The unique ways in which proteins fold dictate their interplay with diseases and medicines, so understanding their twists and turns is key to designing effective drugs. While new drug design is serious work, discovering how proteins fold can be fun, too: A crowdsourcing game called Foldit allows players to try different fold configurations for points
Gaming Protein Structures: X-Ray Studies Confirm Power of Crowdsourcing
Science Snapshots Glenn Roberts Jr. •
New MOF Can Take On Toxic Sulfur Dioxide Gas
Science Snapshots Glenn Roberts Jr. •
An international team has developed a robust material that can selectively take in toxic sulfur dioxide gas at record concentrations and preserve it for use in chemical production.
Living on the Edge: How a 2D Material Got Its Shape
News Release Theresa Duque •
Scientists at Berkeley Lab have gained valuable insight into why 3D transition-metal-oxide nanoparticles can easily grow into 2D nanosheets. Their findings could revolutionize the design of materials with surface-enhanced properties for energy storage and catalysis applications.
Simple Materials Offer a Peek into the Quantum Realm
Science Snapshots Aliyah Kovner •
As reported in Nature Physics, a Berkeley Lab-led team of physicists and materials scientists was the first to unambiguously observe and document the unique optical phenomena that occur in certain types of synthetic materials called moiré superlattices. The new findings will help researchers understand how to better manipulate materials into light emitters with controllable quantum
X-ray Experiments Contribute to Studies of a Drug Now Approved to Combat Tuberculosis
Science Snapshots Glenn Roberts Jr. •
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new antibiotic that, in combination with two existing antibiotics, can tackle one of the most formidable and deadly treatment-resistant forms of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis.
Study Reveals ‘Radical’ Wrinkle in Forming Complex Carbon Molecules in Space
News Release Glenn Roberts Jr. •
A team of scientists has discovered a new possible pathway toward forming carbon structures in space using a specialized chemical exploration technique at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source.
The Chemistry of Art: Scientists Explore Aged Paint in Microscopic Detail to Inform Preservation Efforts
News Release Glenn Roberts Jr. •
To learn more about the chemical processes in oil paints that can damage aging artwork, a team led by researchers at the National Gallery of Art and the National Institute of Standards and Technology conducted a range of studies that included 3D X-ray imaging of a paint sample at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source.
Moving Forward on Desalination
Feature Story Julie Chao •
A Q&A with scientist Jeff Urban, who explains forward osmosis and how Berkeley Lab is pushing the frontiers of this emerging technology.
New Recipes for Taking Salt Out of Seawater
News Release Theresa Duque •
As populations boom and chronic droughts persist, coastal cities like Carlsbad in Southern California have increasingly turned to ocean desalination to supplement a dwindling fresh water supply. Now Berkeley Lab scientists investigating how to make desalination less expensive have hit on promising design rules for making so-called “thermally responsive” ionic liquids to separate water from salt.
Crystal With a Twist: Scientists Grow Spiraling New Material
Science Snapshots Theresa Duque •
Scientists at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have created new inorganic crystals made of stacks of atomically thin sheets that unexpectedly spiral like a nanoscale card deck.