Topic: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Energy Voices Climate change deniers strike out – even in energy-rich Kansas

States, not Congress, are taking the lead on climate change laws – from a new cap-and-trade program in California to widespread adoption of renewable electricity standards. Moves to weaken those standards aren't gaining traction in state capitals.     

Ultra-stretchy battery to power bionic life

An experimental type of tiny lithium-based batteries promised to wirelessly charge wearable gadgets, implantable brain-wave monitors, or other bionic devices.

Energy Voices Steven Chu to resign from top post at Energy Department

Steven Chu, who will step down from his post as Energy secretary, made renewables a centerpiece of his tenure. While advances in wind and solar garnered praise from Democrats, Republicans excoriated Steven Chu and the Obama administration when clean-energy investments backfired.  

Energy Voices Can renewables prevent future blackouts from storms?

Solar, wind and other renewable energy sources could help homeowners avoid future blackouts from superstorms like Sandy. But the key to preventing blackouts is how the grid is connected.

Space-time-crystal-powered eternal clock could keep time after end of universe

Researchers have now proposed an experimental design for a 'space-time crystal' that would be able to keep time forever.

Astronomers release biggest ever 3-D map of the universe (+video)

Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III, the 3-D map contains more than a million galaxies. 

New studies cast doubt on NASA's arsenic bacteria claims (+video)

Research led by a NASA astrobiologist in 2010 that suggested the existence of  bacteria could grow using arsenic instead of phosphorus has been challenged by two new studies.  

Bizarre cosmic ray mystery deepens (+video)

Humongous space explosions known as gamma ray bursts have been ruled out as a source of the universe's most intense cosmic rays, a new study has found.

Mitt Romney's top 5 attacks on President Obama

Mitt Romney has yet to nail down the Republican presidential nomination, but he’s already attacking President Obama. Here's a look at five of Mr. Romney’s charges – and whether they’re true.

Alexander Graham Bell recordings discovered after 130 years

Alexander Graham Bell went on to invent the telephone, but before he did that he experimented with recording devices.  The old disks were considered unplayable until new technology gave scientists the chance to listen to the recordings for the first time in 130 years.

Mystery of supernova birth points to white dwarfs

Scientists hit "rewind" to discover how white dwarfs play a role in the evolution of a supernova.

Climate study, funded in part by conservative group, confirms global warming

The latest global warming results confirm those from earlier, independent studies by scientists at NASA and elsewhere that came under fire from skeptics in an episode known as 'climategate.'

Discovery that universe is expanding faster and faster earns physics Nobel

Three astronomers will share the Nobel prize in physics, for their finding that the universe's post-Big Bang expansion is neither slowing nor retreating, but is speeding up.

Supernova 'of a generation': how you can see it with binoculars

A supernova in the nearby Pinwheel Galaxy is the closest supernova in 25 years. Situated near the Big Dipper, the SN 2011fe supernova can be seen with binoculars this week.

How the Hippies Saved Physics, by David Kaiser

Modern theoretical physics owes its survival, in part, to the counterculture movement of the 1960s and ’70s.

CERN scientists 'trap' antimatter for more than 16 minutes

Scientists at the world's largest particle physics laboratory in Switzerland have found a way to contain antimatter atoms in a magnetic 'bottle' for as long as 1,000 seconds, an eternity in particle physics.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu: 'Imprudent' to close US nuclear plants

US Energy Secretary Steven Chu discussed Japan's nuclear crisis, the clean-energy transition, and the future of nuclear power in the US at the Monitor breakfast April 1.

Japan nuclear crisis: Will radioactive food reach US supermarkets?

Worry not. While Japan has banned the sale of some produce from the area near the reactors, similar contamination is highly unlikely in the US, as is the import of tainted Japanese food.

Suddenly, spotlight on earthquake entrepreneur

Earthquake entrepreneur George Dickson hopes to change the way the world gets its earthquake warnings.

Can huge Mojave wind farm boost faltering wind power industry?

Construction began last week on a wind power plant in the Mojave Desert. Its developers say it will be the nation's biggest but it comes amid dimming prospects for wind power in the US.

What's really causing Himalayan glaciers to melt?

A new study suggests that black carbon could be the cause of Himalayan glaciers melting.

Earth Talk: Compare costs of alternative energy

Is it better to go with your utility's renewable power option or install your own solar or wind power?

Keep tabs on energy use with Microsoft's Hohm

Is the Internet bad for the environment?