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The who's who of spotted owls

DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory

A unique molecular biology study of endangered Mexican spotted owls nesting in the Jemez Mountains near Los Alamos National Laboratory is being conducted in the Lab's Bioscience Division and has revealed valuable information about levels of genetic diversity present within the owl population.

Shining a light on novel polymers

DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory

A rapidly growing field of research, recognized by a 2000 Nobel Prize in chemistry, focuses on electrically conductive plastic, once thought to be an impossibility.

Metabolite discovery allows for fast plant growth

DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory

A project that uses modern biotechnology to produce plants that grow faster, are more robust and contain more protein is ongoing in Los Alamos National Laboratory's Bioscience Division. The project stems from the discovery of a naturally occurring plant metabolite that allows plants to regulate their own nitrogen metabolism rates, resulting in plants that reach peak growth more rapidly because they fix more carbon dioxide.

Optical biopsy studied as breast cancer treatment aid

DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women aged 40-59 and was expected to total more than 45,000 deaths in the United States last year, according to the American Cancer Society. A Los Alamos National Laboratory-developed technology, the Optical Biopsy System (OBS), may aid in not only the diagnosis of breast cancer, but the success of the surgical treatment as well.

What may be world’s smallest mini-robot being developed at Sandia

DOE/Sandia National Laboratories
Peer-Reviewed Publication

What may be the world’s smallest robot — it "turns on a dime and parks on a nickel" — is being developed by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories.

Mag-train propulsion prototype funded: magnetic repulsion to drive train

DOE/Sandia National Laboratories
Grant and Award Announcement

A simpler, less expensive US alternative to the magnetically levitated (maglev) trains of Europe and Japan is now funded for development at Sandia National Laboratories. The system when completed is expected to decrease new highway construction, vehicle noise, atmospheric pollution, and other environmental degradations attendant on more highways and automobiles.

Funder: US Department of Transportation

Cheesecloth-like device bends light with little loss: May improve lasers, optical communications, photonic computers

DOE/Sandia National Laboratories
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A tiny bar that in appearance resembles cheesecloth has bent infrared beams with very little loss of light in laboratory experiments at Sandia National Laboratories. The simple, inexpensive, essentially two-dimensional artificial crystal may drastically reduce the energy needed to start and operate a laser, act as a wire for light, more efficiently relay optical signals, and ultimately help develop photonic chips.

Funder: Laboratory-Directed Research and Development

Sandia hoppers leapfrog conventional wisdom about robot mobility

DOE/Sandia National Laboratories
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A hopping machine inspired by the clumsy jumping of grasshoppers may soon give robots unprecedented mobility for exploring other planets, gathering war-fighting intelligence, and assisting police during standoffs or surveillance operations. The unique robot, developed by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories, uses a combustion-driven piston to make leaps as high as 20 feet.

Funder: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

Prosthetic limb to be controlled by microchip: Agreement signed to create ‘smart’ leg

DOE/Sandia National Laboratories
Grant and Award Announcement

"Smart" legs — entire smart lower limbs — to replace those amputated from tens of thousands of Americans yearly as a result of auto accidents, diabetes, or other causes are expected to be on the market in two years.Sensors and chips will be developed by Sandia National Laboratories. Materials work and testing will be performed by, strangely, the Russian nuclear weapons laboratory Chelyabinsk 70. Technical requirements for the limb will be set by the Seattle Orthopedic Group (SOGI).

Funder: Seattle Orthopedic Group, US Department of Energy

Sandia spins off company to commercialize microsystems technology

DOE/Sandia National Laboratories
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a "bold and important move," Sandia National Laboratories has spun off a private company, MEMX, Inc., to commercialize Labs-developed microsystems technology.