Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory http://www.lbl.gov/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00 Science News from Berkeley Lab en-us Brain simulation wins Gordon Bell Prize http://www.lbl.gov/cs/Archive/news111609a.html Researchers from the IBM Almaden Research Center and Berkeley Lab have won a prestigious Gordon Bell Prize for performing the first near real-time cortical simulation of the brain that exceeds the scale of a cat cortex and contains 1 billion spiking neurons and 10 trillion individual learning synapses.

]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00 Lab invention fares well at 'Academy Awards of Clean Technology' http://www.cleantechopen.com/app.cgi/news/press_releases/23/view Lab materials scientist Peidong Yang’s company Alphabet Energy was voted “People’s Choice” winner and overall runner up at the Cleantech Open this week, competing among 70 other businesses. Alphabet Energy hopes to produce modules that will turn waste heat into electricity using silicon nanowires developed in Yang’s lab.

]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 1:20 UC appoints Paul Alivisatos director of Berkeley Lab http://www.lbl.gov/Publications/Director/ The University of California Board of Regents on Nov. 19 named Paul Alivisatos director of the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which is managed by the university. "Paul Alivisatos' scientific expertise and management experience have earned the respect and confidence of the lab staff, the academic community, the DOE, and other federal and industrial sponsors," said UC President Mark Yudof. "I am confident that Paul is the right leader for the Berkeley Lab at this pivotal point in its history. Under his leadership, Berkeley Lab will continue to make great contributions in science and to the world around us."

]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:45 Benchmarking tool will improve semiconductor energy efficiency http://newscenter.lbl.gov/press-releases/2009/11/18/fabs21-benchmarking-tool/ Berkeley Lab scientists, in cooperation with the International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative, are releasing for beta testing a computer-based tool to help the world’s semiconductor manufacturing facilities evaluate and improve their energy efficiency.

]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 9:30 Chromosomes dance, pair up on nuclear membrane http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/11/12_meiosis.shtml Meiosis is a major crossroads in all organisms reproducing sexually, yet how the cell precisely choreographs these chromosomal interactions is a long-standing mystery.

]]> Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:30 Vibrations hold key to green fluorescent protein http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/11/12_green_fluorescent.shtml Berkeley researchers, including Lab chemist Richard Mathies, have discovered the secret to the success of a jellyfish protein whose green glow has made it the darling of biologists and the subject of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

]]> Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:45 Researchers take the lead out of piezoelectrics http://newscenter.lbl.gov/press-releases/2009/11/13/lead-free-piezoelectrics/ There is good news for the global effort to reduce the amount of lead in the environment and for the growing array of technologies that rely upon the piezoelectric effect. A lead-free alternative to the current crop of piezoelectric materials has been identified by Berkeley researchers.

]]> Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:00 Berkeley Lab, China forge ties on carbon storage http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2009/11/12/carbon-capture-storage-china/ Berkeley Lab and China’s Peking University agreed to jointly pursue the development of safe and effective carbon capture and storage techniques. The technology holds strong promise to help mitigate climate change by capturing carbon dioxide from sources such as coal-burning power plants and injecting it deep underground.

]]> Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:00 Bowties looking sharp: new nano colorsorters http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2009/11/11/nano-color-sorters/ Researchers at the Molecular Foundry have created bowtie-shaped antennae that function as the first tunable nano colorsorters, able to capture, filter and steer light at the nanoscale.

]]> Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:30 Farewell to the Bevatron 1954-1993 http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2009/11/11/farewell-to-the-bevatron-1954-1993/ For 39 years, it stood as the workhorse for high-energy and heavy-ion physics, a service record of accomplishment that is unrivaled. On November 6, 2009, nearly 200 Laboratory and retired Laboratory staff and well-wishers braved the rain and fog to pay final tribute and farewell to the Bevatron.

]]> Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:00 Changing the conversation about breast cancer http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2009/11/10/breast-cancer-conversation-change/ For two decades, the pioneering research of Mina Bissell has broadened the conversation about breast cancer beyond genetics to include the microenvironment and other factors. This expanded focus has had profound implications for breast cancer awareness and therapies.

]]> Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:20 Improving the accuracy of ice sheet models http://www.lbl.gov/cs/CSnews/CSnews103009c.html One of the most cited examples of global climate change is retreating ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland. The details of how fast those sheets are melting are a mystery that may be solved with a new generation of computer simulations called B-ISICLES from Berkeley Lab's Computational Research Division and its collaborators.

]]> Thu, 05 Nov 2009 4:30 Berkeley engineers and partners launch assembly shop for stoves in Darfur http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS137670+30-Oct-2009+PRN20091030 The Berkeley- based Darfur Stoves Project has launched an assembly facility for fuel-efficient stoves in the Darfur region of Sudan. The facility is the last stop on a global chain that begins with testing and design at Berkeley Lab and stops in a manufacturing facility outside of Mumbai, India before assembly in Darfur.

]]> Mon, 02 Nov 2009 4:30 Planck Cluster, NERSC map Cosmic Microwave Background http://www.lbl.gov/cs/Archive/news103009.html Armed with a new spacecraft called Planck and supercomputers at NERSC, astronomers around the world hope to make tremendous strides toward illuminating the nature and origins of dark matter and dark energy.

]]> Mon, 02 Nov 2009 8:30 Science at the Theatre explores hidden universe http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2009/10/30/hidden-universe/ Berkeley Lab’s Oct. 26 Science at the Theater event, "Dark Secrets: What Science Tells Us About the Hidden Universe," was a smash hit: more than 600 people packed the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and over a hundred people had to be turned away. Some sidewalk astronomy helped to pass the time for those in line.

]]> Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:10 New clues to the cellular mechanics of cancer and aging http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2009/10/28/stem-cells-stop-dividing/ Scientists have pieced together a mechanism that causes a type of human adult stem cell to permanently stop dividing after being exposed to ionizing radiation. Their work sheds light on cellular senescence, a process in which cells stop dividing that is linked to cancer and aging

]]> Fri, 30 Oct 2009 9:50 Lab receives $7M for geothermal energy technologies http://newscenter.lbl.gov/press-releases/2009/10/29/berkeley-lab-receives-7-million-for-enhanced-geothermal-energy-technologies/ Stimulus dollars have been slated for four Berkeley Lab projects that seek to advance Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), which is capable of harnessing the Earth’s heat where conventional geothermal technologies cannot.

]]> Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:20 Lab's Stimulus spending benefits small business http://newscenter.lbl.gov/press-releases/2009/10/28/small-businesses-benefit-from-berkeley-lab-recovery-act-funds/ As Recovery Act funds start to flow into Berkeley Lab, many of those dollars are flowing out to small businesses. So far, $38.2 million in Recovery Act subcontracts have been awarded, of which 58 percent went to small businesses, far exceeding the federal government’s goal of 23 percent.

]]> Thu, 29 Oct 2009 9:30 Lab launches apprenticeships for electrical workers http://newscenter.lbl.gov/press-releases/2009/10/28/apprenticeship-program/ Apprentice electricians will now have the chance to hone their skills at Berkeley Lab, thanks to a new Memorandum of Understanding signed October 27 between the Lab and the Alameda County Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee. The agreement will bring apprentices to the Lab as part of their five-year-long program to become certified in the electrical trade.

]]> Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:40 Energy Secretary Chu Visits Berkeley Lab http://hosting.epresence.tv/LBL/1/watch/58.aspx U.S. Secretary of Energy Steve Chu, former director of Berkeley Lab, visited the Lab on Monday to talk about the future of energy research in the U.S. During his visit to the Bay Area, Chu also announced $151 million in funding for 37 ambitious research projects--including some that could allow intermittent energy sources like wind and solar to provide a steady flow of power, or use bacteria to produce automotive fuel from sunlight. The projects will be funded through DOE's newly formed Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (“ARPA-E”), headed by Arun Majumdar, also formerly of Berkeley Lab.

]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:20 Researchers create first hyperlens for sound waves http://newscenter.lbl.gov/press-releases/2009/10/26/hyperlens-for-sound-waves/ Scientists have developed the world’s first acoustic hyperlens, a device that provides an eightfold boost in the magnification power of ultrasound, underwater sonar and other sound-based imaging technologies.

]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:00 Researchers find new route to nano self-assembly http://newscenter.lbl.gov/press-releases/2009/10/22/new-route-to-nano-self-assembly/ To fulfill the promise of nanotechnology nanoparticles will have to be able to make something of themselves. Now researchers have devised a simple but powerful technique to induce nanoparticles to assemble themselves into complex arrays.

]]> Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:20 Lab's Majumdar confirmed as director of DOE's new energy post http://www.lbl.gov/ The U.S. Senate unanimously approved the nomination of Arun Majumdar, director of the Lab's Environmental Energy Technologies Division, as the first director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). ARPA-E’s goals are to create technologies that have the potential to reduce the nation’s reliance on foreign energy supplies, reduce energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, and improve energy efficiency.

]]> Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:20 New study shows drop in solar voltaic costs http://newscenter.lbl.gov/press-releases/2009/10/21/new-berkeley-lab-report-shows-that-the-installed-cost-of-solar-photovoltaic-systems-in-the-us-fell-in-2008/ Berkeley Lab researchers released a new study showing that the average cost of solar voltaic systems declined by more than 30 percent from 1998 to 2008, thanks in part to government incentive policies seeking to expand the US global market.

]]> Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:40 New standards for genome sequencing http://www.jgi.doe.gov/News/news_09_10_08.html Genome centers around the world have built a towering edifice of genetic sequencing data, but without a common language. To resolve this, researchers from DOE’s Joint Genome Institute have joined colleagues to propose a new set of standard definitions for genome sequencing.

]]> Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:40 Xu one of Popular Science's "Brilliant Ten" http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/10/15_popscience.shtml Popular Science Magazine has named Berkeley Lab's Ting Xu one of the Class of 2009’s “Brilliant Ten.” The award goes out each year to scientists who ask "big questions outside of the box." Ting's work is centered on self-assembling nanoparticles.

]]> Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:30 Another step toward fusion energy http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2009/10/14/warm-dense-matter/ Warm dense matter exists in the cores of gas giant planets and the preliminary stages of nuclear fusion. With an accelerator built by a multi-lab team of scientists led by Berkeley Lab, researchers will soon be able to study it in the laboratory.

]]> Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:00 Stimulus funding will explore cloud computing http://newscenter.lbl.gov/press-releases/2009/10/14/scientific-cloud-computing/ A new DOE program funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will examine cloud computing as a cost-effective and energy-efficient way for scientists to accelerate discoveries in biology, climate change, physics and more.

]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:00 Taming data center energy use http://newscenter.lbl.gov/press-releases/2009/10/12/energy-efficient-data-centers/ The EPA estimates U.S. servers and data centers gobbled up 61 billion kilowatt-hours in 2006. Lab scientists are working with Silicon Valley and the California Energy Commission to demonstrate new energy-efficient strategies.

]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:00 Silence of the genes http://newscenter.lbl.gov/press-releases/2009/10/12/silence-of-the-genes/ The human RISC-loading complex is a packet of proteins that helps determine the fate of human cells by controlling whether genetic messages – such as “turn cancerous” – are silenced or expressed. Researchers now know what this complex looks like.

]]> Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:00 Arts and Sciences Academy inducts Louie http://www.amacad.org/news/new2009.aspx Lab physicist Steve Louie has been inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Academy recognized Louie for his theoretical research in condensed matter physics and materials science.

]]> Mon, 12 Oct 2009 9:00 Gadgil's small inventions address big problems of world's poor http://www.earthsky.org/interviewpost/human-world/ashok-gadgils-inexpensive-inventions-address-big-problems-of-worlds-poor A recent edition of the "EarthSky" podcast interviews the Lab's Ashok Gadgil about ways we can use technology to solve basic problems for people, particularly in developing countries. Go here to listen to 90-second or 8-minute versions of the podcast.

]]> Fri, 9 Oct 2009 9:00 Hyper-SAGE Boosts Remote MRI Sensitivity http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2009/10/08/hyper-sage/ Hyper-SAGE boosts remote MRI signals 10,000 times, making it possible to image molecular-sized clinical targets, including lung and other cancers.

]]> Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:30 Scientists decipher missing piece of DNA repair machine http://newscenter.lbl.gov/press-releases/2009/10/01/dna-repair-uncovered/ Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source has uncovered how a key molecule mends DNA breaks, which could lead to improved cancer treatment.

]]> Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:00 3D mapping software will find hydrocarbon reserves http://www.lbl.gov/cs/Archive/news093009.html New 3D imaging software is leveraging the unique capabilities of massively parallel computers to help scientists discriminate between offshore reservoir fluids like oil, gas and brine, more efficiently. The software was recently honored with a 2009 R&D100 award.

]]> Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:30 Berkeley Lab website

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