Science

Science On Tap: Chonggang Xu On Increasing Impacts Of  Extreme Droughts On Vegetation Productivity March 16

by

LANL scientist Chonggang Xu discusses impacts of extreme droughts on vegetation productivity March 16. Courtesy/LACD

SCIENCE ON TAP News:

Join the Bradbury Science Museum and the Los Alamos Creative District for Science On Tap at 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 16 at Boese Brothers Brewpub, 145 Central Park Square.

This On Tap will feature a conversation with Chonggang Xu on the increasing impacts of extreme droughts on vegetation productivity.

Beer and other drinks will be available for purchase at Boese Brothers, and some complimentary food also will be served, courtesy of the Los Alamos Creative Read More

LAMS PTO Seeks Volunteers To Celebrate Pi Day Friday

by

LAMS PTO News:

Every March 14, mathematicians around the world celebrate Pi Day; 3.14 being the first three digits of the mathematical constant “Pi”.

This year, Pi Day falls on a Saturday, so Los Alamos Middle School (LAMS) is celebrating Pi Day Friday, March 13.

LAMS needs the community’s help to make Pi Day a success. There are two ways that volunteers are needed: Volunteer time or Donate a pie.

Volunteer: The LAMS Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is recruiting volunteers to give two hours of their time Friday, March 13 at LAMS to help with Pi Day.

No special knowledge is required and the materials Read More

LANL: Water-Splitting Advance Holds Promise For Renewable Energy

by

Dongguo Li of Washington State University and Yu Seung Kim of Los Alamos National Laboratory working to make renewable energy more affordable with hydrogen fuel. Courtesy/LANL
LANL News:
A breakthrough into splitting water into its parts could help make renewable energy pay off, even when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.
Using solar and wind power when it is available for water splitting, a process that uses electricity to split H2O into hydrogen and oxygen, offers a way to store energy in the form of hydrogen fuel.
Currently the most popular system used for water
Read More

Enterprise Bank & Trust Brings More than 200 Students On Field Trips To Bradbury Science Museum

by

A northern New Mexico student examines an interactive display at the Bradbury Science Museum during an Enterprise sponsored field trip. Courtesy/Enterprise

A student listens to a communication technique used during WWII during an Enterprise sponsored field trip to the Bradbury Science Museum. Courtesy/Enterprise

BSMA News:

Enterprise Bank & Trust and the Bradbury Science Museum Association (BSMA), are in a partnership to provide bus transportation for students attending Title 1 schools in northern New Mexico, to visit the Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos.

Between Feb. 19 Read More

AGU: Pair Of Geophysicists Develop New Explanation For How Destructive Earthquake Vibrations May Be Produced

by

AGU News:

Earthquakes produce seismic waves with a range of frequencies, from the long, rolling motions that make skyscrapers sway, to the jerky, high-frequency vibrations that cause tremendous damage to houses and other smaller structures.

A pair of geophysicists has a new explanation for how those high-frequency vibrations may be produced.

In a new paper published in the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters, Brown University researchers Victor Tsai and Greg Hirth propose that rocks colliding inside a fault zone as an earthquake happens are the main generators of high-frequency Read More

LANL: Gut Microbiome Samples Head For Space Tonight!

by

Tonight LANL scientists Armand Dichosa and Kumar Anand are sending samples of the human gut microbiome into space. Courtesy photo
LANL News:
Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists Armand Dichosa and Anand Kumar are sending samples of the human gut microbiome into space tonight, part of a project with NASA, DTRA and Rhodium Scientific.
On its 11:50 p.m. March 6 launch, SpaceX-20 will carry these samples to the International Space Station National Laboratory where they will be allowed to grow in order to understand the effect microgravity has on the microbial community.
The samples have
Read More

New Decade Heralds Changes At Space History Museum

by

Southwestern Electrical volunteered its crane and time to put the Museum’s acquisition in place. During the Apollo era, boilerplate command modules were used for testing and training vehicles for astronauts and other mission crew members. This boilerplate Apollo command module (S/N 1207) was used at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., to train Navy and Air Force personnel in Apollo recovery procedures. Courtesy/NMMSH

Donated to the Museum by the German Air Force, this Tornado jet is the first aircraft acquired under the Museum’s new mission. Courtesy/NMMSH

NMMSH News:

ALAMOGORDO — The beginning Read More

Heinrich Questions Energy Secretary On Proposed Cuts For LANL Cleanup, Safety Oversight Of Defense Nuclear Facilities

by

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich questions Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette today in Washington, D.C. on a $100 million reduction in funding for the ongoing cleanup and environmental management efforts at LANL. Courtesy photo
DOE Secretary Brouillette responds to questions today from U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich. Courtesy photo

Scene of Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee hearing today in Washington. Courtesy photo

From the Office of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — During a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing today to examine President Trump’s budget Read More

Skolnik: Staying Safe In An Age Of Anti-Science Authoritarianism

by

By RICHARD SKOLNIK
White Rock

Our staying safe during a disease outbreak requires that we have clear, science-based information available to us at all times. Sadly, however, we are living in an age in which many people reject science. We are also living in an age when one widely watched news network consistently purveys false information about a range of science related matters, now including coronavirus.

Worse than that, however, is that we have a government which demands loyalty over truth and which is muzzling our scientific, medical, and public health institutions. Coordinating communications Read More

Los Alamos National Laboratory Space Weather Model Gives Earlier Warning Of Satellite-Killing Radiation Storms

by

LANL News:

A new machine-learning computer model accurately predicts damaging radiation storms caused by the Van Allen belts two days prior to the storm, the most advanced notice to date, according to a new paper in the journal Space Weather. 

“Radiation storms from the Van Allen belts can damage or even knock out satellites orbiting in medium and high altitudes above the Earth, but predicting these storms has always been a challenge,” said Yue Chen, a space scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and principal investigator on the project jointly funded by NASA and NOAA. “Given that the Read More