Researchers have discovered that bacteria can acquire genetic information from viruses and other foreign invaders, which is then stored in their own genome as an immune system. The key proteins, Cas1 and Cas2, recognize repeating sequences in the CRISPR loci and target them for spacer insertion.
Scientists capture first detailed images of ultra-small bacteria, average volume of 0.009 cubic microns, with unique internal structure and metabolism. The discovery sheds light on the role of microbes in climate, food and water supply, and ecosystems.
Researchers from Berkeley Lab measured atmospheric carbon dioxide's increasing capacity to absorb thermal radiation over an eleven-year period at two locations in North America. They found a significant uptick in radiative forcing due to CO2 levels, primarily linked to fossil fuel emissions.
Researchers from Berkeley Lab presented on severe weather events in a changing climate, novel technologies for exploring uncultivated microorganisms, and future of accelerators. They also discussed battery innovations and what to expect from the LHC's second run.
A new study by Berkeley Lab reveals how calcium ions trigger the folding and binding of S-layer protein nanosheets, enabling the self-assembly of complex two- and three-dimensional structures. The findings have potential applications in creating nanostructured arrays for various materials.
Scientists at Berkeley Lab have developed a new design tool to predict the nonlinear optical properties of metamaterials. This breakthrough enables efficient design and creation of high-performance materials for applications such as coherent Raman sensing, entangled photon generation, and frequency conversion.
The study introduces a novel approach to growing nanowires using metal-alloy catalysts, allowing for more control over their light-emitting and electronic properties. By adjusting the concentration of nickel and gold in the catalyst, researchers can precisely manipulate the orientation of the nanowires.
Berkeley researchers create nano-sized optical antenna that boosts spontaneous light emission by 115 times, enabling faster LED technology for microchips and alternative applications. The innovation has the potential to replace lasers for short-distance optical communications.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have discovered a new pathway to valleytronics by selectively controlling photoexcited electrons/hole pairs in different energy valleys. This technique, based on the use of circularly polarized femtosecond light pulses, enables ultrafast manipulation of valley excitons for quantum information applications.
A new model suggests California will meet its 2020 GHG reduction goal, with potential for 40% reductions by 2030. The state's policies are expected to result in significant emission reductions, with individual policies quantified for the first time.
Researchers discover cluttered jumble of randomly oriented nanocrystallites at interface, impeding charge-carrier mobility and device performance. A novel microscopy technique reveals the role of solution-processing methods in creating optimal film structures.
Scientists at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have developed a new method to synthesize graphene nanoribbons from pre-designed molecular building blocks, enabling the creation of width-varying nanoribbons with enhanced properties. This breakthrough represents progress towards controllably assembling molecules into desired shapes.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have observed piezoelectricity in a free-standing single layer of molybdenum disulfide, a potential successor to silicon. The discovery has the potential to lead to tunable piezo-materials and devices for extremely small force generation and sensing.
Researchers have made a breakthrough in understanding liquid electrolytes used in lithium-ion batteries. They found that the actual solvation environment of lithium ions is non-tetrahedral, contrary to previous predictions. This discovery could lead to more efficient and better-performing electrolytes.
Scientists successfully reversed magnetization direction in a multiferroic device using an electric field, overcoming thermodynamic barriers. The two-step switching process relies on ferroelectric polarization and oxygen octahedral rotation.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab discover that Roman volcanic ash-lime mortar binds fragments with a durable calcium-alumino-silicate mineral, preventing microcracks from propagating and preserving cohesion. This finding has significant environmental advantages over modern Portland cement-based concretes.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab achieved a world record energy for laser-plasma accelerators, accelerating electrons to 4.25 giga-electron volts in just 9-centimeter long plasma tube. The setup marks a significant breakthrough in particle acceleration technology, offering potential for shrinking traditional accelerators.
The new journal ASCMO addresses the need for an outlet to publish statistical methodology work in climate change and atmospheric/oceanic applications. It will feature accessible articles on scientific advances and statistical methods for interdisciplinary researchers.
Researchers developed a new X-ray spectroscopy technique called SWAPPS, combining standing-wave and ambient-pressure photoelectron spectroscopy to study heterogeneous interfaces with sub-nanometer resolution. This allows for the measurement of elemental and chemical composition with enhanced sensitivity in narrow interfacial regions.
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Joint BioEnergy Institute have successfully increased the production of methyl ketones in E. coli bacteria by 160-fold, a significant improvement over previous results. The breakthrough could lead to the development of clean and renewable blending agents for diesel fuel.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab found that proper copper levels modulate spontaneous neural activity in developing circuits, which is critical for brain health and development. The study highlights the importance of managing copper levels to prevent misregulation of signaling in cell-to-cell communications.
Researchers mapped p53 binding sites in human cancer and normal cells, finding the protein binds selectively to repeat sequences in cancer cells. This suggests p53's role in maintaining genomic stability and tumor suppression is context-dependent.
A new computer model developed by researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory predicts that warming temperatures will return less soil carbon to the atmosphere than previously thought. The model takes into account the complex interactions between soil microbes and their surroundings, which vary over time and place.
A recent study using supercomputers has improved the accuracy of global climate models, reproducing intense storms like hurricanes and cyclones. High-resolution models provide a more realistic simulation of local weather patterns, especially in mountainous regions.
Researchers have used synthetic biology to produce affordable alternatives to anti-malaria drugs, clean fuels, and pharmaceuticals. The technology has the potential to reduce costs by up to 85% for future long-duration space missions, including those to Mars and the Moon.
Researchers from Berkeley Lab have developed a new method to create immortal human mammary epithelial cells with normal genomes. This breakthrough could facilitate the examination of cell immortalization as it occurs in cancer development and potentially lead to new therapeutic approaches.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have developed a method to produce graphene nanopores with integrated optical antennas, enabling direct optical DNA sequence detection. This approach opens new avenues for simultaneous electrical and optical nanopore DNA sequencing and regulating DNA translocation.
A new study by Berkeley Lab researchers found that thirdhand smoke continues to have harmful health effects for many hours after a cigarette has been extinguished. The study, which assessed levels of volatile organic compounds and airborne particles, found that particulate matter accounted for 90% of the health damage.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have developed a novel method for creating symmetry-breaking optical metamaterials by using a feedback mechanism to self-assemble colloidal nanorods in solution. This breakthrough solves the problem of achieving large-scale symmetric breaking, allowing for new properties and applications.
Researchers discovered that open oceans are less efficient at emitting far-infrared energy than sea ice, leading to warmer oceans and melting sea ice. This phenomenon contributes significantly to the polar climate's warming trend, with simulations predicting a 2-degree Celsius increase in the Arctic climate after just 25 years.
Scientists at Berkeley Lab have developed a unique microring laser cavity that can produce single-mode lasing even from conventional multi-mode laser cavities. This breakthrough holds implications for optical metrology, interferometry, data storage, spectroscopy, and communications.
Researchers at CUORE collaboration achieve temperatures approaching absolute zero to study neutrinos, ghostlike particles crucial for matter's existence. The cooled chamber will house an ultra-sensitive detector for rare process called neutrinoless double-beta decay.
Joint Bioenergy Institute researchers improve isopentenol tolerance and production in E.coli, a key step towards cost-effective microbial biofuel production. The study identifies two genes, MetR and MdlB, that improve isopentenol production by 55% and 12%, respectively.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have observed the molecular structure of liquid water at a gold surface under different charging conditions using XAS. The team developed a method to determine the arrangement changes of molecules depending on the voltage, shedding light on battery performance and materials science.
Researchers have gained valuable new information about carbonic acid, a critical intermediate species in the equilibrium between carbon dioxide, water, and minerals. The study's findings provide detailed insights into the hydration properties of aqueous carbonic acid, benefiting the development of carbon sequestration technologies.
The Department of Energy's ESnet is deploying four new high-speed transatlantic links, delivering a total capacity of 340 Gbps to support dozens of scientific collaborations. The new infrastructure will enable ultra-fast access to scientific data from the Large Hadron Collider and other research sites in Europe.
Mg-ion batteries may provide improved safety and cost, but their development has been hindered by misconceptions. New findings from Berkeley Lab's Joint Center for Energy Storage Research suggest that multivalent ions like Mg can still move through electrolytes more efficiently than thought.
Berkeley Lab researchers used trARPES to measure the ultrafast response of electron self-energy to photo-excitation in a high-temperature superconductor. The results show a link between electron-boson coupling and superconductivity.
A team of researchers has demonstrated a means by which CRISPR/Cas9 can be programmed to recognize and cleave RNA at sequence-specific target sites. This allows for direct RNA transcript detection, analysis and manipulation, paving the way for transformative studies in RNA function.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have refined the measurement of a key property of quark-gluon plasma, revealing new insights into its ultra-hot, frictionless nature. The findings provide clues to the state of the young universe immediately after the big bang.
Researchers used simulations to study primordial supermassive stars that may have exploded as supernovae, leaving no black hole behind. This process could create a distinct observational signature detectable by upcoming telescopes and enrich their host galaxy with heavy elements.
MaxBin facilitates genomic analysis of uncultivated microbial populations by automatically sorting their genomes from metagenomic sequences. The software uses an expectation-maximization algorithm to classify metagenomic sequences into discrete bins representing individual microbial species.
Researchers have discovered a crucial role of electronic and geometric effects in reducing carbon dioxide using gold-copper bimetallic nanoparticles. This breakthrough could lead to unprecedented improvements in electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab set a new record for X-ray microscopy, achieving resolutions of five nanometers using soft X-rays and ptychography. This breakthrough enables the visualization of chemical phase transformations and mechanical consequences at the nanoscale.
Researchers discovered excitonic dark states in single-layer tungsten disulfide monolayers, revealing intense many-electron effects in 2D semiconductors. This finding holds promise for exploiting unusual light-matter interactions and enabling better designs of heterostructures.
Researchers have created a high-entropy alloy that exhibits exceptional damage tolerance, tensile strength and fracture toughness values, even improving its properties at cryogenic temperatures. The alloy's unique nano-twinning phenomenon contributes to its remarkable mechanical behavior.
Scientists create two-dimensional biomimetic materials with customizable properties, forming at an oil-water interface. The new development enables designing peptoid nanosheets of increasing structural complexity for various applications.
Three analyses compare how human, worm, and fruit fly genomes are read out and organized into chromosomes, adding billions of entries to a publicly available archive. Scientists discovered common features that apply to all organisms, offering insights into human development and disease.
Scientists at Berkeley Lab and SLAC used a 'photon science speedway' to collect and analyze 114 terabytes of data on photosynthesis in just five days. The work led to new insights into how nature splits water molecules during photosynthesis, a key step towards developing artificial solar energy.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have observed ultrafast charge transfer in MX2 materials, a new family of 2-D semiconductors. The recorded charge transfer time is comparable to the fastest times for organic photovoltaics, opening up potentially rich new avenues for photonics and optoelectronics.