Los Alamos Press Highlights

A new radiation belt around Earth

The Van Allen Probes launched successfully on August 30, 2012.  NASA photo.

NASA’s Van Allen Probes mission has discovered a previously unknown third radiation belt around Earth, revealing the existence of unexpected structures and processes within these hazardous regions of space.

Observations were made by scientists from institutions including LASP; NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center; Los Alamos National Laboratory; and the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space at the University of New Hampshire. (Full Story)

Computer modeling reveals how surprisingly potent Hepatitis C drug works

Hepatitis C viruses.  Dartmouth College image.

A study by researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory and a multinational team reveals how daclatasvir, a direct-acting antiviral agent in development for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV), targets one of its proteins and causes the fastest viral decline ever seen with anti-HCV drugs - within 12 hours of treatment.  

Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus affects about 150 million people worldwide. It is the leading cause of cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver transplants and results in some 350,000 deaths worldwide every year. (Full Story)

Chili native leads nuclear project at National Lab

Rebecca Martinez.  LANL photo.

Rebecca Martinez has never seen a need to stray far from home in Rio Arriba, though her intellectual curiosity has taken her to the position of technical project manager in nuclear process infrastructure at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She is now manager on a multi-million dollar construction project in the Lab’s plutonium facility. She points out that her responsibility is coming in under budget. The scope of her project is to install two glove boxes, safety tools used when scientists are handling possibly contaminated materials. (Full Story)

LANS fund boosts businesses

Six Native American businesses received grants through a new Native American Venture Acceleration Fund created by Los Alamos National Security, LLC and the Regional Development Corporation.

Funding comes from LANS, which manages Los Alamos National Laboratory and the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department. The Native American Venture Acceleration Fund is managed by the Regional Development Corporation. (Full Story)

Quantum cryptography demonstrated for electrical grid security

Quantum cryptography – the use of quantum technology to encrypt and decrypt data at phenomenally high speeds – has traditionally been the preserve of lab men and women in white coats, but now a team of scientists with the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US have demonstrated a real-world application of the technology to secure the data on an electrical energy grid. (Full Story)

How P&G opened its doors to innovation

Former P&G CEO A.G. Lafley.

Under A.G. Lafley, P&G’s now-retired CEO, the company’s closed innovation process began to open up. The firm began to partner with universities, suppliers and other companies with the goal of joining forces to create new products.   

Lafley welcomed key outsiders, from scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratories to entre­­preneurs and inventors, to participate in P&G’s once-secretive research discussions. (Full Story)



 
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