Mars may have been a wetter place than previously thought, according to experiments on lab-synthesized mineral samples serving as proxies for Martian meteorites. Shock experiments followed by x-ray diffraction studies showed how changes in the minerals could indicate a more water-rich history for the Red Planet. ... Read more »
All News & Updates
A Seaweed Derivative Could Be Just What Lithium-Sulfur Batteries Need
Lithium-sulfur batteries have great potential as a low-cost, high-energy, energy source for both vehicle and grid applications. However, they suffer from significant capacity fading. Now, scientists have found that carrageenan, a seaweed derivative, acts as a stabilizer, allowing for more cycling and an extended lifetime. ... Read more »
Researchers Find a Surprise Just Beneath the Surface in Carbon Dioxide Experiment
X-ray experiments, coupled with theoretical work, revealed how oxygen atoms embedded near the surface of a copper sample had a more dramatic effect on the early stages of a reaction with CO2 than accounted for in earlier theories. This work could prove useful in designing new catalysts for converting CO2 into liquid fuels and other products. ... Read more »
New Open Access Requirements
To comply with DOE’s Public Access Plan, Berkeley Lab must ensure that open-access versions of publications co-authored by Lab employees are included in DOE’s open-access system. If you co-author work with a Lab scientist, please note that the scientist may ask you for an open-access version of the manuscript. We request that you cooperate with our scientists in a timely fashion and provide manuscripts to satisfy this DOE requirement when asked. ... Read more »
2017 ALS User Meeting Award Nominations Due July 14
Nominations for the 2017 ALS User Meeting awards will open soon and are due on July 14. Consider preparing a nomination for a deserving colleague or group of individuals for one of the three awards. In addition to the award plaque, there will be a cash prize associated with each award. ... Read more »
Bacterial Symbiont Sequesters Arsenic and Barium in Sponges
Researchers used x-ray fluorescence, spectroscopy, and diffraction to study how populations of symbiotic bacteria can act as a detox organ in a host with no organs. The bacteria, members of the species Entotheonella, accumulate and mineralize large quantities of arsenic and barium in sponges. ... Read more »
APXPS Finds Carbonate Reversal at Liquid Interfaces
Aqueous carbonate systems are central to many processes essential to life, from the blood buffer system to the global carbon cycle. Using APXPS, researchers probed the concentration of carbonates near an interface, finding a surprising reversal in the expected abundances as a function of depth.
... Read more »
ALS Doctoral Fellowship Applications Due June 30
ALS Doctoral Fellowships allow early-career researchers to spend a year in residence at Berkeley Lab working at the frontier of synchrotron radiation research and helping advance state-of-the-art techniques and applications. Starting in 2017, a new fellowship track has been created to leverage the complementary capabilities of the ALS and Molecular Foundry. Applications are due June 30. ... Read more »
How X-rays Helped to Solve Mystery of Floating Rocks
Some rocks can float on water for years at a time before eventually sinking. X-ray microtomography studies help explain how by scanning samples of lightweight, glassy, and porous volcanic rocks known as pumice stones. Their surprisingly long-lived buoyancy can help scientists discover underwater volcano eruptions. ... Read more »
A Hollow Pyramid Unlocks Principles of Protein Architecture
Researchers have designed a hollow, pyramid-shaped protein with a controllable cavity size that could be useful in the capture and release of smaller compounds. The tools and techniques developed could be useful in analyzing and optimizing designed protein assemblies and understanding their behavior in solution. ... Read more »
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 25
- Next Page »