Tag Archives: berkeley lab

Hydrogen from Acidic Water: Berkeley Lab Researchers Develop a Potential Low Cost Alternative to Platinum for Splitting Water

By Guest PostFebruary 12, 2012Scienceacidic, acidic water, artificial photosynthesis, berkeley lab, catalyst, catalytic hydrogen generation, christopher chang, elizabeth montalvo, emission, hemamala karunadasa, hhmi, hydrogen gas, jeffrey long, low cost alternatives, marcin majda, microdomains, molecule, molybdenite, molybdenite crystals, molybdenum disulfide, natural gas, pentapyridyl ligand, petroleum, photocatalytic systems, platinum, py5me2, reduction, sulfur, sulfur dioxide, water, yujie sun

A technique for creating a new molecule that structurally and chemically replicates the active part of the widely used industrial catalyst molybdenite has been developed by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). This technique holds promise for the creation of catalytic materials that can serve as effective low-cost alternatives to platinum for generating hydrogen gas from water that is acidic.

Christopher Chang and Jeffrey Long, chemists who hold joint appointments with Berkeley Lab and the University of California (UC) Berkeley, led a research team that synthesized a molecule to mimic the triangle-shaped molybdenum disulfide units along the edges of molybdenite crystals, which is where almost all of the catalytic activity takes place. Since the bulk of molybdenite crystalline material is relatively inert from a catalytic standpoint, molecular analogs of the catalytically active edge sites could be used to make new materials that are much more efficient and cost-effective catalysts. (more…)

Berkeley Lab Researchers Discover a Rotational Motion of Cells that Plays a Critical Role in Their Normal Development

By Guest PostJanuary 29, 2012Science3d gel, acini, actomyosin, alexandre bruni cardoso, berkeley lab, breast cancer, breast feeding, camo, cell biology, cellular motion, coherent angular motion, component, counterclockwise, cytoskeleton, ecm, embryogenesis, evolutionary phenomena, extracellular matrix, function, hidetoshi mori, human epithelial cell, kandice tanner, laminin, mammary cell, mammary gland, microenvironment, mina bissell, multicellular organism, phenotypic reversion, protein, rana mroue, rotation, spherical structure, tissue polarity

In a study that holds major implications for breast cancer research as well as basic cell biology, scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have discovered a rotational motion that plays a critical role in the ability of breast cells to form the spherical structures in the mammary gland known as acini. This rotation, which the researchers call “CAMo,” for coherent angular motion, is necessary for the cells to form spheres. Without CAMo, the cells do not form spheres, which can lead to random motion, loss of structure and malignancy.

”What is most exciting to me about this stunning discovery is that it may finally give us a handle by which to discover the physical laws of cellular motion as they apply to biology,” says Mina Bissell, a leading authority on breast cancer and Distinguished Scientist with Berkeley Lab’s Life Sciences Division. (more…)

Clearing a Potential Road Block to Bisabolane

By Guest PostJanuary 14, 2012Scienceabies grandis, abies grandis α bisabolene synthase, advanced biofuels, agbis, andy degiovanni, berkeley lab, biofuel, biosynthetic alternative, bisabolane, ca, chemical compounds, cofactors, d2 diesel fuel, emeryville, enzyme, evolutionary heritage, flavorings, fragrances, grand fir, green energy, inhibitors, jay keasling, jose pereira, masood hadi, microbes, microbial based production, pamela peralta yahya, paul adams, precursor, protein, protein crystal structure, renewable alternative, resolution, ryan mcandrew, synthases in plants, terpene class, terpenoid synthases, three dimensional crystal structure, trucking industry, united states, x ray crystallography

*Joint BioEnergy Institute Researchers Identify Key Enzyme Structure*

The recent discovery that bisabolane, a member of the terpene class of chemical compounds used in fragrances and flavorings, holds high promise as a biosynthetic alternative to D2 diesel fuel has generated keen interest in the green energy community and the trucking industry. Now a second team of researchers with the U.S Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) has determined the three-dimensional crystal structure of a protein that is key to boosting the microbial-based production of bisabolane as an advanced biofuel.

The JBEI research team, led by bioengineers Paul Adams and Jay Keasling, solved the protein crystal structure of an enzyme in the Grand fir (Abies grandis) that synthesizes bisabolene, the immediate terpene precursor to bisabolane. The performance of this enzyme – the Abies grandis α-bisabolene synthase (AgBIS) – when engineered into microbes, has resulted in a bottleneck that hampers the conversion by the microbes of simple sugars into bisabolene. (more…)

The Next Big Step Toward Atom-Specific Dynamical Chemistry

By Guest PostJanuary 8, 2012Science2p orbitals, 2s orbitals, advanced light source, ali belkacem, america, atomic levels, atoms, berkeley lab, chemical bonding, chemical energy, chemistry, complex systems, components, electrical conductivity, electron, electronic spectroscopy, electronic states of neon, emergence, energy flow in photosynthesis, evolution of energy, fels, femtoseconds, free electron lasers, graham fleming, harmonics, high frequency x rays, molecular level, molecules, nonlinear, nonlinear multidimensional spectroscopy, nonlinear spectroscopic technique, orbitals, photon flux, positive charge, pulse, quadrillionths of second, s orbitals, spectroscopy, stimulated coherent raman scattering, sunlight energy, synchrotron light sources, table top laser, ultraviolet light, valence electrons, valence shell, x ray lasers, x ray photon, x ray spectroscopy, x-rays

*Berkeley Lab scientists push chemistry to the edge, testing plans for a new generation of light sources*

For Ali Belkacem of Berkeley Lab’s Chemical Sciences Division, “What is chemistry?” is not a rhetorical question.

“Chemistry is inherently dynamical,” he answers. “That means, to make inroads in understanding – and ultimately control – we have to understand how atoms combine to form molecules; how electrons and nuclei couple; how molecules interact, react, and transform; how electrical charges flow; and how different forms of energy move within a molecule or across molecular boundaries.” The list ends with a final and most important question: “How do all these things behave in a correlated way, ‘dynamically’ in time and space, both at the electron and atomic levels?” (more…)

New Take on Impacts of Low Dose Radiation

By Guest PostDecember 24, 2011Health, Scienceatomic bomb blasts, berkeley lab, biological damage, breast cell line, broken dna, cancer risks, christopher pham, dna damage response, dna repair mechanisms, Environment, epidemiological data, extrapolation, gy of radiation, human breast cells, human tissue, ionizing radiation, Japan, joel swenson, lawrence berkeley national laboratory, levels of ionizing radiation, linear no threshold hypothesis, lnt, low dose radiation, mammogram, mathematical modeling, mcf10a, mina bissell, primary breast epithelial cells, radiation induced foci, rafael gomez sjoberg, repair, rif, standard model, survivors, sylvain costes, teresa neumaier, time lapse imaging, world war II, xray microbeam

*Berkeley Lab Researchers Find Evidence Suggesting Risk May Not Be Proportional to Dose at Low Dose Levels*

Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), through a combination of time-lapse live imaging and mathematical modeling of a special line of human breast cells, have found evidence to suggest that for low dose levels of ionizing radiation, cancer risks may not be directly proportional to dose. This contradicts the standard model for predicting biological damage from ionizing radiation – the linear-no-threshold hypothesis or LNT – which holds that risk is directly proportional to dose at all levels of irradiation.

“Our data show that at lower doses of ionizing radiation, DNA repair mechanisms work much better than at higher doses,” says Mina Bissell, a world-renowned breast cancer researcher with Berkeley Lab’s Life Sciences Division. “This non-linear DNA damage response casts doubt on the general assumption that any amount of ionizing radiation is harmful and additive.” (more…)

Nanocrystals Go Bare: Berkeley Lab Researchers Strip Material’s Tiny Tethers

By Guest PostDecember 12, 2011Scienceanna llordes, april sawvel, berkeley lab, brett helms, carbon hydrogen bonds, chemical solution, delia milliron, devices, diodes, electronic conductivity, energy storage, environments, evelyn rosen, hydrocarbon, ink jet printer, lawrence berkeley national laboratory, ligand free nanocrystal, ligands, meerwein salt, metal oxides, metallic, molecular foundry, molecular vibrations, naked nanocrystals, nano ir, nanocrystal, nanoscale infrared spectroscopy, orders of magnitude, organic compound, organic ligands, organometallic molecules, oxidizing agents, photovoltaics, raffaella buonsanti, selenide nanocrystal, semiconductors, smart windows, solar fuels, spin, spray coating, stripping nanocrystals, strong acids, supercapacitor materials, surface ligands, tether like molecules, triethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate, universal technique, unstripped nanocrystal films, variety of applications

Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have discovered a universal technique for stripping nanocrystals of tether-like molecules that until now have posed as obstacles for their integration into devices. These findings could provide scientists with a clean slate for developing new nanocrystal-based technologies for energy storage, photovoltaics, smart windows, solar fuels and light-emitting diodes.

Nanocrystals are typically prepared in a chemical solution using stringy molecules called ligands chemically tethered to their surface. These hydrocarbon-based or organometallic molecules help stabilize the nanocrystal, but also form an undesirable insulating shell around the structure. Efficient and clean removal of these surface ligands is challenging and has eluded researchers for decades. (more…)

Berkeley Lab Researchers Create First of Its Kind Gene Map of Sulfate-reducing Bacterium: Work Holds Implications for Future Bioremediation Efforts

By Guest PostNovember 13, 2011Environment, Scienceadam arkin, aindrila mukhopadhyay, anaerobic bacterium, bacteria, berkeley lab, biofouling, bioremediation, d vulgaris, dap chip, department of energy, desulfovibrio vulgaris, dna affinity purified chip, doe, ecological niches, Environment, environmental signals, eric luning, five senses, generate enzymes, genetic secrets of a bacterium, genomic dna, how bacteria respond to environmental changes, lara rajeev, lawrence berkeley national laboratory, mapping of the genes, microbial systems, model organism, molecular signaling systems, morgan price, network of a microbe, new gene map, non hazardous forms, oil drilling, paramvir dehal, potential for removing toxic and radioactive waste, researchers, sight, smell, sound, sulfate reducing bacteria, sulfate reducing bacterium, taste, touch, toxic heavy metals and radioactive nuclides

Critical genetic secrets of a bacterium that holds potential for removing toxic and radioactive waste from the environment have been revealed in a study by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). The researchers have provided the first ever map of the genes that determine how these bacteria interact with their surrounding environment.

“Knowing how bacteria respond to environmental changes is crucial to our understanding of how their physiology tracks with consequences that are both good, such as bioremediation, and bad, such as biofouling,” says Aindrila Mukhopadhyay, a chemist with Berkeley Lab’s Physical Biosciences Division, who led this research. “We have reported the first systematic mapping of the genes in a sulfate-reducing bacterium – Desulfovibrio vulgaris – that regulate the mechanisms by which the bacteria perceive and respond to environmental signals.” (more…)

Berkeley Lab to Build Cost Model for Fuel Cells

By Guest PostNovember 2, 2011Scienceadam weber, analytica, ballard power systems, benefits of fuel cells, berkeley lab, carbon cycle 2, chris marnay, coal, eric masanet, fossil fuels, fuel cell design, fuel cell manufacturer, fuel cells, geographic factors, human health benefits, ideal energy source, jim mcmahon, julie chao, kilowatts, lawrence berkeley national laboratory, max wei, model, power from hydroelectricity, powerful public tool, software platform, university of california, washington state, west virginia

*A $2-million award from DOE will help bring down the cost of next-generation fuel cells.*

Fuel cells seem like an ideal energy source—they’re clean, efficient, silent and don’t require transmission lines. The hitch? They can be costly. Now scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) hope to change that equation by building a sophisticated cost model that will take into account the total cost of ownership.

With a $2-million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, a team of scientists led by Eric Masanet will perform a detailed assessment of fuel cell design and manufacturing that takes into account both intrinsic and external benefits. The aim is to quantify not only traditional manufacturing costs but also benefits that may previously have been overlooked and may ultimately bring down the cost of fuel cells. (more…)