Lawrence Livermore National Lab

The human brain contains approximately 86 billion neurons, and 100 trillion connections between those neurons. Despite our inability to image each neuron and determine their exact connective patterns, several approaches for noninvasive imaging of the living brain have been developed and utilized to great benefit. LLNL scientist Alan Kaplan explores the immense landscape of the human brain and quantifies the brain in terms of data flow. Then describes engineering applications of recorded electrophysiological data and explores methods for analyzing such data to determine the pattern of signals that arise during various activities and mood states. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 34465]

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is a sensitive mass spectrometric method for detecting and quantifying rare long-lived isotopes with high precision. This technique is widely employed in the earth and environmental sciences and is now being applied in the biomedical fields. AMS is primarily used to in the areas of pharmacology and toxicology to investigate the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of radiolabeled drugs, chemicals, and nutrients, as well as in the detection of chemically modified DNA and proteins in animal models and humans. The exquisite sensitivity (10-18 mol) of AMS allows for the use of low chemical and radioisotope doses and relatively small sample sizes, which enables studies to be performed safely in humans, using exposures that are environmentally or therapeutically relevant. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 33431]

Find out about both synthetic and molecular biology approaches to produce small nano-machines (nano-bots). The main building blocks for these nano-bots are based on nano-lipo-protein particles (NLPs). Nano-bots represent a unique solution for new approaches to vaccines, drug delivery and energy needs. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 32074]

Revolutionary changes to materials and structures are now possible with 3D printing, bringing concepts that were previously only imagined into reality. This breakthrough technology fabricates components by adding material layer by layer from the bottom up allowing for the creation of highly complex and previously unrealizable structures. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 32073]

A vast majority of the newly discovered human pathogens are viruses that have jumped to humans from an animal host ("cross-species transmission"). Find out how biologists and computer scientists have collaborated and used cutting edge ultra-deep sequencing technology to study the dynamics of a 2009 rabies outbreak to better understand emergent viruses, such as Ebola and Zika. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 32072]

In the last decade, the scientific foundations of a number of traditional forensic methods have come under increasing criticism by the scientific community, leading to their discontinuation or reduced effectiveness in criminal prosecutions. These challenges raise questions about the admissibility of certain type of evidence in current cases and the validity of previous convictions. We will discuss the basis of these issues and describe some of the work ongoing at LLNL to try and address some of them. In particular we will describe an entirely new science-based approach to human identification. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 32071]

Everything we can see and touch is made up of chemical elements as illustrated on the Periodic Table of Elements. The heaviest, naturally occurring element is uranium. Using high-energy particle accelerators, scientists have created even heavier elements extending the Periodic Table of Elements up to element 118. Also find out more about element 116, Livermorium, named in in honor of the scientists and research that has been done at LLNL since its discovery. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 31525]

Statistics is the science of data: measuring and assessing uncertainty and more generally, learning from data. Since scientific, technical, and social disciplines all need to make conclusions based on data, statistics provides them with tools essential for their advances. From player stats to computer models to simulate the effects of climate change statistics play a key role. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 31524]

Despite being diminutive in size, iChips have the potential to make big impacts on drug development and medical treatment testing. Lawrence Livermore National Lab is replicating the human body on a miniature scale, specifically focusing on brain physiology. Capturing human physiology outside the body allows scientists to probe and understand the human body without using human subjects. Staff scientist Elizabeth Wheeler describes how her group is using biology, 3D bioprinting, microchips and other technology to recreate human physiology outside the body. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 31475]

Computer simulations of earthquake shaking can provide valuable information on the expected intensity of shaking from earthquakes. Arthur Rodgers, a seismologist/geophysicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, covers seismic hazard in the Bay Area, describes computer simulations of past and possible future earthquakes and looks at the physics that underlies the numerical methods. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 29612]

How does groundwater interact with surface water and surface ecosystems? How can the many types and forms of groundwater pollution be visualized? This presentation by Lawrence Livermore National Lab’s Andy Tompson shows some of the real or potential impacts of drought and climate change and how groundwater may be better managed in the future. "It may look like an Ant Farm, but there are really no ants in this demonstration!" Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 29611]

The new abundance of natural gas provides energy options for America, including clean electric power. Oil production has increased, reducing the dependence of the US on imported petroleum. Both benefits come with the challenge of managing the environmental impact of new oil and gas development in the US. This talk discusses the way shale gas and oil are created and produced, and the latest choices now available for generating energy in the United States. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Public Affairs] [Science] [Show ID: 29609]

What are fossil fuels? What is the greenhouse effect? How are the two related? Can we reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and lower the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere? Wind and solar power can help lead the way. Learn how state-of-the-art science and engineering can be used to utilize more clean, green energy from both the wind and the sun, right out of thin air. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 29610]

Computer modeling is a powerful tool for scientific inquiry when experiments are too costly, too dangerous, or simply impossible. Computational physicist David Richard describes how to build a computer model of a human heart, starting from an individual cell and then using data from an actual person to create a realistic representation of a beating heart. Learn some of the tricks and techniques used to combine the power of Sequoia's 1.6 million CPUs providing examples of how doctors and researchers may soon be able to use such simulations to investigate the effects of new drugs on cardiac rhythms or improve the success rate of complex surgical procedures. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 28466]

Microbes are living organisms too small to be seen. While most are friendly to humans, some microbes, called pathogens, can cause disease. Although the medical field has created miraculous antimicrobial drugs to ward them off, menacing microbes often change their protein make-up in devious ways to evade being destroyed, resulting in antibiotic resistance and eventually "super-bugs." lead biologist on the LLNL Pathogen Bioinformatics team Beth Vitalis explains that proteins are diverse and dynamic biomolecules that determine how organisms thrive in changing environments. Protein modeling is a computational tool that researchers use to see microbial proteins. Using LLNL's high performance computational capabilities, 3D models are created of microbial proteins, providing visual tools to expose microbial secrets. This information can be used to help detect, understand, and identify new ways to treat the menacing microbes. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 28465]

Fusion energy is a possible long-term energy solution to provide the energy needed to drive economic growth and social development. Harnessing the energy of the Sun and stars here on Earth requires a detailed understanding of the behavior of matter at extreme temperature and density conditions. Massive simulations, using up to one million computer processors (equivalent to hundreds of thousands of laptops working simultaneously) play a critical role in this research. They allow us to test different theories and explore different fusion approaches, such as fast ignition of the fusion fuel. Postdoctoral Fellow at Lawrence Livermore National Lab Frederico Fiuza discusses the challenges associated with fusion modeling, and how the outstanding computational resources and advanced computer graphics at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory help us to create a miniature Sun on Earth. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 28464]

Computers are becoming an increasingly cheaper, more powerful tool that cannot be ignored by professionals. Computer simulation reproduces the behavior of natural and man-made systems to help us understand, predict, and communicate. Vic Castillo, a research engineer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, shows how computer simulation is used by LLNL scientists on the world’s fastest computers. See how you can get started doing your own computer simulations with free, open-source tools for class projects or just for fun. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 28463]

The successes of the Veterans Internship program at Lawrence Livermore National Lab. [Public Affairs] [Education] [Show ID: 27766]

We live in a time where miraculous medical discoveries are occurring all the time. Regrettably many of the miracle tools, because of their size and complexity, are confined to state of the art medical centers in large cities. Learn about efforts to build new medical tools in the hope of saving lives in remote and hard to reach places in the world. Hear about new efforts to build medical tools to determine life threatening traumatic injuries to the head and torso by using the Micropower Ultrawideband Impulse Radar (MUIR). Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 26007]

The most ancient forms of life - bacteria - are exceptionally tiny organisms, yet they have contributed in big ways to our planet. Although long recognized for causing disease, microbes have had a tremendous impact on our survival, and now can help us solve some of our urgent energy problems. Unlike fossil fuels, the microbial production of biofuels represents a new source of energy that can be constantly renewed. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 26008]

NASA's NuSTAR spacecraft, launched in June of 2012, uses technology developed in part by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to take pictures of the sky in the most energetic X-rays ever to be focused. Bill Craig and Michael Pivovaroff talk about the innovative technology at the heart of NuSTAR and discuss some of the exciting science results from the first few months of NuSTAR's mission. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 25748]

When a killer infection spreads in the movies, the doctors triage and isolate the patients while a medical biologist races to diagnose the illness and find a cure. Inevitably a national emergency follows as the virus or bacteria wipe out an unsuspecting population. While this may be Hollywood's vision, Reg Beer, the Medical Diagnostics Initiative Leader at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, explains the Lab-on-Chip technologies he develops for time-critical Molecular Diagnostics applications. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 25750]

After traveling through the inner solar system for seven years, NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft reached Mercury in March 2011 and became the first ever mission to orbit this mysterious planet. Since then MESSENGER has been making measurements with its suite of scientific instruments including gamma-ray, neutron and x-ray spectrometers, magnetometer, laser altimeter, cameras and other instruments. Join Morgan Burks, a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, to explore the mysteries surrounding Mercury's formation and composition and the instruments that need to work at cryogenic temperatures in one of the hottest places in the solar system. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 24905]

The probability of a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake in the Greater Bay Area during the next 30 years is 63 percent, or about two out of three. Lawrence Livermore National Lab scientist Sean Ford and teacher Ken Wedel discuss what an earthquake of that size in the Bay Area would look like and explain its effects. Just like an earthquake, a nuclear test can cause seismic disturbances that are recorded at monitoring stations around the world. Learn how seismologists tell the difference between these two sources by sleuthing seismic signals. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 24772]

Paul Jackson, Division Leader of the Biosciences and Biotechnology Division at Lawrence Livermore National Lab, presents a brief history of antibiotic use and discusses the medical and public policy factors that are, in part, responsible for increased antibiotic resistance in pathogenic microbes. He and biology teacher Frankie Tate then introduce a new generation of antimicrobial compounds that are derived from the bacteria's own genes that may be clinically useful to treat infections caused by antibiotic resistant pathogens. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 24518]

Space junk - thousands of debris objects are hurtling around the earth with the potential of crashing into one another. As we launch more satellites, the risk of a satellite colliding with another satellite or a piece of space junk increases, threatening those satellite services we depend on. John Henderson, remote sensing scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory reviews the many ways we use satellites, how space collisions happen, how much of a danger space collisions are, and what can be done to prevent space collisions. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 24517]

Millions of people worldwide suffer from ocular diseases that degrade the retina, the light-processing component of the eye, causing blindness. A team from Lawrence Livermore National labs describes how the nervous system works and how neurons communicate then discuss the first long-term retinal prosthesis that can function for years inside the harsh biological environment of the eye. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 24516]

George Caporaso, LLNL scientist, explores the role radiation plays in the treatment of cancer, and in particular, how the use of energetic proton beams could improve cancer treatment. Unfortunately, this type of treatment has limited availability due to the large size and cost of current proton therapy systems. A new type of particle accelerator that holds promise of greatly miniaturizing proton treatment systems and making this treatment more widely available will be described. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 22011]

Can we produce much of the energy we need from clean, renewable sources? Jeff Mirocha, atmospheric scientist and the technical leader of LLNL's wind energy research group, and Sonia Wharton, post-doctorate scholar in the Climate/Carbon Science Group, argue that wind energy can lead the way. Learn why the wind blows, where the winds blow the best, how energy can be generated from the wind, and how science and engineering can ensure a reliable and abundant supply of green, renewable energy to power our future. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 22010]

The periodic table is on the wall of most science classrooms, but it is changing. Ken Moody, Chief Scientist for Radiochemistry, explains that recent discoveries of new elements have extended the periodic table beyond what was thought was possible, and demonstrates the existence of a collection of Superheavy Elements with unusual nuclear properties at the limits of stability. Explore the relationship between atoms and elements, and between nuclei and isotopes. Discover how new elements are produced and identified, and how this leads to experiments that tell us about the extreme limits of chemical behavior, the possible breakdown of periodicity, and the ultimate end of the periodic table. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 22009]

LLNL scientist Dean Williams explores the evolution of climate models with from the mid 1970's to the present. Methods for testing climate models against a variety of benchmarks such as historical climate changes or seasonal changes are explained. Several key issues arising from global climate change are highlighted followed by suggestions for actions that will help limit carbon dioxide emissions. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 22008]

400 years ago, our world-view changed when Galileo proved that the Earth was not the center of the universe but orbits around the Sun. 15 years ago the world shifted again when the first planets were discovered orbiting other stars. Last year, using adaptive optics and the 10 meter W.M. Keck telescope in Hawaii, a Lawrence Livermore National Lab team produced the first ever picture of another solar system. One day, these techniques may even lead to an image with a pale blue dot circling a nearby star - another Earth. Join LLNL astronomer Bruce Macintosh and Lisa Poyneer as they describe the new technologies that made these pictures possible. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 20235]

Hydrocarbon fuels come almost exclusively from underground. We burn the coal or oil to obtain energy - and for hundreds of years, we have then allowed the resulting carbon dioxide to simply enter the atmosphere. Ken Wedel, Tracy High School Earth Science teacher,explores the role that underground storage of carbon dioxide can play in helping avoid damaging climate change, and the scientific challenges that face us in trying to keep the atmospheric load of carbon dioxide from continuing to grow due to burning fossil fuels. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 20234]

Our future health, happiness and economic well-being depends on producing plentiful, inexpensive, carbon-free energy that is available 24 hours/day, worldwide. Coal, oil and gas supply over 80% of the world's energy but cause pollution and add to global warming. Renewable energy, such as wind and solar, may not be able to supply enough energy. Ed Moses and the National Ignition Facility have an idea that could change everything-fusion energy-unlocking the force inside the nucleus of hydrogen that powers the sun and the stars. Learn what it will take for fusion power to become a reality in the next few decades. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 20233]

It is very likely that rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere resulting from human activity are increasing global temperatures and changing Earth's climate. Lawrence Livermore National Lab’s Karis MacFarlane explains about the carbon cycle, ways that forests and soils store carbon, and how carbon storage and loss from forests and soils might change with changes in climate and human activity. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 20232]

Those windmills spinning away in the hills and mountain passes provide clean and renewable energy to our power grids. Lawrence Livermore National Lab’s Julie Lundquist explains how wind turbines convert the forces of the atmosphere into electricity for our homes, businesses, and even cars. Explore how much power could be collected from the wind, how that amount compares to our demands, and how weather forecasts help wind turbines provide even more clean, renewable, and reliable energy. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 17646]

Aerogels are a class of materials with fascinating properties but they are hardly materials at all as they can be composed of up to 99.8% empty space. Aerogels are among the most versatile materials available for technical applications due to their wide variety of exceptional properties. This material has chemists, physicists, astronomers, and materials scientists utilizing its properties in a myriad of applications. In this lecture Dr. Gash and Mr. Dean Reese will describe and demonstrate the structure, properties, and advanced applications of aerogels, and even synthesize one. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 17645]

The solar system formed from a cloud of interstellar gas and dust cloud about 4.6 billion years ago. Life began on earth about 3.5 billion years ago following a period of intense bombardment by asteroid fragments and comets, intense volcanism and finally development of a stable crust and a hospitable atmosphere. Thanks to more powerful telescopes and other state-of-the-art observational methods, we can now see "stellar nurseries" and young stars at various stages of formation. In this talk we’ll learn what triggers star formation in clouds, circumstellar disks and planet formation within the disks, and we’ll discuss early life on earth. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 17644]

Every couple of years, the earth is hit by a body with energy near that of the Hiroshima bomb. Deposited high in the atmosphere these events causes little or no damage. On longer timescales, impacts occur with the potential to destroy regions, or whole civilizations. Learn about the impact threat, followed by a systematic development of the requirements to divert such an object. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 17643]

Ed Moses, Director of the National Ignition Facility describes the path to a limitless supply of clean, safe energy. He explains how the world’s biggest, most energetic laser works and it’s goals. Nearing completion, the NIF will focus its giant laser beams on a tiny target filled with hydrogen. The goal is to replicate the conditions inside our sun and create, at a small size, its life-giving energy. Creating this sun process in the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is fundamental to the vision of developing limitless, clean, carbon-free, safe and environmentally friendly energy to meet the world's increased energy. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 17642]

For the first time in history, man has a detailed accounting of what makes up the universe. Yet, 95 percent of the universe defies detection. Lawrence Livermore National Lab scientist Steve Asztalos explains how scientists have come to this understanding of the universe and what they think makes up about 25 percent of its mass. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 15211]

Right below your feet is a source of renewable energy that is largely untapped. It heats groundwater by conduction and convection as it travels toward the surface of the earth. Lawrence Livermore National Lab scientists Carol Bruton and John Ziagos explain how geothermal energy can be used to generate electricity or heat buildings. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 15238]

Creating a star on Earth is the goal of the National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world's largest laser. When completed in 2009, NIF will focus 192 giant laser beams on a BB-sized target filled with hydrogen fuel - fusing, or igniting, the hydrogen atoms' nuclei. This is the same fusion energy process that provides the life-giving energy from the sun. NIF Director, Ed Moses, describes how NIF works and its potential to provide a limitless supply of clean, safe energy. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 15237]

Veterinarians are playing an important role in protecting the nation's food supply. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory veterinarian Dr. Pamela Hullinger describes how scientists at the lab are working to develop tests and computer disease models to detect toxins and keep our national livestock safe from foreign diseases. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Agriculture] [Show ID: 15236]

Most scientists agree that man-made carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is the main cause of climate change. So why not store it somewhere instead of releasing it to the air? Great idea and scientists have been thinking about this for some time. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientist Julio Friedmann discusses carbon capture and storage (CCS), and how it might be used. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 15235]

The physical and chemical properties of hydrogen make its use superior to fossil fuels. Producible virtually anywhere from using electricity, it is a simple, non-toxic molecule that can generate electricity or power vehicles cleanly, efficiently, and even silently, if we choose. Development of hydrogen automobiles has been hindered, however, because hydrogen is much more difficult to store than gasoline. Gene Berry, Research Scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and high school teacher Dean Reese, explore the need for alternatives to gasoline and what role hydrogen might play. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 14497]

Will we run out of certain forms of energy, such as oil, and what are the replacement options? How does hydrogen fit into the future U.S. energy picture? What is carbon sequestration and why does it matter? What about sustainable energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal? John Ziagos, Atmospheric, Earth, and Energy Department at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and high school teacher Dean Reese present the latest information on the earth's total energy budget to see what forms of energy we will be harnessing in the future. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 14494]

Carbon dating is a technology borne out of archeologists' desire to date ancient artifacts but it has also spawned exciting applications in biomedical science. Techniques refined at Lawrence Livermore National Lab’s Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry are being used to address research questions as diverse as the age of the DNA in our brains to how long chemicals remain in our bodies. Research Scientist Ken Tutereltaub and high school teacher Bret States highlight the principles of carbon dating and how AMS technology is being used to provide insights into challenging problems in biomedicine. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 14493]

The occasional appearance of comets has awed humans throughout history. But how much do we really know about comets? Did a comet kill the dinosaurs? And, what can comets tell us about our own ancient history? With comet dust from NASA’s Stardust mission, scientists like Hope Ishii, a Research Scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, are beginning to answer these questions. She and high school teacher Tom Shefler look at how comets formed, their role in the Earth's history and the clues about what happened over 4 billion years ago. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 14492]

Imagine a sphere much smaller than a pea releasing enough energy to supply all of the electricity needs of the United States for a brief moment in time. How could this be possible? At the National Ignition Facility, a huge laser in Livermore, California, scientists and engineers are nearly ready to make this a reality. Edward Moses, the Project Manager at National Ignition Facility, explains how energy can be compressed to extreme power levels to potentially provide for a future of clean energy for our world. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 14491]