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Phosphomimetic S207D Lysyl–tRNA Synthetase Binds HIV-1 5′UTR in an Open Conformation and Increases RNA Dynamics

Binding assays, RNA chemical probing, and SAXS showed that phosphomimetic S207D LysRS binds in an open conformation preferentially to dimeric HIV-1 genomic RNA. A new working model is proposed wherein a dimeric phosphorylated LysRS/tRNA complex binds to a genomic RNA dimer, facilitating tRNA primer release and placement onto the binding site. Future anti-viral strategies that prevent this interaction are envisioned. Read more »

Visualizing the Nanoscale Oxygen and Cation Transport Mechanisms during the Early Stages of Oxidation of Fe–Cr–Ni Alloy Using In Situ Atom Probe Tomography

Understanding the early stages of interactions between oxygen and material surfaces is beneficial for fields ranging from materials degradation to forensics and catalysis. In situ atom probe tomography (APT) is demonstrated to track the diffusion of oxygen and metal ions at nanoscale spatial resolution during the early stages of oxidation of a model Fe–Cr–Ni alloy.  Read more »

New Insight into Titan’s Hazy Atmospheric Chemistry

Researchers simulated the complex chemistry that may be occurring in the hazy atmosphere of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, and analyzed the reaction products at the ALS. The work provided new insights into what future Titan probes may encounter upon arrival and what the atmosphere of Earth may have been like eons ago. Read more »

Cheng Wang Wins RSC Stephanie L. Kwolek Award

Recently the Royal Society of Chemistry awarded its Materials Chemistry Division Horizon Prize: Stephanie L. Kwolek Award to a team of scientists, including ALS Staff Scientist Cheng Wang, for the discovery of chiral organic materials that allow high control of photon and electron spin. Read more »

Copper Doping Improves Sodium-Ion Battery Performance

A big plus for batteries based on sodium over lithium is that sodium is more earth-abundant, which lowers costs and eases environmental and supply-chain concerns. Research to improve the performance of sodium-ion batteries includes this effort to use copper doping of the cathode to enhance oxygen redox reversibility. Read more »

Antoine Wojdyla Receives Prestigious Five-Year Research Grant

Antoine Wojdyla is one of three scientists at Berkeley Lab selected by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science to receive funding through the Early Career Research Program (ECRP). His project is titled DREAM beam: Diffraction-limited Radiation Enhancement with Adaptive Mirrors for X-ray coherent beamlines. Read more »

Nanoscale Infrared Study of Meteorite Mineralogy

Using a nanoscale infrared probe, researchers found that the minerals in a meteorite—an artifact representing the solar system’s past—were altered by water on very fine spatial scales. The work sheds light on conditions in the early solar system and lays groundwork for analyzing asteroid samples to be returned to Earth by NASA in 2023. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35

A Topological-Insulator Sandwich for Efficient Microelectronics

Researchers synthesized a topological insulator between two ferromagnetic layers and found that it is electronically characterized by a large magnetic band gap. The results open a new path toward lossless charge transport and perfect spin polarization, which could lead to the development of ultralow-energy electronics and spintronics. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35