National Laboratory

SFI: Seminar on The Immune System Detects Intruders by Randomly Migrating Detectors

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SANTA FE INSTITUTE News:

Monday, July 23 • 12:15 p.m. • Medium Conference Room

The Immune System Detects Intruders by Randomly Migrating Detectors

Rob J. De Boer
Theoretical Biology & Bioinformatics, Utrecht University; SFI External Professor

Abstract: The immune system is a distributed system where billions of individual cells, each carrying a unique receptor (detector), scavenge the body to detect the presence of pathogens (intruders) in any of its tissues.

The very few cells detecting a pathogen will expand, generating a large clone of effector cells that together become capable Read More

LANL: HIV Immunity Study Could Pave Way for Vaccine Development

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LANL News:

  • Los Alamos scientists among Duke-led consortium

Photo: LANL Researcher Bette Korber. Courtesy/LANL

Two Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists are among the team recently funded to explore ways to create the precise immune factors needed for effective vaccines against HIV.

The Duke University-led consortium will largely concentrate on inducing broadly neutralizing antibodies that can prevent HIV-1 infection, as well as on generating protective T-cell and innate immune system responses.

“A vaccine-elicited broadly neutralizing antibody response has the potential Read More

16 Countries Take Part in NNSA Radiation Medical Training in Vienna

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NNSA News:

Emergency responders. Courtesy/NNSA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Participants from 16 countries took part in a National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) international radiation medical (I-MED) training course last week in Vienna, Austria. The training was hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Joseph J. Krol, Rear Admiral, United States Navy (Retired), is the Associate Administrator for NNSA’s Office of Emergency Operations. Courtesy/NNSA

“The course instructed medical responders on how to treat injured contaminated patients following a radiation Read More

Regional Coalition of LANL Communities Hires MVM Group as Executive Director

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COUNTY News:

–Attorney DeAnza Valencia Sapien will assume the lead role of executive director for the Coalition.

The Regional Coalition of LANL Communities announced Friday that it has contracted with the MVM Group to provide executive director services to help move the Coalition forward.

The MVM Group is a strategic consulting firm focused on the intersection of business strategy, public policy and reputation management.

Partners DeAnza Valencia Sapien, Yasine Mogharreban Armstrong and Lillian Montoya-Rael, lead the firm.

The MVM Group has extensive experience in assisting companies, Read More

SFI Lecture: Everything Is Obvious Once You Know The Answer

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SFI News:

The Santa Fe Community Lecture, “The Myth of Common Sense: Why Everything that Seems Obvious Isn’t” is set for 7:30 p.m., Wednesday July 25 at the James A. Little Theater in Santa Fe.

Duncan Watts

Principal Researcher, Microsoft; author,”Everything Is Obvious Once You Know The Answer;” former SFI External Professor

Abstract: Relying on “common sense” is the sensible thing to do, right? Not always. Although common sense can be useful for dealing with everyday problems, it can suffer from systematic failures when applied to Read More

Filippenko will deliver 42nd Oppenheimer Memorial Lecture

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OPPENHEIMER MEMORIAL LECTURE News:

Award-winning UC Berkeley astrophysicist Alex Filippenko will deliver the 42nd Oppenheimer Memorial Lecture at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 20, in the Duane Smith Auditorium in Los Alamos.

The lecture, “Dark Energy and the Runaway Universe,” is free and open to the public.

Filippenko has made a career of studying supernovae and using these cosmic beacons to probe the vastness of space.

Filippenko was a member of two independent teams that in 1998 reported, based on observations of supernovae, that the universe was expanding at a runaway pace.

The leaders of those Read More

Taylor Receives Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal

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Jacob Taylor, NIST Physicist, Receives Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal for Public Service. Photo by Sam Kittner/Kittner.com

NIST News:

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) physicist Jacob Taylor received a Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal (Sammies) for his advanced scientific research, which has potential for advances in health care, communications, computing, and technology.

Presented the award by Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank Sept. 13, Taylor was one of just nine winners chosen from nearly 400 nominees for awards honoring excellence Read More

U.S. Senatorial Candidate Heather Wilson Raises Concerns for LANL’s Future

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By Carol A. Clark

U.S. Senatorial candidate Heather Wilson expressed worry “that there is no longer anyone standing up for Los Alamos National Laboratory since Sen. Pete Domenici retired.”

“Sending out press releases and speaking about amendments after they’ve been decided is ineffective,” Wilson said during a telephone interview today from Albuquerque.

Known for her strong advocacy for homeland security, the former U.S. Congresswoman cautioned about allowing LANL’s Chemical and Metallurgy Research Replacement (CMRR) project to Read More

Business Leaders Advocate for LANL Budget

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RDCNM News:

A delegation of New Mexico business leaders will travel to Washington D.C. July 16 and 17 to discuss the importance of Los Alamos National Laboratory to the state’s economy.

The delegation will be accompanied by Gov. Susana Martinez’ Chief of Staff Keith Gardner and Los Alamos County Council Chair Sharon Stover.

Stover is a member of the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities, which traveled to Washington, D.C., on a similar mission in March. .

The current business group plans to meet with New Mexico’s Congressional delegation, staff from key committees in both the U.S. House Read More

NNSA Completes Fourth International Meeting on Next Generation Nuclear Safeguards

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NNSA News:

Laser Ablation Absorbance Ratio Spectroscopy Environmental Sampling (LAARS-ES) … A scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, is developing a unique destructive analytical capability—funded by NNSA’s Office of Nonproliferation and International Security and the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative—to provide timely detection of undeclared HEU production. Courtesy/NNSA

HANOI, VIETNAM – The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), together with the Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, announced Read More