos National Laboratory's Bioscience Division researchers have developed technologies that can uniquely identify the origins of biological organisms based on information in the DNA.

We began the 20th century with very little knowledge of the molecules of life. For the first 50 years, researchers focused largely on trying to understand molecules' make up, wondering how molecules were able to do such mysterious things as pass on hereditary information.

Nitrogen, that colorless, odorless gas that makes up 80 percent of our air, is perfectly harmless as it's breathed in and out on land, but for underwater divers, it's the enemy.

They have been called the foundation of the biosphere, invisible yet essential. And now researchers know bacteria are unimaginably abundant but just don 't know exactly who they are.

In the summer of 2000, scientists around the world cheered as the effort to unravel the mystery of the human genome reached a milestone—a completed draft of the human genome sequence. The sequence is a set of instructions that determines individual characteristics ranging from the cosmetic, such as hair and eye color, to the medically important, such as susceptibility to disease and response to treatments.

Being able to rapidly detect biological agents is among the most difficult and yet urgent tasks facing the nation. Whether the threat is from a natural outbreak or a terrorist's release of threat agents, medical treatment cannot effectively begin without first identifying the bioagent. At the same time, effective understanding and response to a biological threat requires rapid communication across the health-care system.

As researchers around the world completed sequencing the human genome, scientists and researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory are setting their sights on a next logical step: understanding the function and complex interactions of the products of these genomes.

Proteins are the biological workhorses that make life possible. They provide structure, synthesize complicated chemicals, control the ability to move, help transmit neural impulses and perform countless other biological demands. Their ability to function properly is intimately tied to their structure—a complex arrangement of twists, loops, spirals and folds. Understanding this molecular origami is crucial in developing a fundamental understanding of molecular biology, designing disease-fighting drugs and repairing malfunctioning proteins.

Life’s molecules are made up from chemical building blocks that can be synthesized in a laboratory. The ability to synthesize these molecular components is extremely important in the quest for understanding the structures and functions of the biological macromolecules, DNA, RNA and proteins.

Los Alamos National Laboratory is collaborating on a new tool that will provide public health officials with an early warning and response system for threats to public health.