Category: Science News

By monitoring physiological signals (pulse, breath rate, blood pressure, etc.), wearable “stick-on” sensors help people stay healthy and provide early warning of potential health problems. But to retain functionality, wearable electronic displays need to be stretchable and bright. https://als.lbl.gov/a-brighter-future-for-stretchable-electronics/

In the 40-year hunt for dark matter and its makeup, one key variable is missing: the mass of the axion. Thanks to the AMRex code from AMCRD’s Center for Computational Sciences and Engineering, scientists are closing in on this elusive key number. https://cs.lbl.gov/news-media/news/2022/researchers-narrow-down-mass-of-sought-after-axion-particle/

A Berkeley Lab-led research team has demonstrated an ultrathin silicon nanowire that conducts heat 150% more efficiently than conventional materials used in advanced chip technologies. The device could enable smaller, faster, energy-efficient microelectronics. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2022/05/17/silicon-nanowires-take-the-heat/

A scientist at Berkeley Lab has proposed a scheme for direct ocean capture of carbon dioxide from oceans that will enable them to continue to do their job of absorbing excess CO2 from the atmosphere. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2022/05/16/using-bacteria-to-accelerate-co2-capture-in-oceans/

A major aim of research in spintronics – devices that manipulate both electron spin and charge – is to understand spin transport in magnetic materials. Now, for the first time, a new ALS technique enables time-resolved detection of spin currents in ferromagnets or antiferromagnets. https://als.lbl.gov/dynamic-measurements-of-antiferromagnetically-aligned-spins/

A team in the Lab’s Energy Storage and Distributed Resources Division, working at the Advanced Light Source, has devised an imaging method that characterizes processes at the interfaces between electrodes and electrolytes. Learn what this advancement means for next-generation solid-state batteries. https://appliedenergyscience.lbl.gov/news/looking-inside-battery

Four Lab scientists have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an organization honoring excellence in science, the humanities and arts, and policy and communication. The new members are Gerbrand Ceder, Alessandra Lanzara, Ramamoorthy Ramesh, and Pamela Ronald. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2022/05/10/four-berkeley-lab-scientists-elected-to-the-american-academy-of-arts-and-sciences-2/

Particle accelerators play a big role in the science of our everyday lives, such as powering the machines used for cancer radiotherapy or allowing us to “see” the atomic structure of COVID-19 antibodies. Physicist Marlene Turner explains the new generation of plasma-based accelerators. https://youtu.be/vvmdVwq53hw

At Advanced Light Source, researchers found that the crystallization rate of coral skeletons is correlated with their resilience to ocean acidification. The results have implications for predicting coral reef survival and the development of mitigation strategies. https://als.lbl.gov/key-to-coral-resilience-is-faster-skeletal-crystallization/