The Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) utilizes NERSC's tools to uncover relatively rare cosmic events like supernovae and gamma ray bursts, discovering over 40 in its commissioning phase. The survey combines automated analysis with high-end systems and networks, enabling rapid follow-up observations.
Researchers have successfully engineered a tunable bandgap in bilayer graphene, opening the way for nanoscale electronics and photonics. The breakthrough allows for precise control over the bandgap size and doping level, enabling new types of nanotransistors and nano-LEDs.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have developed a new ultra-dense memory chip that can store up to one trillion bits per square inch and retain data for over a billion years. The chip uses a crystalline iron nanoparticle shuttle enclosed within a multiwalled carbon nanotube.
A new study suggests that reducing gasoline emissions by just 10% can lead to substantial benefits for human health, particularly in urban areas. The study used a Life Cycle Impact Assessment to evaluate the potential impact of biofuels on human health and the environment.
A team of scientists and clinicians co-led by Joe Gray and Dennis Slamon will study three subtypes of breast cancer: estrogen receptor positive, HER2 positive, and triple negative. Their goal is to match a tumor's genetic profile with the best therapy, using cutting-edge biological, genomic, and computational techniques.
A team of researchers from Berkeley Lab has made a breakthrough in controlling the electric and magnetic properties of a multiferroic material by applying electric fields. The study uses calcium-doped bismuth ferrite film, creating p–n junctions that can be created, erased, and inverted with ease.
A new method has been found to accurately determine the intrinsic brightness of Type Ia supernovae, enabling better cosmic distance measurements. This breakthrough uses a spectroscopic ratio and eliminates uncertainty caused by intervening dust or host galaxy type.
Researchers measured carbon particles from plankton blooms in the Southern Ocean, finding most don't reach the deep ocean. Plankton blooms stimulate carbon capture, but carbon tied up in plankton doesn't sink far or fast.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have created a nanostructured silicon 'carpet cloak' that conceals objects from view, demonstrating invisibility in two dimensions. The all-dielectric material is easy to fabricate and scalable, paving the way for potential applications in microscopes and computers.
The US Department of Energy has funded a research center at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to study carbon storage underground. The Center aims to develop new technologies to sequester CO2 and manage fluid dynamics, chemical interactions, and biological reactions in the subsurface.
ESnet4 network provides highly reliable, high-bandwidth connectivity to support and advance the US scientific community. The award recognizes ESnet's efforts to meet the increasingly data-intensive demands of the DOE research community.
Scientists at Berkeley Lab create two-dimensional electron gas with controlled spin state, exhibiting persistent spin helix with infinite lifetime. This discovery could lead to more efficient spin transistors and other devices.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab used the world's most powerful transmission electron microscope to observe real-time carbon atom movement around a hole in graphene. The study found that zigzag configurations are more stable than armchair configurations, holding promise for predicting and controlling device stability.
The Deep Sky project develops a user-friendly database system and interface to serve high-resolution cosmic reference images to astronomers worldwide. This enables instant access to processed observations for analysis, facilitating research in various scientific disciplines.
Researchers have developed metallic glass alloys with improved fatigue resistance, surpassing conventional metal alloys in both strength and durability. The breakthrough involves introducing a second phase of crystalline metal within the glass, which acts as a local arrest point to prevent crack propagation.
Researchers have created a nano-sized cobalt oxide photocatalyst that can effectively split water molecules, a critical step towards producing liquid fuels from carbon dioxide and water. The clusters are sufficiently efficient and fast, making them suitable for artificial photosynthesis.
Researchers have developed a microbial-based method to produce artemisinin, the most powerful anti-malarial drug, at lower costs. This technology can restrict access to artemisinin and delay malaria parasite resistance.
Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory demonstrate a novel approach to assemble cells into three-dimensional, multicellular microtissues. By controlling cellular connections, they can create tissues with sophisticated properties, such as the stem-cell niche.
A team of researchers has discovered a way to turn the electrical resistance of a molecular junction 'on' and 'off' by manipulating its orientation, paving the way for the development of nanoscale electronic devices. The findings could lead to the creation of reliable switches for next-generation electronics.
Scientists have created unique microenvironment microarrays that reveal how adult stem and progenitor cells develop in a woman's breast. They found that the ultimate fate of these cells depends on signals from multiple microenvironments, suggesting a promising pathway for beneficial therapies.
The study found that average installed costs of US solar PV systems decreased significantly from $10.50 to $7.60 per watt between 1998 and 2007, with a 3.5% annual reduction in real dollars.
Researchers develop feature frequency profiles technique for organizing large sets of data, including nucleotide base sequences, books, and images. The method provides more comprehensive analysis over standard tools, correctly grouping works by category and author, and shedding new light on Shakespeare's authorship.
Research suggests that blocking RHAMM expression can selectively induce fat cell generation, replacing lost cells in the aging process and reducing deposits of unhealthy visceral fat. This technique could provide a non-surgical approach for wrinkle reduction and skin normalization.
Two studies tracked 31,000 runners for seven years and found that running reduced the risk of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. Vigorous exercise may be a key factor in preventing eye disease, particularly among men who ran more than 5.7 miles per day.
Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory create a novel technique to precisely modify recombinant proteins by introducing aldehyde tags. This breakthrough enables the labeling of therapeutic proteins in mammalian cells, paving the way for targeted treatments and improved pharmaceuticals.
Scientists used a DNA array to catalog microbes in coral reefs, finding diverse microbial populations accompanying disease. The PhyloChip offers a powerful way to track change and shed light on pathogens plaguing coral reefs.
Scientists have discovered a unique property of domain walls in bismuth ferrite, allowing them to conduct electricity at room temperature. This discovery could lead to the development of future electronic devices with shrunk logic and memory functions.
Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed a powerful new sputter process that can deposit high-quality metal films in complex nanoscale patterns. The method, called 'self-sputtering far above the runaway threshold,' uses short high-power pulses to create a dense plasma of metal ions.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab and Cal Tech have created a high-Q surface-plasmon-polariton whispering-gallery microcavity, enabling ultra-small device fabrication and strong light enhancement. This innovation paves the way for future nanolasers with applications in photonics and optical microchips.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have created ceramics that mimic mother of pearl, outperforming human-synthesized composites by 300 times in terms of toughness. The materials use a combination of alumina and polymer to dissipate strain energy and achieve remarkable strength and resistance to fracture.
A new study reveals that cellular senescence, a natural process for fighting cancer in younger persons, can actually promote cancer in older individuals by triggering the secretion of proteins that cause inflammation. This process is linked to almost every major disease associated with aging, including many cancers.
A team of Berkeley Lab researchers won a prestigious Gordon Bell Prize for their algorithm innovation in high-performance computing. They developed the Linearly Scaling 3D Fragment (LS3DF) method to efficiently simulate the behavior of nanostructures, achieving impressive performance and scalability.
A proteomics study has identified new proteins that facilitate communication between the immune system and the self-cleaning process, potentially leading to new treatments for tuberculosis. The research found that autophagy plays a crucial role in immune response, particularly against intracellular pathogens.
Researchers successfully stored and retrieved information using the nucleus of an atom, demonstrating a single atomic nucleus as quantum computational memory. The breakthrough enables faster processing speeds and longer memory times for quantum computing.
Researchers observed catalysts restructuring themselves in response to gases, gaining insight into their behavior during reactions. This new understanding enables the development of smart catalysts tailored to optimize chemical reactions.
Researchers create hollow spherical nanospheres that can withstand extreme stress and deform without losing strength, approaching the theoretical ideal shear strength. The spheres' geometry is engineered to reduce stresses at specific regions, allowing them to transfer stress more efficiently.
Researchers found a unique microorganism, Desulforudis audaxviator, living in complete isolation with no sunlight, oxygen, and extreme heat. The bacterium survives by harnessing energy from hydrogen and sulfate produced by radioactive decay of uranium, and has a remarkable genome with 2,157 protein-coding genes.
The structure of the Mre11 protein bound to DNA has been revealed, showing how it recognizes and remodels broken DNA strands. This breakthrough provides insight into the essential function of Mre11 in homologous recombination, a critical method for repairing double-strand breaks.
The IMPACTS program aims to understand possible mechanisms of abrupt climate change and build comprehensive computer models. Researchers focus on four types of ACC: marine ice sheet instability, positive feedback mechanisms in subarctic forests, methane hydrates destabilization, and biosphere-atmosphere feedback leading to megadroughts.
The survey uses baryon acoustic oscillations to measure the expansion of the universe. It will double the volume of space in which red luminous galaxies are studied, observing 10,000 square degrees of sky out to redshifts of z = 0.7.
A new report by scientists suggests that some of the most harmful air pollution in Mexico City originates from industrial sources, including garbage incineration. The study monitored air quality throughout the month of March 2006 and found metal-containing aerosols implicated in adverse health effects.
Scientists have created the world's first all-integrated sensor circuit based on nanowire arrays, combining light sensors and electronics made of different crystalline materials. The method can be used to reproduce numerous devices with high uniformity.
An international team produced two of the brightest, sharpest x-ray holograms of microscopic objects ever made, with resolutions of up to 50 nanometers. The technique used is called massively parallel x-ray Fourier-transform holography with 'coded apertures', inspired by the pinhole camera.
Researchers have used X-ray diffraction to create the first 3-D images of aerogel structures at nanometer-scale resolution. The study reveals a complex 'blob-and-beam' structure that explains the material's surprising strength and suggests ways to improve its properties.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have developed a nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) that can weigh individual gold atoms, measuring masses as small as two fifths of a gold atom in just over one second. The NEMS mass sensor uses carbon nanotubes and achieves sub-single-atom resolution at room temperature.
Scientists at Berkeley Lab have discovered an unexpected gap-like feature in graphene's energy spectrum, attributed to phonon interactions. This finding opens new possibilities for graphene nanodevices and applications.
Projected California warming promises a cycle of more heat waves and increased electricity demand for the state, raising the risk of power shortages during extreme heat events. The study predicts that widespread climate warming could strain the electricity grid, making brownouts or rolling blackouts more frequent.
Researchers measured changes in rock stress affecting seismic wave speed at depths where earthquakes occur, detecting 'preseismic' changes before two earthquakes. The findings could lead to a better understanding of fault-zone stress and improve earthquake prediction.
Researchers have invented a new DNA microarray technique that uses electrostatic repulsion to read and evaluate DNA or RNA assays without chemical labeling or sophisticated instrumentation. The technique can be carried out in minutes and has the potential to revolutionize medical diagnostics.
Researchers measured graphene's properties with unprecedented accuracy, confirming its unusual features and revealing significant departures from theoretical predictions. The results point to novel practical applications in nanoscale electronics.