News Releases
Biosciences
Biosciences
Lab Partners with Local Company to Market Protein Technology
July 14 — Scientists who study how proteins assemble and fold into distinct shapes may soon see shape-shifting in the very methods they use, thanks to a partnership between Los Alamos National Laboratory and Theranostech Inc., an Albuquerque-based biotechnology company.
Roadrunner supercomputer puts research at a new scale
June 12 — Less than a week after Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Roadrunner supercomputer began operating at world-record petaflop/s data-processing speeds, Los Alamos researchers are already using the computer to mimic extremely complex neurological processes.
Turning fungus into fuel
May 4 — A spidery fungus with a voracious appetite for military uniforms and canvas tents could hold the key to improvements in the production of biofuels, a team of government, academic and industry researchers has announced.
Immunodeficiency Virus More Prolific than Previously Thought
November 13 — A Los Alamos National Laboratory mathematical model has helped an international research team understand for the first time the number of offspring produced by a single Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV), the first-cousin of the virus that causes AIDS in humans.
ASPECT plane deploys to Southern California wildfires
October 26 — At 6:30 (Mountain Daylight Time) Thursday morning, the ASPECT plane – a one-of-a-kind emergency response tool operated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and supported by Los Alamos National Laboratory – deployed to the wildfires of Southern California.
Cancer Treatment Gets Software Boost
October 16 — Nearly a million cancer patients will undergo radiation therapy this year in the United States, and now a new software application, Acuros®, based on the Los Alamos National Laboratory-developed Attila® radiation-modeling software, will enable physicians to focus their beams more precisely on specific tumor sites.
Scientists Model Hepatitis C Virus
May 24 — One of the most common life-threatening viral infections in the United States today is hepatitis C virus (HCV). The standard treatment is successful in only about 50 percent of treated HCV chronic patients, with no effective alternative treatment for those who fail to clear the virus.
Genome Institute Reaches Milestone with a Mighty Microbe
May 8 — Los Alamos scientists working as part of the Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute (JGI) recently finished the genetic code of Shewanella baltica OS185 as its 100th genomic sequence.
Los Alamos scientists take genome science to the streets
April 13 — Late last year, the Los Alamos arm of the Joint Genome Institute organized an outreach team dedicated to taking genome science activities to students in Northern New Mexico. This spring, the team created presentations about genome sequencing as well as hands-on activities for junior high and high school students.
Contemplating the far away future of computing
March 20 — An unprecedented and multidisciplinary group of world-renowned scientists will gather this week in Santa Fe looking far into the future for the most promising ideas about what computers and computing may be like many decades from now.
A more complex HIV family tree discovered
March 15 — Adding another component into an already complicated effort to identify weaknesses within HIV, a team of Los Alamos scientists discovered that HIV variation in the human population is driven by more than a person's immune response.
Avian influenza subject of Frontiers in Science talk
December 4 — Los Alamos National Laboratory has uniquely capable scientists eyeing the coming risk of a pandemic flu, and several of them have agreed to serve on a panel for the first of an upcoming Frontiers in Science lecture.
Detecting explosives with honeybees
November 27 — Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a method for training the common honey bee to detect the explosives used in bombs.
Biosafety committee to hold meeting November 14
November 13 — Los Alamos National Laboratory's Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) will hold its quarterly meeting starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, November 14.
Biosafety committee to hold meeting June 13
June 8 — Los Alamos National Laboratory's Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) will hold its quarterly meeting starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 13.
Anthrax relatives non-friendly but non-lethal
May 10 — A Los Alamos National Laboratory team working as part of the U. S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute has explored the genomes of non-lethal bacteria closely related to the cause of anthrax, Bacillus anthracis.
Avian flu modeled on supercomputer, explores vaccine and isolation options for thwarting a pandemic
April 3 — 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
November 4 — 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.
Largest computational biology simulation mimics life's most essential nanomachine
October 19 — 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.
Using computers and DNA to count bacteria, measure effects of metal toxicity in soil
August 26 — 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.
Innovative protein-analysis center funded at Los Alamos
July 11 — The Bioscience Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory has a new center dedicated to the study of the molecular machines in our cells -- proteins. Because proteins are integral to most cell functions, as well as to cell-cell communication, they are a valuable component in medical research.
Study uncovers bacteria's worst enemy
April 14 — 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.
Los Alamos part of team establishing baseline procedures for emergingfield of bioforensics
September 24 — 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.
Beryllium's cellular assault
August 22 — chronic beryllium disease, baryllium carboxylates, american chemical society
New herpes database goes on-line
February 14 — In an ongoing effort to aid in the search for cures and vaccines for sexually transmitted diseases, the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory released a publicly available Web database containing the Human herpesvirus 2 genomic sequence
U.N. biological warfare expert will discuss monitoring of Iraq
March 24 — The head of the biological warfare discipline for the United Nations Special Commission charged with monitoring Iraq's disarmament compliance will deliver a Director's Colloquium at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory on Tuesday, March 28.
Researchers develop novel luminescent biosensor
November 5 — 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.
Los Alamos' Jill Trewhella elected AAAS Fellow
October 27 — Jill Trewhella of the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
AAAS is a nonprofit professional society dedicated to the advancement of scientific and technological excellence across all disciplines, and to the public's understanding of science and technology. AAAS membership comprises more than 143,000 scientists, engineers, science educators, policymakers and other professionals worldwide. As a Fellow, Trewhella joins an elite group of about 10,000 of the nation's leading researchers.
Laboratory licenses nanosponge technology
September 22 — The Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory has licensed a new method that could be used to purify home water supplies.
Lab cancels planned biodetector tests
July 8 — Planned tests involving the outdoor release of a common bacterium have been cancelled due to ongoing public concerns, Los Alamos National Laboratory officials announced today.
The tests are part of a program to develop better devices for prompt, accurate detection of biological agents that could be used in terrorist or battlefield attacks. Scientists will look for alternate sites to conduct airborne releases of bacteria as part of the detector development.
Researchers give green light to protein folding
July 1 — Scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory have discovered a new method called Rapid Protein Folding Assay (RPFA) for rapidly analyzing proteins.
Los Alamos scientists develop novel toxin detector
November 10 — 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.
Los Alamos receives DOE grants for advanced biological research
October 29 — Four projects at Los Alamos National Laboratory have received Department of Energy grants for advanced research in biology.
The DOE, which announced the grants last week, is funding projects that will build on the wealth of information from the Human Genome Project and other research activities to solve complex biological problems.
Laboratory honors Year 2002 innovators
February 28 — Outstanding work by researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory who received patents in 2002 has been honored with Laboratory Patent and Licensing Awards.
Lab develops colorful beryllium detection technology
August 30 — Detecting beryllium on contaminated surfaces may become as simple as testing the acidity of a swimming pool, thanks to scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Lab will hold bioscience information session in Santa Fe
April 6 — The Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory will hold a public poster session highlighting its research in biothreat reduction Tuesday at Santa Fe Community College. Scientists will be available to answer questions about their posters and research at the session, scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m.
Lab's Institutional Biosafety Committee to meet
April 2 — Los Alamos National Laboratory's Institutional Biosafety Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. The meeting, which is open to the public, will take place in the auditorium of the Health Research Laboratory, located next to Los Alamos Medical Center.
Lab requests environmental assessment on Bioscience facility
February 12 — The Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory has taken an important step in evaluating the possibility of adding additional capability for biological research.
Distinguished lecture speaker to talk about growing biological threat
January 12 — Al Zelicoff, senior scientist at Sandia National Laboratories and member of the U.S. Delegation to the Biological Weapons Convention will speak Wednesday at the Physics Building Auditorium as part of Los Alamos National Laboratory's Bioscience Division Distinguished Speaker Series.
Los Alamos names science advisor for bio-threat and bioscience
October 27 — Scott Cram is the new science advisor for development of bioscience program opportunities at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory. In this role, Cram advises and supports both the Threat Reduction and Strategic and Supporting Research directorates.
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