Bioscience, Biosecurity, Health

Los Alamos scientists used genetic engineering to develop magnetic algae, thus making it much easier to harvest for biofuel production. Harvesting algae accounts for approximately 15–20 percent of the total cost of biofuel production—magnetic algae can reduce such costs by more than 90%.

Overview

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Director McMillan on reducing global threats

The fate and security of human health and progress are inextricably tied to humanity’s relationship with plants, animals, and the environment.

At Los Alamos, scientists and engineers are working to

• unlock many of the mechanisms found in nature to improve humanity’s ability to battle diseases,
• create new forms of environmentally friendly and abundant energy,
• bolster human and animal immune systems, and
• improve agriculture to facilitate the growing of crops for food.

Bioscience also plays a critical role in America’s national security.

Scientific efforts at Los Alamos include

• finding ways to counter bioterrorism,
• preventing or overcoming disease epidemics and pandemics, and
• creating sustainable energy for a secure future.

For these reasons, bioscience plays a critical role in Los Alamos’ ability to address many of the nation’s health and security concerns.

Research Directions

Biological research at Los Alamos addresses many societal needs in areas such as biosecurity, public health, energy security, and environmental sustainability. Research directions include the following:

• Battling Infectious Diseases. Developing science and technology to battle pathogens responsible for causing disease epidemics, and in extreme cases, pandemics. The source of these pathogens can be natural (mosquito carrying West Nile Virus) or manmade (bioterrorism).
• Bioenergy. Developing the next generation of biofuels from sources such as photosynthetic plants, genetically engineered magnetic algae, and genetically engineered microorganisms that can produce fuel directly from carbon dioxide.
• Genomics and Systems Biology. Studying various genomes and analyzing complex biological systems. Applications areas for such work include medicine, pharmaceuticals, ecology and environmental cleanup, chemical manufacturing, and agriculture.
• Pathogen Databases. Creating and caretaking pathogen databases designed to help international communities of researchers to better understand diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis C, influenza, oral pathogens, and sexually transmitted diseases. Applications for these databases include creating new medicines and treatments and countering bioterrorism.
• Protein Engineering, Structure, and Function. Working to better understand the structure and function of proteins. Scientific efforts at Los Alamos cover various disciplines, including metabolomics, enzymology, and proteomics.
• Neuro and Cognitive Sciences. Studying the human brain and how it works. Such an understanding will enable physicians to better diagnose, monitor, and treat debilitating conditions such as strokes, neurological and degenerative diseases, mental illnesses, and traumatic brain injuries. Scientists can also apply such knowledge to design computers and machines that perform human-like tasks, such as visually recognizing objects.

History

Biological research at Los Alamos dates from its very early days, when the Atomic Energy Commission during the 1940s established health research units in wartime laboratories to investigate the effects of radiation on living organisms.

More than 70 years later, bioscience research at Los Alamos is a unique, interdisciplinary endeavor that involves more than 400 scientists from several technical divisions throughout the Laboratory.

Today, scientists at Los Alamos integrate experiment, theory, and computational biology and bioinformatics to address global security challenges in health, energy, and the environment.