LIVERMORE, Calif. — To make algae biofuels more competitive with petroleum, growers must increase productivity and keep their ponds from crashing. That’s why Sandia National Laboratories and partners are inviting participants to help in the search for the toughest algae strains and most innovative farming techniques. Though algae sometimes bloom uncontrollably in the wild, it […]
Author Archives: Julia Bernstein
Deconstructing deleterious soot
February 7, 2019 – 5:00 am
LIVERMORE, Calif. — In most situations, breaking things apart isn’t the best way to solve a problem. However, sometimes the opposite is true if you’re trying to characterize complex chemical compounds. That’s what Sandia National Laboratories scientists Nils Hansen and Scott Skeen did to definitively identify pollution-causing soot precursors in a flame. The researchers discovered […]
Heat it and read it
January 10, 2019 – 5:00 am
LIVERMORE, Calif. — You’re sweating and feverish and have no idea why. Fortunately, Sandia National Laboratories scientists have a device that can pinpoint what’s wrong in less than an hour. Unlike most medical diagnostic devices which can perform only one type of test — either protein or nucleic acid tests — Sandia’s SpinDx can now perform […]
Some like it cryogenic
October 15, 2018 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories helped design the first generation of fueling stations for hydrogen-powered cars so that they’re as safe as conventional gas stations. Now, Sandia is working to do the same for the next generation of hydrogen stations. To keep up with growing demand for hydrogen fuel, retailers need to build many […]
Cutting it short
August 22, 2018 – 5:00 am
LIVERMORE, Calif. — Gene editing technology could one day eliminate diseases currently considered incurable. Thanks to a new test developed by Sandia National Laboratories scientists, that day is closer to dawning. The protein responsible for cutting out disease-causing bits of DNA is not safe to leave in the body for long. That’s why scientists are […]
Diesel doesn’t float this boat
July 2, 2018 – 5:00 am
LIVERMORE, Calif. — Marine research could soon be possible without the risk of polluting either the air or the ocean. It’s thanks to a new ship design and feasibility study led by Sandia National Laboratories. Hydrogen fuel cells have existed for decades, and there are multiple advantages to using them instead of diesel engines to […]
Riding bacterium to the bank
May 17, 2018 – 9:00 am
LIVERMORE, Calif. — What does jet fuel have in common with pantyhose and plastic soda bottles? They’re all products currently derived from petroleum. Sandia National Laboratories scientists have demonstrated a new technology based on bioengineered bacteria that could make it economically feasible to produce all three from renewable plant sources. Economically and efficiently converting tough […]
Sandia supplies essential element to local science classrooms
January 15, 2018 – 7:41 am
LIVERMORE, Calif. — Thanks to a donation by Sandia National Laboratories, public high schools in Livermore now sport colorful, extra-large periodic tables that include the city’s namesake element, Livermorium. Livermorium is a synthetic element discovered through experiments at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia. The International Union of […]
Infectious diseases: CTRL + ALT + Delete
November 21, 2017 – 5:00 am
Sandia joins gene editing safety project LIVERMORE, Calif.— Gene editing is revolutionizing the bioscience research landscape and holds great promise for “deleting” diseases from human bodies. Sandia National Laboratories is working to make this technology safer and to ensure that one day it can be delivered into humans without triggering adverse immune system reactions or […]
New routes to renewables: Sandia speeds transformation of biofuel waste into wealth
November 9, 2017 – 5:00 am
LIVERMORE, Calif. — A Sandia National Laboratories-led team has demonstrated faster, more efficient ways to turn discarded plant matter into chemicals worth billions. The team’s findings could help transform the economics of making fuels and other products from domestically grown renewable sources. Lignin, the tough material left over from biofuel production, contains compounds that can […]
Biofuels from bacteria
August 21, 2017 – 8:55 am
Sandia helps HelioBioSys understand new clean energy source LIVERMORE, Calif.—You might not cook with this sugar, but from a biofuels standpoint, it’s pretty sweet. A Bay Area company has patented a group of three single-celled, algae-like organisms that, when grown together, can produce high quantities of sugar just right for making biofuels. Sandia National Laboratories […]
The good, the bad and the algae
August 7, 2017 – 10:50 am
Sandia tests Salton Sea-grown algae as new fuel source and pollution solution BRAWLEY, California — Sandia National Laboratories is testing whether one of California’s largest and most polluted lakes can transform into one of its most productive and profitable. Southern California’s 350-square-mile Salton Sea has well-documented problems related to elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus […]
Scintillating discovery at Sandia Labs
June 29, 2017 – 8:20 am
Bright thinking leads to breakthrough in nuclear threat detection science LIVERMORE, Calif. — Taking inspiration from an unusual source, a Sandia National Laboratories team has dramatically improved the science of scintillators — objects that detect nuclear threats. According to the team, using organic glass scintillators could soon make it even harder to smuggle nuclear materials […]
Trash into treasure: Sandia could help biofuel pay for itself with goods made from waste
May 4, 2017 – 8:55 am
EMERYVILLE, Calif. — A recent discovery by Sandia National Laboratories researchers may unlock the potential of biofuel waste — and ultimately make biofuels competitive with petroleum. Fuel made from plants is much more expensive than petroleum, but one way to decrease the cost would be to sell products made from lignin, the plant waste left […]
Testing for Zika virus: there’s an app for that
March 20, 2017 – 11:58 am
Sandia prototype dramatically cuts cost, time for detection of mosquito-borne illness LIVERMORE, Calif. — Add rapid, mobile testing for Zika and other viruses to the list of things that smartphone technology is making possible. Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a smartphone-controlled, battery-operated diagnostic device that weighs under a pound, costs as little as […]