News By Location

News from CA

Select a state to view local articles and features

Berkeley Lab deploys next-gen supercomputer, perlmutter, bolstering US scientific research

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

On May 27, the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center at Berkeley Lab unveiled its next-generation supercomputer, Perlmutter, named in honor of the Lab's Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist Saul Perlmutter. The new system will play a key role in advancing scientific research in the U.S. and is front and center in a number of critical technologies, including advanced computing, artificial intelligence, and data science.

We've got the dirt on soil protists

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Among the large cast of microbiome players, bacteria have been hogging the spotlight. But the single-celled organisms known as protists are finally getting the starring role they deserve.

Journal: Microbiome

How x-rays could make reliable, rapid COVID-19 tests a reality

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Vaccines are turning the tide in the pandemic, but the risk of infection is still present. Instant at-home tests would help us return to normal, but current options aren't very accurate. A new discovery could help get reliable tests on the market.

Journal: mAbs

'Cool walls' get a boost from US Green Building Council

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Business Announcement

Sunlight-reflecting 'cool walls' have been shown to reduce energy costs by lowering heat gain in buildings. But they do more - reflective walls can also cool cities, fighting the urban heat island effect. The concept has new support from the US Green Building Council (USGBC), which has issued a pilot credit for the installation of cool exterior walls in new homes, schools, and commercial buildings to mitigate urban heat islands.

Successful start of dark energy spectroscopic instrument follows record-setting trial run

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Business Announcement

A five-year quest to map the universe and unravel the mysteries of "dark energy" is beginning officially today, May 17, at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. To complete its quest, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will capture and study the light from tens of millions of galaxies and other distant objects in the universe.

Limit global warming to 1.5°C and halve the land ice contribution to sea level this century

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A new study predicts that sea-level rise could be halved this century (from today to 2100) if we meet the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. This work combines nearly 900 simulations, including some of Berkeley Lab Computational Scientist Dan Martin's BISICLES models of Antarctic ice sheets.

Supernovae twins open up new possibilities for precision cosmology

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Cosmologists have found a way to double the accuracy of measuring distances to supernova explosions - one of their tried-and-true tools for studying the mysterious dark energy that is making the universe expand faster and faster.

Journal: The Astrophysical Journal

First nanoscale look at a reaction that limits the efficiency of generating hydrogen fuel

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Transitioning to a hydrogen economy will require massive production of cheap, clean hydrogen gas for fuel and chemical feedstocks. New tools allow scientists to zoom in on a catalytic reaction that's been a bottleneck in efforts to generate hydrogen from water more efficiently.

Journal: Nature
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

First detailed look at how charge transfer distorts a molecule's structure

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

When light hits certain molecules, it dislodges electrons that then move from one location to another, creating areas of positive and negative charge. This "charge transfer" is highly important in many areas of chemistry, photosynthesis and semiconductor devices and solar cells. A new study reveals how a molecule's structure changes as charge is redistributed, with some chemical bonds getting longer and some shorter, before finally relaxing back into its original state.

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

Science snapshots From Berkeley Lab

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Science Snapshots From Berkeley Lab - Water purification, infant-warming device, cuff-based heart disease monitor, ancient magnetic fields

Journal: Science

34
35
36
37
38