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Biosciences and Biotechnology
Deactivating coronavirus on N95 respirators for reuse
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers are studying ways to safely and rapidly remove viral threats from N95 respirators, without compromising the device’s fit and its ability to filter airborne particles, so they can be reused. As seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, a shortage of personal protective equipment, including surgical masks and respirators,…
Second skin protects against chem, bio agents
Recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of chemical weapons in the Syria conflict have provided a stark reminder of the plethora of chemical and biological threats that soldiers, medical personnel and first responders face during routine and emergency operations. Personnel safety relies on protective equipment which, unfortunately, still leaves much to be…
New study aims to reduce osteoarthritis after injury
Gaby Loots and Aimy Sebastian (both BBTD) are embarking on a new five-year research project to identify ways to prevent post-traumatic osteoarthritis (OA) in knees and other joints as part of a $2.3 million grant awarded to UC Davis by the National Institutes of Health. Previous research shows that OA, or the breakdown of cartilage and other joint tissues, can be triggered…
LLNL’s new machine learning platform generates novel COVID-19 antibody sequences for experimental testing
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers have identified an initial set of therapeutic antibody sequences, designed in a few weeks using machine learning and supercomputing, aimed at binding and neutralizing SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The research team is performing experimental testing on the chosen antibody designs. Currently, treating…
Lab antibody, anti-viral research aids COVID-19 response
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists are contributing to the global fight against COVID-19 by combining artificial intelligence/machine learning, bioinformatics and supercomputing to help discover candidates for new antibodies and pharmaceutical drugs to combat the disease. See the visualization Backed by five high performance computing (HPC) clusters…
Injury-induced joint degeneration accelerated in older animals
Aging and injury are two major risk factors for osteoarthritis (OA), yet very little is known about how aging and injury interact and contribute to OA disease development. In a new study, researchers from LLNL, UC Merced, and UC Davis Medical Center examined age- and injury-related molecular changes in mouse knee joints that could contribute to OA. Using RNA sequencing,…
Lab teams recognized by Secretary of Energy awards
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…
Researchers Set to Decode Biological Circuitry That Drives Peak Performance and Resilience
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…
Understanding effects of tissue-specific extracellular matrix molecules on brain cells
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…
Designing sensors for environmental uranium detection
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…
Barrier membrane demonstrates biosensing platform protection
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…
Computational and Experimental Models Combine in Science on Saturday Program
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.)…
Using nanoSIMS to study virus structure
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…
Optimizing nanoparticles for in vivo applications
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…
Antimicrobial resistance on the International Space Station
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…
Biomedical Technology Accelerates into ‘Science on Saturday’ Program
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…
‘Science on Saturday’ lecture combines biomedical and computational power to decode rabies
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,…
