Sandia researchers decode metabolic pathway of soil bacterium that thrives on lignin LIVERMORE, Calif. — Abundant, chock full of energy and bound so tightly that the only way to release its energy is through combustion — lignin has frustrated scientists for years. With the help of an unusual soil bacteria, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories […]
Category Archives: Biology
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Blowing bubbles to catch carbon dioxide
September 1, 2016 – 5:00 am
Sandia, UNM develop bio-inspired liquid membrane that could make clean coal a reality ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Sandia National Laboratories and the University of New Mexico (UNM) have created a powerful new way to capture carbon dioxide from coal- and gas-fired electricity plants with a bubble-like membrane that harnesses the power of nature to reduce CO2 […]
Sandia storing information securely in DNA
July 11, 2016 – 7:25 am
Sandia researchers explore a biologically inspired information storage system ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Experiments at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider generate 15 million gigabytes of data per year. That is a lot of digital data to inscribe on hard drives or beam up to the “cloud.” George Bachand, a Sandia National Laboratories bioengineer at the Center for […]
Lighting up disease-carrying mosquitoes
March 21, 2016 – 10:30 am
Sandia’s QUASR enables speedy, accurate detection of West Nile and other viruses LIVERMORE, Calif. — Mosquitoes are deadly efficient at spreading disease. Despite vaccines and efforts to eradicate the pesky insects, they continue to infect humans with feared diseases like Zika virus, malaria and West Nile virus. Gaining the upper hand on mosquitoes requires speed. […]
Algae raceway paves path from lab to real-world applications
February 2, 2016 – 5:00 am
LIVERMORE, Calif.— In a twist of geometry, an oval can make a line. The new algae raceway testing facility at Sandia National Laboratories may be oval in shape, but it paves a direct path between laboratory research and solving the demand for clean energy. As the nation and California adopt policies to promote clean transportation […]
Biological tools create nerve-like polymer network
August 24, 2015 – 5:00 am
Crowdsurfing motor proteins create possible prosthetic interface ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Using a succession of biological mechanisms, Sandia National Laboratories researchers have created linkages of polymer nanotubes that resemble the structure of a nerve, with many out-thrust filaments poised to gather or send electrical impulses. “This is the first demonstration of naturally occurring proteins assembling chemically […]
Algae nutrient recycling is a triple win
August 19, 2015 – 5:00 am
Sandia method cheaper, greener and cuts competition for fertilizer LIVERMORE, Calif. — Nitrogen and phosphate nutrients are among the biggest costs in cultivating algae for biofuels. Sandia molecular biologists Todd Lane and Ryan Davis have shown they can recycle about two-thirds of those critical nutrients, and aim to raise the recycling rate to close to […]
Sandia veterinarian helps make the world safer through livestock health and biosecurity
July 28, 2015 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Dr. Melissa Finley’s credibility was on the line as she worked, surrounded by skeptics, to save the life of a dehydrated calf in rural Afghanistan. As a woman and a foreigner she had to earn the trust of the villagers she was trying to help. “They had never given fluids before, so […]
Tracing the evolution of a drug-resistant pathogen
July 15, 2015 – 1:25 pm
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — To fight a pathogen that’s highly resistant to antibiotics, first understand how it gets that way. Klebsiella pneumoniae strains that carry a particular enzyme are known for “their ability to survive any antibiotics you throw at them,” said Corey Hudson of Sandia National Laboratories in California. Using Sandia’s genome sequencing capabilities, Hudson […]
Starving cancer instead of feeding it poison
May 13, 2015 – 5:00 am
Simulation offers hope of killing cancers without sickening patients ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A patent application for a drug that could destroy the deadly childhood disease known as acute lymphoblastic leukemia — and potentially other cancers as well — has been submitted by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories, the University of Maryland and the MD Anderson […]
Sandia showcases biology breakthroughs available for licensing
March 19, 2015 – 5:00 am
LIVERMORE, Calif.—Technologies developed in Sandia National Laboratories’ biosciences program could soon find their way into doctors’ offices — devices like wearable microneedles that continuously analyze electrolyte levels and a lab-on-a-disk that can test a drop of blood for 64 different diseases in minutes. At a recent seminar for potential investors and licensees, part of the […]
Sandia researchers find clues to superbug evolution
September 23, 2014 – 10:05 am
LIVERMORE, Calif. — Imagine going to the hospital with one disease and coming home with something much worse, or not coming home at all. With the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistance pathogens, healthcare-associated infections have become a serious threat. On any given day about one in 25 hospital patients has at least one such infection […]
Prototype electrolyte sensor provides immediate read-outs
June 3, 2014 – 5:00 am
Painless wearable microneedle device may reduce trips to doctors’ offices ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Patients trying to navigate today’s complex medical system with its costly laboratory analyses might prefer a pain-free home diagnostic device, worn on the wrist, that can analyze, continuously record and immediately remedy low electrolyte levels. Runners, athletes in other strenuous sports and […]
Converting natural gas to liquid transportation fuels via biological organisms
November 18, 2013 – 5:00 am
LIVERMORE, Calif.— Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories will use their expertise in protein expression, enzyme engineering and high-throughput assays as part of a multiproject, $34 million effort by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) aimed at developing advanced biocatalyst technologies that can convert natural gas to liquid fuel for transportation. The ARPA-E program is Reducing […]
NICE! the brain as a model for future supercomputers
May 14, 2013 – 9:35 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The brain’s repute took a big hit in 1997 when an IBM supercomputer defeated world chess champion Gary Kasparov in a match reported around the world. But in the second round, the brain is back. A Sandia National Laboratories-supported workshop in Albuquerque called NICE, for Neuro-Inspired Computational Elements workshop, discussed ways to […]