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April 22 Science at the Theater Asks 'How Hot Will it Get?'
 The Lab hosts its next Science at the Theater event on Monday, April 22, with a presentation "How Hot Will It Get?" that features researchers discussing their latest findings on the earth's changing climate - from the tundra to the rainforest. The event takes place at 7 p.m. on the Roda Stage of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Have a question you'd like to ask one of our scientists? Or would you like to have your name entered into a drawing to tour our NERSC supercomputing center? If so, send e-mail to askberkeleylab@lbl.gov. More> |
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Why Clouds Matter, and Why There May be Fewer of Them
 Clouds can both cool the planet, by acting as a shield against the sun, and warm the planet, by trapping heat. But why do clouds behave the way they do? And how will a warming planet affect the cloud cover? Berkeley Lab scientist David Romps has made it his mission to answer these questions. They are important because clouds are the largest source of uncertainty in today's climate models. More> |
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Engineering Bacteria to Generate Currents
 Just like electronics, living cells use electrons for energy and information transfer. Despite electrons being a common "language" of the living and electronic worlds, living cells cannot speak to our largely technological realm. Giving a cell the ability to communicate directly with an electrode would lead to enormous opportunities in the development of new energy conversion techniques, fuel production, biological reporters, or new forms of bioelectronic systems. Lab researchers have now demonstrated that engineered E. coli strains can generate measurable current at an anode. More>
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Lab Director Co-Authors Atlantic Op-Ed on Sequestration Cuts
 Most of the talk about sequestration has focused on its immediate impacts. But one severe impact of the automatic spending cuts will only be felt years in the future, when the nation begins to feel the loss of important new scientific ideas that now will not be explored, and of brilliant young scientists who now will take their talents overseas or perhaps even abandon research entirely. Less than one percent of the federal budget goes to fund basic science research. By slashing that fraction even further, the government will achieve short-term savings in millions this year, but the resulting gaps in the innovation pipeline could cost billions of dollars and hurt the national economy for decades to come. More>
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A Long Journey Home: Original 11-Inch Cyclotron Returns to Lab After 75 Years
 Seventy-five years after one of Ernest Lawrence's first working cyclotrons was handed to the London Science Museum, it has returned to the Lab. On Jan. 9, 1932, the brass cyclotron - 26 inches from end to end and whose accelerating chamber measures just 11 inches in diameter - was successfully used to boost protons to energies of 1.22 million electron volts. Its return to Berkeley Lab caps a decades-long saga in which various parties endeavored to secure the cyclotron's return from London, but the persistence of Public Affair's Pamela Patterson finally paid off. More>
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Eco-Rapper's Video Offers 'Gangnam Style' Low-Carbon Message
 Korean rapper Park Jae-sang (aka Psy) knows how to get a message across. At last count his "Gangnam Style" video amassed a record 1.3 billion hits on YouTube. This was not lost on Berkeley Lab eco-rapper John "Sustainable John" Romankiewicz, who spied an opportunity to promote green living. During his last trip to Beijing, as part of the Lab's China Energy Group, they choreographed and shot "Di Tan Style," which translates to "Low Carbon Style." More>
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How Would You Describe Berkeley Lab in 25 Words or Less?
 What is Berkeley Lab? There are a thousand ways to answer, but as part of Lab's current rebranding effort, we are looking for a phrase that sums it up in 25 words or less. We're looking for statements that are conversational, easy to remember, and capture the essence of what we are. Share your descriptions with us via e-mail by Monday, April 15.
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African Researchers Get Tips From Lab to Improve Cassava Production
 Recently, several young researchers working at the International Institute for Tropical Africa (IITA) just outside Nairobi, Kenya, made a trip to the Lab's Joint Genome Institute and UC Berkeley to learn more about genomics. Their goal? To help breed more effective cassava crops to feed hungry mouths in their native Africa. Disease is one of the critical constraints to higher yields of the tuber. Learning the genomics of the plant may make it more resistant. More>
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Lab Researcher Shares Physics of Bike Racing at Oakland's Actual Cafe
 If you've ever tried to take a sharp turn at high speed on a bicycle, you may have wished you knew more about bicycle physics. And while the basic movement feels simple, riding a bike is in fact quite complex. "It turns out the physics of riding a bike are really, really hard," confessed Alex Weber-Bargioni of the Materials Sciences Division. Weber-Bargioni was addressing a standing-room-only crowd at the Actual Café in North Oakland recently, in the first of a new café series called "Actual Science." More>
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| Ian Talks About Home Energy Efficiency
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| Video Glossary |
 Hear Lab researchers define a scientific term in lay language.
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