World

Head Of CTBTO Dr. Lassina Zerbo Visits Los Alamos

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CTBTO Executive Secretary Dr. Lassina Zerbo

NNSA News:

LAS VEGAS ― Dr. Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), visited NNSA’s Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) Nov. 23, as part of a multi-day itinerary that also included tours of national laboratories overseen by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

While at Los Alamos, Zerbo discussed the laboratory’s Read More

Dr. Sayre’s Frontiers In Science Talks Explore Strategies To Improve Photosynthesis, Increase Energy Yields

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Dr. Richard Sayre

LANL News:

  • First talk is Monday, Dec. 7 in Albuquerque

Los Alamos National Laboratory molecular biologist Richard Sayre will present two Frontiers in Science lectures, titled, “Hacking Photosynthesis: Growing Plants to Power Our Engines and Feed the World”.

In his talks, which begin Dec. 8, Dr. Sayre will discuss how improving photosynthetic efficiency may result in substantial increases in crop yields.

“Photosynthesis uses light from the sun and carbon dioxide from the air to make sugars that can be converted into energy-rich biofuels,” said Dr. Sayre, of the Laboratory’s Read More

LANL Researcher Pens Prizewinning Essay On Cancer

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Ludmil Alexandrov

LANL News:

  • Research focuses on preventing cancer through mutational signatures

Ludmil Alexandrov, of the Theoretical Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory, made strong points this week in the journal Science about the basic formation of human cancers, winning a 2015 Science & SciLifeLab Prize, on “Understanding the Origins of Human Cancer.”

“I have always been passionate about solving complex genomics puzzles and applying my skills towards better understanding the mechanism underlying cancer development,” said Alexandrov, Oppenheimer Fellow at Los Read More

Heinrich Cosponsors Bill To Strengthen Security Of Visa Waiver Program

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U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Senate Armed Services Committee, is an original cosponsor of bipartisan legislation introduced today to tighten the Visa Waiver Program to help prevent terrorists from entering the United States.

Currently, the Visa Waiver Program permits visa free travel to the United States for citizens of 38 countries that qualify—an average of 20 million visitors per year. The Visa Waiver Program Security Enhancement Act makes a number of security enhancements Read More

Chamisa Elementary School Helps Set New Guinness World Record

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Speed stacking underway at Chamisa Elementary School. Courtesy/LAPS
 
Chamisa Elementary School has participated in speed stacking for the last three years. Courtesy photo
 
LAPS News:

Chamisa Elementary School participated Nov. 12 in a World Sports Stacking Association (WSSA) Guinness World Record. The WSSA is trying to get 610,000 speed stackers in the world playing with cups in a 24-hour period.

Chamisa has participated in the last three years, and the WSSA has set new records ever year from 2006-2014. It is always fun and the students love being active in Physical Education
Read More

Live From Space – Scott Kelly Accepts R&D’s 2015 Scientist Of The Year Award

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Astronaut Scott Kelly. Courtesy/NASA Johnson

 

SCIENCE News:

Rockaway, NJ – Hundreds of science and technology industry leaders watched with rapt attention as Astronaut Scott Kelly accepted the 2015 R&D Magazine Scientist of the Year Award from his perch in the International Space Station (ISS) above the Earth.

The video acceptance speech riveted the audience at the R&D 100 Awards Banquet held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas as Kelly thanked R&D Magazine for this special award and explained the International Space Station Read More

Udall, Heinrich Welcome Passage Of New Law To Foster Innovation, Increase Competitiveness Of U.S. Space Industry

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U.S. Sen. Tom Udall

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich praised passage of the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act to modernize commercial space regulations and encourage competitiveness in the industry.

Udall and Heinrich are longtime champions of modernizing U.S. policies governing commercial spaceflight. The bill, which President Obama signed last week, provides an essential legal framework that will enable New Mexico’s commercial spaceflight industry to grow in the years ahead. 

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich

The new law will Read More

More Than 500 Travelers To U.S. Flagged Daily For National Security Concerns

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Travelers driving north Saturday on I-10 past Las Cruces are routed through this security checkpoint. The checkpoint is set up year round. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

HSNW News:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data show that every day, hundreds of travelers going through airports, seaports and land border crossings are flagged for “suspected national security concerns.”

The Boston Herald reports that in 2014, the average daily number of those flagged for national security concerns was 548. CBP officials would not say how many of those flagged were discovered, Read More

NORAD Celebrates 60 Years Tracking Santa

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Santa Claus spotted Dec. 24, 2014 in the sky over New York. Courtesy/NORAD

NORAD News:

PETERSON AFB, Colo. — The North American Aerospace Defense Command is celebrating the 60th Anniversary of tracking Santa’s yuletide journey.

The NORAD Tracks Santa website, www.noradsanta.org, launching Tuesday, features Santa’s North Pole Village, which includes a holiday countdown, games, activities and more. The website is available in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Chinese.

Official NORAD Tracks Santa apps also are available in the Windows, Read More

Happy Thanksgiving 2015!

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‘Home To Thanksgiving’, Currier and Ives (1867). Courtesy/wikipedia.com

Staff Report

Today is Thanksgiving and the Los Alamos Daily Post news team extends the warmest of wishes to our readers in the local community, across the country and around the world.

In the United States, the modern Thanksgiving holiday tradition is commonly, but not universally, traced to a sparsely documented 1621 celebration at Plymouth in present-day Massachusetts.

The 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. Pilgrims and Puritans who began emigrating from England in the 1620s and Read More