Science

LWV Lunch With A Leader: Taraka Dale, Ph.D Jan. 16

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Taraka Dale

LWV News:

The League of Women Voters (LWV) invites the community to its monthly Lunch with a Leader event, noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, at the Unitarian Fellowship Hall on Sage Street. The leader will be Taraka Dale, PhD.

Dale grew up in northwestern Pennsylvania, in a rural area between Pittsburgh and Erie. In 1999, she received her B.S. in Biochemistry from Allegheny College, a nearby liberal arts school. Since then, apart from a few years in Chicago, she has spent the bulk of her adult and professional life in the mountain west, receiving her Ph.D in Biochemistry from the University Read More

UC Riverside Scientists Develop Nanopore-based Tool That Could Transform Diagnostics Of Illnesses

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The sensor, a glass tube that is melted at the tip to form a sharp needle-like structure, is dipped into a fluid containing molecules. Photo by Kevin Freedman/ImageFX/UCR

By JULES BERNSTEIN
UC Riverside

UC Riverside scientists have developed a nanopore-based tool that could help diagnose illnesses much faster and with greater precision than current tests allow, by capturing signals from individual molecules.

Since the molecules scientists want to detect — generally certain DNA or protein molecules — are roughly one-billionth of a meter wide, the electrical signals they Read More

Daily Postcard: Snowy Overlook On Cerro La Jara At VCNP

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A snowy overlook on Cerro La Jara Friday at Valles Caldera National Preserve. The community is invited to a Climate Science Ski Tour on Friday, Jan. 17 at Valles Caldera National Preserve. This program is open to the public; registration is not required. While skiing on groomed trails around the scenic La Jara peak, participants will learn about climate change in the Jemez mountains. Visitors will learn about two possible scenarios for Valles Caldera’s future climate and the basics of climate science. For this program, participants must bring their own skiing equipment. Classic cross-country Read More

Amateur Naturalist: Mathematical Symmetry In Plants

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By ROBERT DRYA
Los Alamos

Plants die back with the arrival of winter. Their dry, brownish leaves and stems are not as interesting compared to summer. However winter provides a good time to explore and ponder patterns of growth that then can be seen in the summer.

Ferns provide one example. A stem initially grows in a curl, not straight. The curled stem in turn has repeating rings of developing leaves. Three kinds of repetition are apparent.

First, stems grow from a curl. Second, little branches grow sideways from a stem. Third, leaves grow in parallel from the little branches. (See Pictures 1 and Read More

Duplicate Bridge In Los Alamos: Dec. 18, 2024 #2

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Bridge News:

Here is another competitive hand at the Dec. 18 game played at the Betty Ehart Senior Activity Center.

Before reviewing the bidding and play, try to visualize how the bidding might proceed, and then how the hand should be played.

Board 9: North was the dealer; East/West were vulnerable.

 

While there are not 22+ HCP to make a typical 2♣ opening bid, this hand is very distributional with only 4 losers, so a 2♣ opening bid is warranted. Shows a decent hand with some strength. See below. What else can South bid?

Dealer is North and opens a strong 2♣. East passes, and South should respond Read More

PEEC Nature Youth Group Awarded Prestigious Prize At AI Conference In Vancouver   

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PEEC Nature Youth Group members Aditya Viswanathan, center, and Adis Bock, right, of Los Alamos High School presenting poster at the Neurips conference, Dec. 10, 2024, in Vancouver. Photo by Hari Viswanathan

PEEC Nature Youth Group members Aditya Viswanathan, Adis Bock, Zoe Bent, Tate Plohr, Suchir Jha, Celia Pesiri, Sebastian Koglin and Phoebe Reid of LAHS. Photo by Ryan Ramaker

By ADITYA VISWANATHAN and ADIS BOCK
PEEC Nature Youth Group

The members of our Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) Nature Youth Group were awarded a prestigious prize for a project that aims to prevent Read More

Los Alamos National Laboratory Researchers Develop Liquid Semiconductor Lasers Employing Colloidal Quantum Dots

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Colloidal quantum dots grown in liquid media and easily manipulated in solution as large molecules represent an ideal optical gain medium for liquid lasers. Photo by Jun Du

LANL News:

  • Novel ‘laser-ready’ colloidal quantum dots should renew interest in liquid laser applications

A breakthrough in colloidal quantum dot technology is set to revive the field of liquid lasers, with promising applications in optofluidics, lab-on-a-chip devices, and high-contrast sensing and imaging. As described Nov. 22, 2024 in Nature Materials, a Los Alamos-led research team exploited the unrivaled versatility Read More

PEEC Invites Girl Scouts To Join Space Science Programs

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PEEC News:

The Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) invites Girl Scouts to join two exciting space-themed programs this January at Los Alamos Nature Center.

Brownies can earn their Space Science Adventurer badge Jan 19, exploring the solar system and stargazing indoors.

Jan. 26, Junior Girl Scouts will earn their Space Science Investigator badge, with activities like using a solar telescope and enjoying a planetarium show. Both programs promise hands-on experiences that will inspire young minds to reach for the stars!

Event Details:

  • Brownie Scouts – Space Science Adventurer
Read More

LANL, U-M To Develop Michigan-Based AI Research Center

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University of Michigan, LANL to jointly develop Michigan-based AI research center. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

The University of Michigan (U-M) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) plan to develop a state-of-the-art facility for high-performance computing and AI research that will enhance and strengthen the university’s research capabilities in science, energy and national security and create new jobs in southeast Michigan.

The effort, part of a new partnership agreement, builds on a recently established research collaboration between the two institutions. Under the expanded Read More

Los Alamos Conducts First Critical Experiment Using High Assay Low Enriched Uranium In Decades

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Deimos team members in front of their experiment in the National Criticality Experiments Research Center. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

A research team at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) recently performed the first critical experiment with high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) TRi-structural ISOtropic (TRISO) fuel in four decades at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) in Nevada. It achieved its objective of establishing an advanced reactor testbed. 

“With companies such as Amazon and Google investing in nuclear energy to power their data centers, Read More