Computational model provides new insights into HIV-1 vaccine design
HIV attacking a T cell, LANL image.
Scientists at Los Alamos
National Laboratory have created a computational model that could change the
way that researchers look at possibilities for an HIV-1 vaccine.
“An
effective HIV-1 vaccine has proven elusive, partly due to the difficulty of
causing an immune response that can neutralize the diverse viral strains
circulating in the human population,” said Alan Perelson, of Los Alamos’
Theoretical Biology and Biophysics group. “Harnessing the power of broadly
neutralizing antibodies, which emerge years into a chronic HIV infection, could
help overcome this challenge.” (Full Story)
Telltale antineutrinos
could reveal rogue nuclear programs
Iran’s Arak nuclear facility, from IEEE
Spectrum.
There’s a real need for
them [advanced monitoring technologies] says Nancy Jo Nicholas, associate
director for threat identification and response at Los Alamos National
Laboratory (LANL). “There is talk about a global renaissance in the nuclear
industry,” she says. “There will be more facilities, so giving inspectors tools
that allow them to do their job in an efficient and effective way is a clear
benefit.” (Full Story)
Scientists
explore hybrid ultrasmall gold nanocluster for enzymatic fuel cells
Gold nanoclusters (~1 nm) are efficient
mediators
of electron transfer, LANL image.
With fossil-fuel sources
dwindling, better biofuel cell design is a strong candidate in the energy
field. In research published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society,
Los Alamos researchers and external collaborators synthesized and characterized
a new DNA-templated gold nanocluster (AuNC) that could resolve a critical
methodological barrier for efficient biofuel cell design. (Full Story)
Also in the Daily Post
Atmospheric
Research Lab Bound For Antarctic
Kim Nitschke and Paul Ortega scouted
Antarctica
with co-investigator Johannes Verlinde.
A big production is
about to take place in a remote part of the world starting in November. A team
of logistics specialists assembled from Los Alamos National Laboratory and
several other national science labs brought key props and principal actors
together for two months this summer in Pagosa Springs, Colo. for walk-throughs
and rehearsals.
“We’ve
been in a lot of places, but we’ve never been anywhere like Antarctica,” said
Heath Powers LANL’s operational director for the project. (Full Story)
LANL to
team with P&G on clean energy
Clean energy
manufacturing efforts will get a boost, thanks to a new national
laboratory-industry collaboration pilot announced this week by the U.S.
Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative.
Los
Alamos National Laboratory and Procter & Gamble will form one of the seven
‘innovation pairs’ working to bring sustainable ideas from some of the nations
top scientists into the day-to-day world of manufacturing. (Full Story)
Also from the Monitor this week:
Nonprofits
benefit from LA National Security help
More than 225 nonprofit
organizations received $162,650 from Los Alamos National Security, LLC, which
manages Los Alamos National Laboratory. The LANS contributions are determined
by the number of volunteer hours logged by Laboratory employees and retirees
through an organization called VolunteerMatch.
“The
genuine care and commitment Laboratory employees and retirees have for their
communities are clearly demonstrated by the number of hours volunteered to
these nonprofit organizations,” said Kathy Keith, director of Los Alamos’ Community
Programs Office, which oversees the volunteer program. (Full Story)
LANL looks
to community for next generation workforce
Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan with
County
Council Chair Kristin Henderson. LANL photo.
An implicit theme of a
community breakfast meeting at the pueblo conference center Wednesday had to do
with work, workers and the variables that make employment attractive and
possible at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Current
concerns include the federal budget, the pace of laboratory projects and
priorities, the race between recruitment and retention, and the ongoing tussle
between jobs available and attracting and preparing the best people possible. (Full Story)
To subscribe to Los Alamos Press Highlights, please
e-mail listmanager@lanl.gov and include the words subscribe PressHighlights in the body of your email message; to
unsubscribe, include unsubscribe
PressHighlights.
Please visit us at www.lanl.gov
