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Proteomics study yields clues as to how tuberculosis might be thwarting the immune system

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A link between the immune system and the self-cleaning system by which biological cells rid themselves of obsolete or toxic parts may one day yield new weapons in the fight against tuberculosis and other deadly infectious diseases. Berkeley Lab researchers have discovered proteins residing in both systems that point to "cross-talk" between them.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, National Institutes of Health

News bits about qubits

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Another step towards quantum computing -- the Holy Grail of data processing and storage -- was achieved when an international team of scientists were able to store and retrieve information using the nucleus of an atom. Crucial to the success of this experiment were the exceptionally pure and isotopically controlled silicon crystals produced at Berkeley Lab.

Journal: Nature
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, US National Security Agency

Secret lives of catalysts revealed

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The first-ever glimpse of nanoscale catalysts in action could lead to improved pollution control and fuel cell technologies. Berkeley Lab scientists have observed catalysts restructuring themselves in response to various gases swirling around them, like a chameleon changing its color to match its surroundings.

Journal: Science
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Engineering nanoparticles for maximum strength

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Individual nanocrystals are remarkably strong. But under stress, complex nanostructures often fail because of large internal strains. Research on hollow nanospheres at the National Center for Electron Microscopy shows that engineering can greatly increase the strength of complex nanoparticles, with potential for stronger nanostructures and large-scale alloys as well.

Journal: Nature Materials
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Diatom genome helps explain success in trapping excess carbon in oceans

DOE/Joint Genome Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Diatoms have profound influence on climate, producing 20 percent of the oxygen we breathe by capturing atmospheric carbon and countering the greenhouse effect. These photosynthetic wonders have come to acquire advantageous genes from bacterial, animal and plant ancestors enabling them to thrive in today's oceans. These findings are published Oct. 15 in the journal Nature by researchers led by the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute and the Ecole Normale Supérieure of Paris.

Journal: Nature
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

New tools that model 3-D structure of amorphous materials to transform technology driven R&D

DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have accurately identified tools that model the atomic and void structures of a network-forming elemental material. These tools may revolutionize the process of creating new solar panels, flat-panel displays, optical storage media and myriad other technological devices.

Journal: Nature Materials

Team led by Livermore scientists helps to resolve long-standing puzzle in climate science

DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team led by Livermore scientists has helped reconcile the differences between simulated and observed temperature trends in the tropics.

Journal: International Journal of Climatology

Bold traveler's journey toward the center of the Earth

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The first ecosystem with only a single biological species has been discovered and its genome analyzed by a multi-institutional and multidisciplinary team. Living 2.8 km beneath the surface of the earth in the Mponeng gold mine near Johannesburg, South Africa, the rod-shaped bacterium Desulforudis audaxviator exists in complete isolation, total darkness, a lack of oxygen, and 60-degree-Celsius heat.

Journal: Science
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, NASA

Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley announce India energy R&D program

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Business Announcement

The US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley have announced a joint research and development program in which researchers will work with the government and private sector of India to develop paths toward reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases while maintaining sustained economic growth.

The structure of the Mre11 protein bound to DNA

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

DNA repair is critical for avoiding cancer and other diseases. A molecular machine called the MRN complex finds and signals double-strand breaks and initiates error-free repair by means of homologous recombination. Researchers at DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Scripps Research Institute have solved the structure of MRN's core protein, called Mre11, and learned how it does its job.

Journal: Cell
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, NIH/National Cancer Institute