A team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and collaborators from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and Sun Yat-Sen University have developed a new class of aerogel electrodes with a simultaneous boost in energy and power density. The research could be a boon for the energy storage industry. “This is the first example in which we were…
Former Secretary of Energy Rick Perry recognized Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) staff with six Secretary’s Honor Awards at a ceremony at Department of Energy (DOE) headquarters. The Secretary’s Honor Awards are bestowed on teams that have achieved a singular accomplishment that demonstrates a high level of performance and dedication to public service. As his…
DARPA’s Measuring Biological Aptitude (MBA) program begins and ends with the men and women of the United States military. The program — first announced in January 2019 — centers on how service members can access the potential of their own biological systems to achieve peak results across a range of military specializations, and aims for a detailed understanding of how…
In vitro organ-on-a-chip experimental platforms hold great promise to predict human biology and human-relevant responses to chemical and biological stimuli. LLNL scientists and engineers are working to more faithfully recapitulate the brain microenvironment on multi-electrode arrays to study brain activity. In an article recently published in Scientific Reports, Livermore…
The ability to detect uranium (U) through environmental monitoring is of critical importance for informing water resource protection and nonproliferation efforts. While technologies exist for environmental U detection, wide-area environmental monitoring—sampling coverage over large areas not known to possess U contamination—remains a challenging prospect that necessitates…
Biological signaling mechanisms often involve small molecules, ions, and protons, and facile in situ monitoring of the levels of these species is vital for medical diagnostics. Even the simplest signals, such as intracellular pH level, can provide important information. Of all biosensing platforms, electrical sensors represent the best opportunity to develop implantable…
LLNL scientists Nick Be (left) and Tim Carpenter describe the computational (in silico) methods and experimental (in vitro and in vivo) techniques used to speed up the therapeutic drug optimization process. The combination of these methods creates a pipeline to help scientists test more therapeutics at a lower cost. (Photo by Joanna Albala/LLNL Science Education Program.)…
Understanding the behavior of metal ions in room temperature ionic liquids is essential for predicting and optimizing performance for technologies like metal electrodeposition. A recent paper by Livermore researchers describes a first-principles molecular dynamics simulations approach to understanding and comparing the key structural properties metal ions (Cu+ and Ag+) in…
Because of their size, lack of symmetry, structural heterogeneity, and high molecular weight, most large animal and human viruses are not amenable to typical analytical techniques, such as x-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance analyses, or fine-scale reconstruction by cryo-electron microscopy. In a recently published paper in Analytical Chemistry, NACS and BBTD…
For several years, Lawrence Livermore has been developing a novel class of nanoparticles for biomedical applications that are highly biocompatible and offer advantages that other nanoparticle types do not. These nanoparticles, termed nanolipoprotein particles (NLPs), consist of a phospholipid bilayer stabilized by an apolipoprotein scaffold protein and are lab-made…
In an effort to minimize antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threat to astronauts, who may be immunocompromised and thus at a greater risk of infection from pathogens, a comprehensive study of the International Space Station “resistome” was conducted by a team of scientists from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, LLNL, the Naval Medical Research Center, and AlloSource. Using a…
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) educational outreach program Science on Saturday returned in February for a season of Marvelous Machines. Held annually at the Bankhead Theater in downtown Livermore, the lecture series offers local students and the public a peek into LLNL’s recent research. In a February 10 presentation titled “Biomedical Accelerator Mass…
That mascara that your colleague is wearing may contain components from a microorganism. Detergents, also known as surfactants, are used extensively in the cosmetics, oil, food, agriculture, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Their sales are projected to reach $42 billion by 2020. The majority of surfactants are petrochemicals, i.e. are synthesized from petroleum…
On February 11, hundreds filled the Bankhead Theater in downtown Livermore for a presentation titled “Reconstructing a Rabies Epidemic: Byte by Byte.” As part of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) educational outreach program Science on Saturday, the interactive lecture featured biomedical scientist Monica Borucki, bioinformatics scientist Jonathan Allen,…
A team of researchers from Lawrence Livermore and UC Davis have found that covering an implantable neural electrode with nanoporous gold could eliminate the risk of scar tissue forming over the electrode’s surface.The team demonstrated that the nanostructure of nanoporous gold achieves close physical coupling of neurons by maintaining a high neuron-to-astrocyte surface…
LIVERMORE, Calif. – The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently selected Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to join a collaborative research team that intends to build the world’s first neural system to enable naturalistic feeling and movements in prosthetic hands.Known as Hand Proprioception and Touch Interfaces (HAPTIX), the program seeks to…
Ever wonder what it's like to tap into the human brain? Or did you ponder about the best ways to understand neurological diseases and functions such as memory? Did you know tiny neural devices can potentially help patients see, hear and move?Vanessa Tolosa, an engineer at LLNL's Center for Bioengineering, will be answering those questions and more on the popular social…
LIVERMORE, Calif. - The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) a grant today to develop an electrode array system that will enable researchers to better understand how the brain works through unprecedented resolution and scale.LLNL's grant-funded project is part of NIH's efforts to support President Obama's BRAIN (Brain…
LIVERMORE, Calif. - The Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) up to $2.5 million to develop an implantable neural device with the ability to record and stimulate neurons within the brain to help restore memory, DARPA officials announced this week.The research builds on the…
LIVERMORE, Calif. - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recently received $5.6 million from the Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop an implantable neural interface with the ability to record and stimulate neurons within the brain for treating neuropsychiatric disorders.The technology will help doctors to better understand…