Researchers at Berkeley Lab, in collaboration with Dow and Eindhoven University of Technology, have developed a pulsed electron beam technique that enables high-resolution imaging of magnesium chloride without damage. This approach could apply to a vast range of beam-sensitive materials, and help to create a path toward sustainable plastics.

Theorized dark matter particles haven’t yet shown up where scientists had expected them. So Berkeley Lab researchers are now designing new and nimble experiments that can look for dark matter in previously unexplored ranges of particle mass and energy, and using previously untested methods.

For years, routine testing has shown that watersheds of the Mahaulepu Valley and Waikomo Stream in southeast Kauai frequently contain high counts of potentially pathogenic fecal indicator bacteria (FIB). To better understand the cause of the high FIB counts, the DOH commissioned a study by Berkeley Lab microbial ecologists Gary Andersen and Eric Dubinsky. After using a powerful microbial detection tool called the PhyloChip, the scientists concluded that most of the past monitoring results were false positives.

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed a new chemical separation method that is vastly more efficient than conventional processes, opening the door to faster discovery of new elements, easier nuclear fuel reprocessing, and, most tantalizing, a better way to attain actinium-225, a promising therapeutic isotope for cancer treatment.

The overpumping of groundwater in California has led to near environmental catastrophe in some areas – land is sinking, seawater is intruding, and groundwater storage capacity has shrunk. But researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory believe machine learning could be part of the solution to restoring groundwater to sustainable levels and quality.

A new electron gun, designed and built at Berkeley Lab to supply electrons for a next-gen X-ray laser, fired its first electrons today. The X-ray laser is part of the LCLS-II project, which is an upgrade of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s Linac Coherent Light Source X-ray laser.

Using cutting-edge theoretical calculations performed at NERSC, researchers at Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry have predicted fascinating new properties of lithium – a light alkali metal that has intrigued scientists for two decades with its remarkable diversity of physical states at high pressures. “Under standard conditions, lithium is a simple metal that forms a textbook crystalline solid. However, scientists

Fossil fuels are the lifeblood of modern societies, but their increased use releases carbon dioxide, a climate-warming greenhouse gas, faster than plants can recycle it via photosynthesis. Now, a powerful combination of experiment and theory has revealed atomic-level details about how silver helps transform carbon dioxide gas into a reusable form. The results, reported in

Fourteen scientists and engineers will join the prestigious Cyclotron Road program for a two-year fellowship based at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley. With access to world-class scientists and research facilities, fellows will define optimal paths for turning their science into value for industry, national security, and society.

Methane, a potent greenhouse gas that traps about 30 times more heat than carbon dioxide, is commonly released from rice fields, dairies, landfills, and oil and gas facilities – all of which are plentiful in California. Now Berkeley Lab has been awarded $6 million by the state to find “super emitters” of methane in an effort to quantify and potentially mitigate methane emissions.