Los Alamos enhances global security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the US nuclear deterrent, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to defense, energy, environment, infrastructure, health and national security concerns.

Quantum cryptography enhanced by new technologies

10 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers, in collaboration with researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colo., and Albion College, in Albion, Mich., have achieved quantum key distribution at telecommunications industry wavelengths in a 50-kilometer (31 mile) optical fiber. The work could accelerate the development of QKD for secure communications in optical fibers at distances beyond current technological limits.

New method for using a laser beam to accelerate ions developed

10 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Nevada, Reno, Ludwig-Maximilian-University in Germany, and the Max-Planck-Institute for Quantum Optics in Germany, have developed a new method for using a laser beam to accelerate ions. The novel method may enable important advances in compact ion accelerators, medical physics and inertial confinement fusion.

New method for studying ion channel kinetics proposed

10 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have developed a new method for the study of ion channel gating kinetics. An ion channel is a protein pore that lets ions (charged atoms such as calcium) pass through a cell's membrane. The method fits data to a new class of models, called manifest interconductance rank models, which will give researchers a better understanding of the mechanisms by which ion channels open and close.

Fragments of cosmic rays find potential role in homeland security

09 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Cosmic particles could someday lead to the detection of smuggled nuclear materials, according to researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In a paper appearing in Nature magazine, (vol. 422, p. 277), a team of Los Alamos National Laboratory astrophysicists and physicists notes that in both laboratory experiments and corresponding computer simulations, dense materials such as uranium can be detected and imaged by tracking the paths of muons as they pass through the target materials.

Creating fusion energy in a soda can

09 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in Albuquerque, N.M., are investigating a way to create fusion energy in a cylinder roughly the size of a soda can.

Researchers demonstrate ultra-secure, long-distance quantum key distribution

09 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory and the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder have demonstrated unconditionally secure quantum key distribution over a record-setting 107 kilometers of optical fiber. The work is a significant step towards enabling communication with an unprecedented level of security over long distances of optical fiber.

Los Alamos high-temperature superconducting tape licensed

08 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory has licensed patents and applications related to its technology for manufacturing high-temperature superconducting tape to IGC-SuperPower of Latham, N.Y., a wholly owned subsidiary of Intermagnetics General Corp.

Muon detector could thwart nuclear smugglers

08 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Trillions of cosmic rays that constantly bombard Earth could help catch smugglers trying to bring nuclear weapons or materials into the United States. Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists have developed a detector that can see through lead or other heavy shielding in truck trailers or cargo containers to detect uranium, plutonium or other dense materials.

Los Alamos National Laboratory device saves millions on nuclear waste assay

08 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory A Los Alamos National Laboratory device that measures radioactive wastes will save the U. S. Department of Energy and its subcontractors about $4 million a year when it is installed this month at DOE's Y-12 Plant at Oak Ridge, TN.

Los Alamos National Laboratory to provide electrical characterization for novel energy project

07 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory will be providing special electrical characterization of components used in the first high temperature superconducting transformer installed in a U.S. electric utility network, as partners in a project that could improve the way electrical energy is delivered in America.

Los Alamos National Laboratory's Atlas machine begins experimental work

07 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Researchers at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory performed the first liner implosion shot on the Atlas pulsed power facility recently. This successful experiment demonstrated that the Atlas facility is ready to support the Laboratory's research work relating to the certification of the nuclear weapons stockpile.

Los Alamos National Laboratory researcher presents bright idea

07 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory are exploring methods for creating more electrically efficient organic light-emitting diodes, technology that could be used to create energy-efficient panels of light for use in buildings or homes.

Los Alamos National Laboratory advances the art and science of aerogels

06 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California researchers working at Los Alamos National Laboratory have recently demonstrated a novel method for chemically modifying and enhancing silica-based aerogels without sacrificing the aerogels unique properties. Aerogels are low-density, transparent materials used in a wide range of applications, including thermal insulation, porous separation media, inertial confinement fusion experiments and cometary dust capture agents.

Scientists explore complex nature of superconductivity

06 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Researchers from the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Los Alamos National Laboratory believe they have discovered evidence to support leading theories about the underlying mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity. Through research in high magnetic fields, they hope to have made one more step toward a complete understanding of this complex phenomenon.

Researchers from US and Russia develop process for making pure titanium medical implants

06 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists from the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory and Ufa State Aviation Technical University in Russia have developed a process for making strong, lightweight and corrosion-resistant medical implant material from pure titanium.

World record length carbon nanotube

05 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Chemists from Duke University in collaboration with University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory have recently grown a world record-length four-centimeter-long, single-wall carbon nanotube.

Superconducting coated conductors in magnetic field environments

05 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists at University of California's Los Alamos National Laboratory with a researcher from the University of Cambridge have demonstrated a simple and industrially scaleable method for improving the current densities of superconducting coated conductors in magnetic field environments.

Studying the noisy nature of atoms

05 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists at University of California's Los Alamos National Laboratory have demonstrated a way to use the random fluctuations that exist naturally in all magnetic systems to perform magnetic resonance studies without disturbing the system's natural state.

Putting the squeeze on electron spins

04 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists at University of California's Los Alamos National Laboratory have found a novel method for controlling and measuring electron spins in semiconductor crystals of GaAs (gallium arsenide). The work suggests an alternative, and perhaps even better, way of spin manipulation for future generations of 'semiconductor spintronic' devices.

Scientists bridge superconductivity gap

04 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Researchers at University of California's Los Alamos National Laboratory working with a researcher from Chonnam National University in South Korea have discovered that magnetic fluctuations appear to be responsible for superconductivity in a compound called plutonium-cobalt-pentagallium.

Atomic mysteries of ancient pigment explored by scientists

04 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists from the University of California's National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Pulsed Field Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory, working with colleagues from Tokyo Metropolitan University, the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, the National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics in Estonia, the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida and the University of Tokyo, have found an ideal candidate for Bose-Einstein condensation in the ancient Chinese pigment, Han Purple.

Hidden magnetism in superconductivity

03 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have discovered, while studying a compound made of the elements cerium- rhodium-indium, that a magnetic state can coexist with superconductivity in a specific temperature and pressure range.

Neutralizing the world's most deadly killers

03 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory The Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists have developed a method for neutralizing some of the world's most deadly killers, chemical and biological warfare agents. Using a newly developed Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet, workers can quickly decontaminate areas tainted with chemical or biological weapons. The process uses electrically charged helium and oxygen gas to create a chemically reactive spray that destroys killer agents on contact.

First map of ice on Mars

03 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Bill Feldman, a Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist, says lurking just beneath the surface of Mars is enough water to cover the entire planet ankle-deep. Feldman released the first global map of hydrogen distribution identified by instruments aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft and offered initial minimum estimates of the total amount of water stored near the Martian surface. His presentation came at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Denver.

Concrete made stronger and tougher with bone-shaped wires

02 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have discovered that enlarging the ends of small wires mixed into concrete substantially increases the material's overall strength and toughness. The Los Alamos team found that adding the unique steel wires in amounts equal to just one percent of the concrete's volume increases its maximum strength by as much as 84 percent, and its toughness by as many as 93 times.

Geologist studies environment of prehistoric man

02 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory In the Afar Rift system of Ethiopia, a new species of human ancestor has been discovered and a geologist from the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory played a significant role in determining the geology of the 2.5-million-year-old fossil and its environmental setting.

Solitary vibrations in uranium observed by scientists

02 June 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists in Los Alamos have recently observed experimental evidence of solitary vibrations (solitons) in a solid. First observed as localized waves on the surface of water more than a century ago, the concept of solitons in solids was only theorized as possible two decades ago.

Los Alamos partners with CNT Technologies to commercialize SuperThread(tm) carbon-nanotube fiber

31 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory has licensed its carbon nanotube technology to a new commercial partner, Seattle-based CNT Technologies Inc. The ultrastrong, lightweight carbon-nanotube fiber, branded SuperThread(tm) by the company, can have better properties than steel for many applications and could soon be the primary substance from which airplanes, automobile parts, and sports equipment are made. Initial tests show that SuperThread is pound for pound (for the same weight) one-hundred times stronger than steel and less than one-fortieth the weight.

Lab microdrilling technology can cut cost of oil exploration

31 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory A microdrilling technology developed by the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory could fundamentally change the face of oil and gas exploration, a multi-billion-dollar a year global industry.

Los Alamos releases new maps of Mars water

31 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory 'Breathtaking' new maps of likely sites of water on Mars showcase their association with geologic features such as Vallis Marineris, the largest canyon in the solar system.

Vast nitrogen reserves hidden beneath desert soils

30 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory A University of California scientist working at Los Alamos National Laboratory in collaboration with researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, the University of Nevada, the University of Arkansas and Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nev., has recently found evidence that there may be significantly more amounts of nitrogen, in the form of nitrates, than previously estimated in desert landscapes.

Superdiamonds? Scientists discover superconductivity in diamond

30 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists working at the Russian Academy of Sciences and Los Alamos National Laboratory announced today the discovery of superconductivity at ultracold temperatures in cubic diamond. The discovery offers the potential for a new generation of diamond-based device applications and even suggests that superconductivity in silicon or germanium, which also forms in the diamond structure, may be possible.

Los Alamos Pulsed Field Facility achieves world record magnetic field in 100-tesla quest

30 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory's Pulsed Field Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory have set a pair of world records for nondestructive pulsed-magnet performance that puts them in position to deliver a magnet capable of achieving 100 tesla, the longstanding goal of magnet designers and researchers around the globe.

Los Alamos unleashes GENIE on Cerro Grande destruction

29 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory The U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory is using a sophisticated image analysis technology to create high-resolution maps of the destruction caused by the Cerro Grande wildfire.

Replacing platinum with non-precious metal composite could reduce cost of hydrogen fuel cells

29 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a new class of hydrogen fuel-cell catalysts that exhibit promising activity and stability. The catalysts are made of low-cost nonprecious metals entrapped in something called a heteroatomic-polymer structure, instead of platinum materials typically used in fuel cells.

Desert varnish shines as environmental monitoring tool

29 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory A University of California researcher working at Los Alamos National Laboratory, in collaboration with earth scientists from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Eastern Washington University, has discovered that desert varnish, a thin brownish to black coating that forms naturally on rock surfaces in deserts and other arid places all over the world, may be an ideal passive environmental monitor for atmospherically-deposited heavy and potentially toxic metals, including radionuclides.',

Dry rock goes supercritical

28 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory By proposing a method for using carbon dioxide under high pressure to extract energy from geothermal reservoirs, a University of California scientist working at Los Alamos National Laboratory has put a new twist on a historic Laboratory project. The proposed invention has the potential to take global geothermal energy science in new and exciting directions.

Los Alamos Volcanologist: apply lessons from meteorology

28 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Reducing the danger posed by volcanoes will require volcanologists to integrate data from throughout volcanology to build predictive simulations and models, according to Greg Valentine, a volcanologist at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory.

One-of-a-kind magnet open for science

28 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory The world's most powerful pulsed, nondestructive magnet is now ready to explore the frontiers of high magnetic field science, after 10 years of research, major instrument development, and construction.

Los Alamos instrument yields new knowledge of Saturn's rings

27 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory have begun to analyze data from an instrument aboard the joint U.S.-European spacecraft Cassini. Although Cassini has only been orbiting the planet Saturn since July 1, data from the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer has already begun to provide new information about the curious nature of Saturn's space environment.

Telling a salty tale of martian water

27 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory, along with a scientist from Indiana University have devised a method for determining whether sulfate salts can account for evidence of water on Mars. The work could pave the way to a better understanding of the martian environment and the history of water on Mars.

Scientists study carbon exchange in Valles Caldera grasslands

27 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Over the past nine months, University of California scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have been working as part of the AmeriFlux carbon exchange research project with researchers from the Valles Caldera National Preserve and Colorado State University using sophisticated eddy monitors, monitors that detect minute changes in wind flow, to study carbon dioxide flow variations and grassland carbon cycle dynamics in a small section of the Valles Caldera.

Scientists predict pulsar starquakes

26 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists have discovered how to predict earthquake-like events in pulsars, the dense remains of exploded stars. These are violent episodes that likely crack a pulsar's dense crust and momentarily increase its spin rate.

High energy gamma rays may emanate in the Milky Way

26 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos scientists, in collaboration with researchers from nine institutions across the United States, have evidence from the Laboratory's Milagro telescope that TeV (one trillion electron volts) gamma rays, the most energetic form of electromagnetic radiation known, can originate in the plane of the Milky Way galaxy. The discovery is the first evidence of such high-energy gamma rays arising from interactions of cosmic rays with matter in our galaxy.

Drought, heat and bark beetles a deadly trio

26 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory, working in collaboration with scientists from the University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University, the U. S. Geological Survey, and four additional universities, believe that severe drought, coupled with high temperatures and a bark beetle coup de grace, was the cause of death for millions of piñon pines throughout the American Southwest.

Los Alamos studies nerve activity to improve artificial retina

26 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory is supporting the Department of Energy's artificial retina project by developing better ways to visualize and interpret the patterns of neural activity that result when the retina is stimulated. Employing new and existing techniques, a team from Los Alamos' Biological and Quantum Physics Group has produced movies of the dynamic responses that characterize the function of the ganglion cells that make up the optic nerve.

Scientists find quiet place in subspace

25 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory have taken another step forward in the quest for a quantum-based computer by demonstrating the existence of a physical state immune to certain types of information-corrupting 'noise,' which could otherwise disrupt computations based on quantum states. The research appears in a recent issue of the journal Science.

Los Alamos scientists make seven bit quantum leap

25 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory have made yet another experimental leap forward in the quest for a functional quantum computer capable of solving large mathematical problems or cracking secret codes faster than today's fastest supercomputers.

Magnetic flux ropes created in Los Alamos physics laboratory

25 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory At the Sun's edge, in a region called the heliosphere, magnetic fields and electrical currents align and twist themselves in massive three-dimensional structures called 'magnetic flux ropes.' As these ropes kink, they become twisted and unstable. Occasionally, one of the rope's ends, which was previously 'tied' to the Sun's surface, breaks loose, ejecting electrically charged gas, or plasma, and producing solar flares that can wreak havoc with everything from satellites to electrical power grids.

New Supernova models take on third dimension

24 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Astrophysicists from Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, have created the first 3-D computer simulations of the spectacular explosion that marks the death of a massive star. Presented to the American Astronomical Society meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., the research by Michael Warren and Chris Fryer eliminates some of the doubts about earlier 2-D modeling and paves the way for rapid advances on other, more exotic questions about supernovae.

Predicting El Niño: Lab researcher has some answers, more questions

24 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory The Spanish term 'El Niño' has been used for centuries by South American fishermen to describe the annual occurrence of warm, southward-flowing oceanic current waters off the coast of Ecuador and Peru around Christmas. El Niño, or the child, specifically refers to the Christ child.

Los Alamos scientists shed new light on quantum computation

24 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Queensland's Centre for Quantum Computer Technology in Australia have made an advance in the quest for a functional quantum computer by exploiting currently existing technology in a novel and unexpected way.

Scientists model disease outbreaks in urban social networks

23 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California researchers working at Los Alamos National Laboratory with colleagues at the University of Maryland and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a method for modeling disease outbreaks in realistic urban social networks. The work suggests that disease outbreaks can be better contained by a strategy of targeted vaccination combined with early detection, rather than mass vaccinations of entire populations.

Scientists explore complexities of sea ice from high desert venue

23 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory For nearly a decade, University of California researchers working at Los Alamos National Laboratory have been upgrading and fine-tuning a sea ice modeling program created at the Laboratory. From their dry place in New Mexico's high desert, the Los Alamos team has helped climate scientists around the world develop a better understanding of the surprisingly complicated role that sea ice plays in the global climate.

Researchers untangle complex network systems

23 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory By exploring the tangled nature of complex network systems, researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Houston may have found a way to help scientists and engineers better understand dynamic processes on complex networks, such as the spread of infectious diseases, cascading massive electrical power failures, sources of vehicle traffic congestion on metropolitan roadways and information flow on the Internet.

Scientists model the dynamics of DNA transcription

22 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory In a collaboration with colleagues at Harvard Medical School, University of California researchers working at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a model and diagnostic tools to simulate the dynamics of DNA. The work is an important step towards beginning to decipher the genetic information contained in the human genome and could be a significant leap in our understanding of the fundamental processes of life.

Mapping the evolution of a virus

21 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory A University of California scientist working at Los Alamos National Laboratory with collaborators from the University of Cambridge (England) and the World Health Organization National Influenza Center at Erasmus Medical Center, (Rotterdam, Netherlands) have developed a computer modeling method for mapping the evolution of the influenza virus.

Los Alamos computers probe how giant planets formed

21 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Nearly five billion years ago, the giant gaseous planets Jupiter and Saturn formed, apparently in radically different ways. So says a scientist at the University of California's Los Alamos National Laboratory who created exhaustive computer models based on experiments in which the element hydrogen was shocked to pressures nearly as great as those found inside the two planets.

Los Alamos experts' book explores advances in reconfigurable computing

20 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory The field of computing has been transformed by the concept of widgets called Field Programmable Gate Arrays, integrated circuits combining logic and memory, that can process digital information.

Los Alamos developing new eclipse-based tools for high-performance parallel computers

20 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Eclipse Foundation today announced the Parallel Tools Platform Project, a new Eclipse Technology project aimed at creating better open source software tools for parallel computers. Los Alamos will lead the project and will collaborate with institutions and companies worldwide to develop an open source platform that will enable their products to operate on a wide range of parallel computing platforms.

Optical fibers and a theory of things that go bump in the light

20 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a theory describing light pulse dynamics in optical fibers that explains how an interplay of noise, line imperfections and pulse collisions lead to the deterioration of information in optical fiber lines.

Funding of a new space payload which dramatically increases on-orbit computational capabilities

19 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory today announced funding of a new space payload which dramatically increases on-orbit computational capabilities. The project is jointly sponsored by the National Nuclear Security Administration's Office of Nonproliferation Research and Development, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Los Alamos shows path to nanocrystal quantum dot lasers

19 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have demonstrated that nanoscale semiconductor particles called 'nanocrystal quantum dots' offer the necessary performance for efficient emission of laser light.

New computer model to track contaminants

19 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory A powerful new massively parallel computer model for studying subsurface processes in the Earth will be developed by a team of Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists because of a recently awarded $4 million U.S. Department of Energy grant.

New high-purity plutonium sources produced at Los Alamos

18 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory For the first time since 1987, new high-purity plutonium sources for use as primary analytical chemistry standards have been produced at Los Alamos National Laboratory using a new extrusion method developed at the Laboratory.

Laboratory flips the mercury off switch

18 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Mercury, that silvery liquid metal ubiquitous in switches, pressure gauges and thermometers, is an environmental bad-boy and toxic to humans through inhalation, skin contact and ingestion. It is easily spilled and can go unnoticed in aging lab equipment.

Cleaner chipmaking method uses carbon dioxide fluid

18 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a new technology application that could all but eliminate the use of hazardous corrosives and the production of wastewater in the fabrication of integrated circuits, or chips, for computers.

Los Alamos team develops rapid procedure for radioactivity in dirtybomb debris

17 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory One nightmare scenario: a terrorist dirty bomb is detonated in a major metropolitan area. Everyone's first question is 'Who did it?' One piece of the puzzle that would give law enforcement officials a head start in their search for potential suspects would be an accurate description of what radioactive materials are contained in the bomb debris.

Soil's love affair with carbon viewed with millimeter resolution

17 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Promoting the love affair between farmlands and carbon while substantially reducing harmful carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could be facilitated through super-sharp analysis of tiny soil-core samples made possible by a portable, carbon-measuring laser system developed by a research team at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Green chemistry initiatives bearing fruit

17 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Recent initiatives by a consortium managed by the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory have helped increase education, awareness and funding in green chemistry research worldwide.

Scientists provide new understanding of manganites

16 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California researchers working at Los Alamos National Laboratory recently unveiled a new theory explaining the strange coexistence of metallic and insulating phases in the crystals of a mineral called perovskite manganite.

More juice out of solar panels

16 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory have experimentally demonstrated a phenomenon in which semiconductor nanocrystals respond to photons by producing multiple electrons. The innovation has potential applications in a new generation of solar cells that would produce as much as 35 percent more electrical output than current solar cells.

Nanoscale spectrometry probes the nanoplasmonics of gold

16 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory In experiments using a device dubbed the 'nanoscale flashlight,' a team of Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists have applied a new nanoscale spectroscopic technique to studies of the collective oscillations of electrons in individual gold nanoparticles and their assemblies.

Scientists PAD their way to new metal-oxide film technology

15 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California scientists working with a researcher from Washington State University at Los Alamos National Laboratory's Superconductivity Technology Center have developed a novel method for creating high performance, inorganic metal-oxide films using polymer-assisted deposition, or PAD. The breakthrough could pave the way for a greater use of metal-oxide films into the electronics manufacturing industry.

Los Alamos wizardry to aid new Mars science laboratory

15 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Having analyzed Mars from afar via orbiting satellite, Los Alamos National Laboratory instruments will next be on their way to get out and play in the Martian dirt. Two of the eight instruments aboard NASA's planned Mars Science Laboratory rover, scheduled for launch in 2009, include Los Alamos technology.

Pumping energy to nanocrystals from a quantum well

15 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory with a colleague from Sandia National Laboratories have developed a new method for exciting light emission from nanocrystal quantum dots.

Scientists develop novel multi-color light-emitting diodes

14 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory A team of University of California scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed the first completely inorganic, multi-color light-emitting diodes based on colloidal quantum dots encapsulated in a gallium nitride semiconductor. The work represents a new 'hybrid' approach to the development of solid-state lighting. Solid-state lighting offers the advantages of reduced operating expenses, lower energy consumption and more reliable performance.

Airborne Los Alamos instruments test for toxins from fires

14 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory A unique hazard-detecting plane, supported by scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory and operated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was on duty to warn first responders and residents with information about potential chemical hazards during a recent Houston oil refinery disaster. The specially equipped aircraft was able to determine whether any chemical vapor hazards were present so that those near the site could be evacuated safely.

Researchers develop fingerprint detection technology

14 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a novel method for detecting fingerprints based on the chemical elements present in fingerprint residue.

Los Alamos scientists develop novel toxin detector

13 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Researchers have stolen a page from Mother Nature to develop a technique for detecting the toxin that causes cholera. The technique should work equally well at detecting other protein-based toxins potentially used in biowarfare or terrorism and at detecting early signs of infection in clinical settings.

New gallium nitride film method beats the heat

13 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory A team of Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists have developed a method for growing crystalline gallium nitride films at lower temperatures than industry standards.

Tiny crystals promise big benefits for solar technologies

13 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists have discovered that a phenomenon called carrier multiplication, in which semiconductor nanocrystals respond to photons by producing multiple electrons, is applicable to a broader array of materials that previously thought. The discovery increases the potential for the use of nanoscrystals as solar cell materials to produce higher electrical outputs than current solar cells.

Beryllium's cellular assault

12 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory, seeking to better understand the pathology of Chronic Beryllium Disease are studying the fundamental properties of metal interaction with carboxylate molecules, carbon/oxygen structures that are common in the body, to better understand how metals, specifically beryllium in water solution, might attack human cells.

Researchers develop novel luminescent biosensor

12 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Researchers at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a method of using certain polymers as luminescent sensors to detect and identify biological and chemical agents, almost instantaneously. The polymers fluoresce in the presence of these agents with the help of molecular intermediaries that bind to the biological and chemical agents' receptor sites.

Researchers give green light to protein folding

12 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory have discovered a new method for rapidly analyzing proteins. The discovery has the potential for revolutionizing the way proteins are assayed in medical, commercial and scientific laboratories which, in turn, could lead to the development of drugs to treat currently incurable diseases.

Using computers and DNA to count bacteria, measure effects of metal toxicity in soil

11 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Don't call them the Dirt Doctors, or Sultans of Soil, they're just clever Lab guys. A team from Los Alamos National Laboratory has a paper in this week's Science Magazine with a new way to count bugs in dirt. Bacteria, that is, in the highly complex world beneath our feet.

Study uncovers bacteria's worst enemy

11 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory have found that the successful use of bacteria to remediate environmental contamination from nuclear waste and processing activities may depend more upon how resistant the bacteria are to chemicals than to how tolerant they are to radioactivity. The results of a recent Laboratory study may help make bacterial bioremediation a more widespread method for cleaning up sites contaminated with actinides and other radionuclides.

Los Alamos part of team establishing baseline procedures for emergingfield of bioforensics

11 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Following the 2001 anthrax mail attacks it became clear to law enforcement and forensic scientists that high-quality procedures for the handling of bioagents used in alleged criminal activity were not standardized across the research labs that were asked to respond.

Avian flu modeled on supercomputer, explores vaccine & isolation options for thwarting a pandemic

10 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Using supercomputers to respond to a potential national health emergency, scientists have developed a simulation model that makes stark predictions about the possible future course of an avian influenza pandemic, given today’s environment of world-wide connectivity.

Los Alamos tracks influenza genetic codes

10 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory In the same way that the FBI archives the fingerprints of criminals nationwide, Los Alamos National Laboratory archives the genetic codes for influenza strains worldwide. This project-the Influenza Sequence Database-is a repository for influenza sequences. Researchers worldwide use the ISD to track influenza as it mutates and spreads around the globe.

Largest computational biology simulation mimics life's most essential nanomachine

10 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory The amino acid (green) slithers into the chemical reaction center, moving through an evolutionarily ancient corridor of the ribosome (purple). The amino acid is delivered to the reaction core by the transfer RNA molecule (yellow). enlarge image

Laboratory experts develop method to train an air force of bomb-sniffing bees

09 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a method for training the common honey bee to detect the explosives used in bombs. Based on knowledge of bee biology, the new techniques could become a leading tool in the fight against the use of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, which present a critical vulnerability for American military troops abroad and is an emerging danger for civilians worldwide.

Anthrax relatives non-friendly but non-lethal

09 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory A Los Alamos National Laboratory team working as part of the U. S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute has explored the genomes of two non-lethal bacteria closely related to the cause of anthrax, Bacillus anthracis. A paper in this month's Journal of Bacteriology describes the genomic sequencing and comparative analysis of Bacillus thuringiensis 97-27 and Bacillus cereus E33L.

Los Alamos pressure process makes pure zirconium glass

08 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Zirconium may not be a girl's best friend, but by squeezing the metal with roughly the same pressure needed to make diamonds, scientists at the University of California's Los Alamos National Laboratory made a pure glass that may prove nearly as valuable as real diamonds.

Researchers find time in dusty polar ice

08 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory recently unveiled a direct radiometric dating method for determining the age of polar ice. Further development of the novel dating method could improve mankind's knowledge of glaciers and the terrestrial history of meteorites as well as improve the accuracy of paleoclimate records.

Laser probes planetary surfaces

08 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory With a spark from a small laser, researchers from the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory can analyze soils and rocks from more than 50 feet away.

Plasma assisted engines fuel efficient, cleaner

07 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Gasoline, diesel, and turbine engines could soon burn cleaner or be more fuel efficient through the application of Plasma Assisted Combustion, a technology originated and developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and now poised to enter the marketplace.

Los Alamos Research Team identifies replacements for mercury and lead in primary explosives

07 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Four ground-breaking families of environmentally friendly primary explosives under development at Los Alamos National Laboratory are featured this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Los Alamos executes successful hydrotest for W76 maintenance

07 May 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Staff from Los Alamos National Laboratory's Dynamic Experimentation Division, supported by hundreds of scientists, engineers, technicians and others from many Laboratory divisions, have successfully executed a major stockpile stewardship experiment.

Largest computational biology simulation mimics life's most essential nanomachine

12 March 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have set a new world's record by performing the first million-atom computer simulation in biology. Using the 'Q Machine' supercomputer, Los Alamos computer scientists have created a molecular simulation of the cell's protein-making structure, the ribosome. The project, simulating 2.64 million atoms in motion, is more than six times larger than any biological simulations performed to date.

Cibola flight experiment to test eight technologies in space

12 January 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory A satellite smaller than an armchair is departing Los Alamos National Laboratory this week, heading for a last phase of testing before its December launch. The Cibola Flight Experiment will bear eight new technologies for space flight validation, including a new power supply, inflatable antennas, deployable booms, a new type of launch-vehicle separation system, and a high-density pack of AA lithium-ion batteries.

Polymer filtration offers mining pollution solution

02 January 2007 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a novel technology capable of removing toxic metal contaminants from acidic mine runoff. The technology provides a potential remedy for some of the world's most challenging environmental problems.

Understanding mysterious dark energy & dark matter with new computer models of cosmological structure

31 July 2006 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory A new method for incorporating astronomical observational data into computer simulations promises to be a significant advance in enabling future cosmological surveys aimed at understanding dark energy and dark matter. Dark matter and dark energy are theoretical forms of matter and energy thought to permeate all of space, with dark energy producing a large-scale force that is believed to produce an effect that works against gravity.

Frontiers in Science Lecture on cooling with lasers

10 June 2006 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist Richard Epstein will describe the unusual and counterintuitive practice of using lasers to cool certain materials at a 'Frontiers in Science'.

Ultra-cold neutron source at Los Alamos confirmed as world's most intense

03 May 2006 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Some slow, cold visitors stopped by Los Alamos National Laboratory last week, and their arrival could prove a godsend to physicists seeking a better theory of everything.

Successful Los Alamos experiment supports weapon maintenance

04 April 2006 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Using the world's most powerful flash X-ray machine, Los Alamos National Laboratory successfully captured a high-resolution X-ray image following detonation of a mock-up of imploding weapon components. The experiment, conducted at the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test Facility, supports continued maintenance of a key nuclear weapon component of the U.S. nuclear deterrent, without a return to underground testing.

Cassini measures geysers of Saturn's moon Enceladus

10 March 2006 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Cassini data obtained during a close flyby of the Saturn moon Enceladus support an observation that large amounts of water are spewing into space from the tiny moon's surface. This water originates near south polar 'hot spots' on the moon, possible locations for the development of primitive life in the solar system.

Los Alamos-led team to sequence entire NT biological database on greengene distributed supercomputer

18 November 2005 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Award-winning Los Alamos National Laboratory-developed software is helping researchers here and elsewhere better understand a database of biological information and enable a plethora of biological studies from organism 'barcoding' to gene function and evolution.

Robotic telescope discovery sheds new light on gamma-ray bursts

18 May 2005 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory A new type of light was detected from a recent gamma-ray burst, as discovered by Los Alamos National Laboratory and NASA scientists using both burst-detection satellites and a Los Alamos-based robotic telescope.

A new nanoscale flashlight to explore the nanoscale world

12 May 2005 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory In the nanoscale world, nanoparticles are measured in billionths of a meter, which often make them only a little bit larger than the size of atoms. Because these nanoparticles are typically smaller than the wavelengths of visible light, which varies from 700 nanometers for red light to 400 nanometers for violet light, they are literally invisible to even the most powerful optical microscopes.

Scientists model physics of stellar burning

14 April 2005 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory A University of California scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory working with astronomers from around the world recently validated a computer model that predicts the rebirth and stellar burning and mixing processes of evolved stars. The discovery is a leap forward in our understanding of how stars like the sun evolve through violent outbursts during their evolution.

Researchers bridge superconductivity gap

31 March 2005 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory The discovery of 'unconventional superconductivity' may lead scientists to a whole new class of superconducting materials and toward the goal of eventually synthesizing 'room-temperature' superconductors.

Snow brings green machining to laboratory

16 March 2005 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a novel machining technique that uses a jet of solid carbon dioxide (CO2) to cool/lubricate the surface of metal parts and remove the cut material during machining. Called Snow-Machining, the process could someday eliminate the use of oil-based or synthetic chemical fluids for metal cutting and metal parts cleaning in industry.

Scientists develop split green for tagging protein

03 January 2005 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a new protein tagging and detection system based on a process for 'splitting' a green fluorescent protein. Unlike current protein detection methods, the method works both in living cells and in the test tube and can be used to quantify proteins down to 0.1 picomole, or one billionth of a gram of a typical protein molecule.

Scientists 'PAD' their way to new metal-oxide film technology

15 December 2004 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California scientists working with a researcher from Washington State University at Los Alamos National Laboratory's Superconductivity Technology Center have developed a novel method for creating high performance, inorganic metal-oxide films using polymer-assisted deposition, or PAD. The breakthrough could pave the way for a greater use of metal-oxide films into the electronics manufacturing industry.

Los Alamos software key to new Swift satellite mission

16 November 2004 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory 'Swift,' a new NASA satellite, will head for the heavens Nov. 17, designed to detect gamma-ray bursts and whip around to catch them in the act. And the trigger software that makes the flying observatory smart enough to do this comes from the Space Science team at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Nanotechnology leads to discovery of super superconductors

09 September 2004 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory with a researcher from the University of Cambridge have demonstrated a simple and industrially scaleable method for improving the current densities of superconducting coated conductors in magnetic field environments.

Laboratory advances the art and science of aerogels

26 August 2004 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory have recently demonstrated a novel method for chemically modifying and enhancing silica-based aerogels without sacrificing the aerogels unique properties.

Detecting the spin of a single electron

10 August 2004 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory and at the University of California, Los Angeles have demonstrated the ability to detect the spin of a single electron in a standard silicon transistor. The advance could help facilitate the direct, rather than theoretical, study of the physics of electron spin decoherence, which is a critical step toward manipulating and monitoring the spin of a single electron.

Los Alamos pressure process makes pure zirconium glass

15 July 2004 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Zirconium may not be a girl's best friend, but by squeezing the metal with roughly the same pressure needed to make diamonds, scientists at the University of California's Los Alamos National Laboratory made a pure glass that may prove nearly as valuable as real diamonds.

Scientists demonstrate quantum teleportation with atoms

17 June 2004 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Researchers at the University of Innsbruck in Austria, in collaboration with a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, announced today the first demonstration of the teleportation of a quantum state from one trapped atom to another located 8 microns, slightly less than a thousandth of an inch, away. This is the first time quantum teleportation has been achieved with actual particles (as opposed to beams of light), and the first time it has been demonstrated in an entirely deliberate and controllable manner.

Hidden X-ray population revealed in satellite survey, new dipper in Andromeda Galaxy

04 June 2004 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory In the most-sensitive study ever of our neighbor galaxy, the X-ray Multi-Mirror satellite observatory has uncovered a new population of X-ray sources. Examining new satellite data, an international team of scientists led by researchers at the United States Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory discovered more than 100 X-ray sources in the Andromeda galaxy. The faint sources had gone undetected in previous high-energy missions launched to observe the galaxy.

Los Alamos helps industry by simulating circuit failures from cosmic rays

06 May 2004 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Life today runs more and more on circuits. Electrons racing through increasingly tiny transistors now control our airplanes, deposit money in our checking accounts and keep our houses warm.

Scientists announce cosmic ray theory breakthrough

28 April 2004 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory have proposed a new theory to explain the movement of vast energy fields in giant radio galaxies. The theory could be the basis for a whole new understanding of the ways in which cosmic rays, and their signature radio waves, propagate and travel through intergalactic space.

Mars Odyssey's neutron spectrometer maps water-ice

01 March 2004 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists today unveiled maps that detail the location of hydrogen, that may indicate water-ice, just below Mars' surface. The maps are based on data from a neutron spectrometer built at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory and flown aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey now in orbit around the Red planet. The data are supported by simultaneous measurements made using the Mars Odyssey's gamma-ray spectrometer.

Plasma combustion technology could dramatically improve fuel efficiency

22 December 2003 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Imagine a jet engine able to cleanly burn cheap, plentiful diesel fuel, or a car able to run on gasoline very efficiently and produce practically no emissions. Three Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers are imagining just these things and are embarking on a new experimental roadway that may someday arrive at this reality.

Los Alamos instruments capturing the sun

04 December 2003 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory NASA's Genesis mission swings into full gear today as its instruments, three of which were designed and built by the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory, begin capturing particles from the sun.

From cells to whales: universal scaling laws in biology

25 October 2003 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory In a world where scientists have traditionally remained behind the lines that delineate disciplines there are researchers who are able to look beyond their own expertise into the worlds of others and in doing so make exciting connections. Geoffrey West, a theoretical high energy physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory, is one such researcher.

Los Alamos science instruments to fly on Cassini

08 October 2003 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists led the development of two scientific sensors that will provide key measurements of the space environment around Saturn when the Cassini spacecraft reaches the ringed planet in 2004.

Los Alamos gamma ray burst work advances on satellite

06 October 2003 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory They burn as brightly as 100 million billion stars, flash randomly across the heavens, and were discovered more than 25 years ago here at the US Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory. Now, with tomorrow's launch of the High Energy Transient Explorer, gamma ray bursts will begin to reveal more of their secrets as the latest in detection equipment is lifted into orbit.

Biggest cosmic explosions also may propel fastest objects in universe

13 August 2003 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory The most powerful explosions in the universe, gamma-ray bursts, may generate the most energetic particles in the universe, known as ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays, according to a new analysis of observations from NASA's Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory.

Mars Odyssey quenches researchers' thirst for water data

28 May 2003 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Researchers with the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory have determined that Mars has enough water to sustain human exploratory missions.

XMM-Newton satellite uncovers diffuse X-ray emission and the first accreting X-ray pulsar

26 May 2003 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory In the most sensitive X-ray survey of our neighboring galaxy, Andromeda (M31), the X-ray Multi-Mirror satellite observatory (XMM-Newton) has uncovered hundreds of X-ray sources and provided new insights into the nature of the interstellar medium in the spiral arms of our own galaxy as well as those of Andromeda.

Los Alamos flips the mercury 'off' switch

24 March 2003 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory With new technology, mercury can be practically erased from the typical laboratory setting, reducing and even eliminating the environmental and health hazards, according to researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Los Alamos develops technology to ease transition to HDTV

21 February 2003 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a technology that could make the coming transition from current analog television to high-definition television a whole lot easier. The technology is a new transmission algorithm capable of compressing a HDTV data stream to the point where the HDTV and analog TV signals can be broadcast over the same channel. This is of particular significance to consumers since Congress has mandated that HDTV be the required format for broadcast television signals by 2006.

Taking pictures of the invisible tracking weather above the sky

17 December 2002 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Using a technique called neutral atom imaging from a satellite high above the North Pole, researchers at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory are developing pictures of the magnetosphere, an invisible magnetic layer around the Earth. These pictures will be essential to a better understanding of the 'weather' in space, where a blast of solar wind particles can knock out a multimillion-dollar satellite.

The weatherman of Mars

09 December 2002 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Arizona Lunar Planetary Laboratory, Tucson, AZ, and Cornell University, Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Ithaca, NY have discovered further evidence for the possible existence of a changing, and perhaps predictable, Martian climate.

New theory straightens out sun's curved magnetic fields

28 May 2002 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory A long-accepted model of the sun's magnetic fields holds that the fields radiate outwards from the sun into space in great curving arcs in the sun's equatorial regions and growing ever more radial at higher solar latitudes. That model has been proven only partly right by direct measurements of magnetic fields by the Ulysses solar orbiter and other spacecraft.

A nickel's worth of foil helps make antimatter

23 April 2002 - DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Making antimatter that can't be seen and that otherwise might not exist, filtering it through a nickel's worth of aluminum foil and then capturing it in a 'trap' without walls, has the attention of Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist Michael Holzscheiter.

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