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Physical and Life Sciences
Microfabricated thin-film electrodes show therapeutic promise
Earlier this year, thin-film microgrid arrays developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and used in neurologist Jon Kleen’s patients at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) showed that hippocampal brain activity consisted of waves that traveled bi-directionally during behavioral tasks. These thin-film microgrid arrays are designed not just to…
Radiation to cancer patients in a ‘FLASH’
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have shown for the first time the potential for linear induction accelerators (LIAs) to deliver effective, targeted doses of “FLASH” radiation to cancer patients. The new technique selectively kills cancer cells with minimal damage to healthy cells. The approach is outlined in a Scientific Reports paper. For…
Playing it safe: LLNL scientist creates energetic compounds with isotopic labels
Ana Racoveanu is able to do something most others throughout the nuclear security enterprise cannot do — something challenging and extremely valuable throughout the complex. Racoveanu, a staff scientist in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Materials Science Division, is able to synthesize energetic compounds with isotopic labels. The primary goal of this work is to…
Research looks at entropy generation from hydrodynamic mixing in ICF experiments
Research conducted at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is taking a closer look at entropy — the measure of internal energy per unit temperature that is unavailable for doing useful work — in experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Work by LLNL physicist Peter Amendt is highlighted as an Editor’s Pick in Physics of Plasma, showing that an added…
HPC for Energy Innovation issues new solicitation for clean energy projects
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) High Performance Computing for Energy Innovation (HPC4EI) initiative, managed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is seeking proposals for projects that can leverage DOE supercomputing to advance clean energy technologies. The fall 2021 solicitation targets industry partners for collaborations with DOE national laboratories that…
Soil carbon storage rocks on
Rock weathering controls the potential for soil carbon storage at a continental scale. New research from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and collaborators found that rock weathering — the process of chemical transformation by long exposure to water and the atmosphere — boosts soil organic carbon storage by altering soil mineralogy. The research appears in the…
Livermore Lab Foundation, Lawrence Livermore National Lab launch carbon education and outreach program
Helping the general public and students learn about carbon neutrality, the options for carbon dioxide removal, as well as the effects of climate change, is the focus of the Carbon Cleanup Initiative, a unique public awareness partnership from the Livermore Lab Foundation (LLF) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). “We are proud to partner with the scientists…
LLNL-led team uses machine learning to derive black hole motion from gravitational waves
The announcement that the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) had detected gravitational waves during the merger of two black holes sent ripples throughout the scientific community in 2016. The earthshaking news not only confirmed one of Albert Einstein’s key predictions in his general theory of relativity, but also opened a door to a better…
Human-caused climate change increases wildfire activity
The western United States has experienced a rapid increase of fire weather as the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) increases in the area during the warm season. New research by scientists at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) shows that two-thirds (approximately 68 percent) of the increase in VPD is due to human…
Disorder in surface materials key to better hydrogen storage
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have found that atomic disorder in certain boron-based hydrogen storage systems can potentially improve the rate of hydrogen uptake. Metal boride surfaces and their single-layer variants — known as borophenes — are generally thought to feature a regular arrangement of atoms at low to moderate temperatures. The LLNL…
Survivor salmon persist through drought and ocean warming
In drought years and when marine heat waves warm the Pacific Ocean, the rare late-migrating juvenile spring-run Chinook salmon of California’s Central Valley are the survivors. They are among the few salmon that return to spawning rivers in those difficult years to keep their populations alive, according to results published today in Nature Climate Change. The trouble is…
Polymer Production Enclave Puts Additive Manufacturing on the Fast Track
Since its establishment, Lawrence Livermore has played a critical role in designing components for the Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE), and more recently, in developing additively manufactured polymer parts to replace aging weapons stockpile parts.
LLNL researchers garner three awards among top 100 industrial inventions
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and engineers have collected three awards among the top 100 industrial inventions worldwide. The trade journal R&D World Magazine announced the winners of the awards, often called the “Oscars of invention,” during a three-day virtual ceremony — Oct. 19-21 — and on the magazine’s website. With this year’s results,…
New hydrogen storage material steps on the gas
Hydrogen is increasingly viewed as essential to a sustainable world energy economy because it can store surplus renewable power, decarbonize transportation and serve as a zero-emission energy carrier. However, conventional high-pressure or cryogenic storage pose significant technical and engineering challenges. To overcome these challenges, Lawrence Livermore National…
Tube-in-tube structure going strong
Similar to grass stems, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have created nanostrut-connected tube-in-tubes that enable stronger low-density structural materials. Porous materials with engineered stretching-dominated lattice designs, which offer attractive mechanical properties with ultra-light weight and large surface area for wide-ranging applications…
PLS postdocs battle it out at the 2021 Research Slam!
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) fifth annual Research Slam! took place virtually on October 6th and featured 14 LLNL postdocs, 9 of which represented the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate (PLS). Over 300 people logged on to attend the live two-hour event, enthusiastically cheering for their favorite postdocs in the comment section. Each finalist was…
Cancer therapies and nuclear material detection get a boost from newly discovered protein
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Penn State scientists have demonstrated how a protein can be recovered and purified for radioactive metals like actinium that could be beneficial for both next-generation drugs used in cancer therapies and the detection of nuclear activities. Radioactive metals hold unique and essential places in a variety of medical…
Lawrence Livermore Research Slam! winners advance to Bay Area competition
The top winners of the recent Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Research Slam!, a speaking competition for postdocs, will advance to the Bay Area Research SLAM set for Thursday, Oct. 28. The Bay Area Research SLAM! is a collaboration between the Bay Area’s national labs (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, LLNL, Sandia National Laboratories and SLAC National…
LLNL engineers deliver final optical components for world’s newest telescope: the Vera C. Rubin Observatory
For much of the past decade, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers have been designing major optical components for the world’s newest telescope, while their industrial partners have fabricated the components. Now, with the September shipment of the last of six optical filters for the telescope’s camera to the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in…
Three LLNL scientists honored as APS fellows
Three Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) physicists have been selected as 2021 fellows of the American Physical Society (APS). The new fellows represent a selection of physics expertise, ranging from intense laser-matter interactions and inertial fusion energy science to leading the development of edge simulation models and codes to pioneering new regimes of…
