NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

CONTAINING WASTE: Researchers at the Berkeley lab, in collaboration with the Bechtel Corp., have successfully demonstrated the feasibility of a new technique for containing the spread of underground hazardous wastes. The technique involves drilling a series of wells and injecting a fluid that spreads and gels, forming an impenetrable underground barrier. It was tested on a site that is geologically similar to conditions beneath the nuclear reactor at Hanford, WA.

SPOTTING PHONIES: A tool used at the Los Alamos lab for characterizing plastics and rubber in radioactive waste also can be a new and effective way to nab counterfeiters. The method, which uses near-infrared light, has been successfully demonstrated to determine the authenticity of U.S. currency and jewelry with turquoise stones. It causes no damage and is almost instantaneous.

COMPUTER SECURITY: Livermore lab computer security experts have offered free to Internet users a lab-developed security program designed to alert computer network managers to attempted intrusions by a software program. Called SATAN, the security program is the invention of a private programmer to locate vulnerabilities in networks linked to the Internet.

FIGHTING VIRUSES: Chemists at the Berkeley lab and UC Berkeley have produced the first three-dimensional image of an RNA structure that plays a vital role in enabling retroviruses, such as HIV, to replicate within cells. Knowledge of this structure may enable researchers to design drugs that could be used to treat retroviruses.

HEALTHIER HEARTS: As many as 100,000 people a year could be helped by a laser treatment for heart disease under development jointly by Los Alamos scientists and Oregon medical researchers. The procedure, laser thrombolysis, could break up blood clots in as little as 90 seconds. It could become a practical complement to invasive treatments such as open-heart surgery, balloon angioplasty and clot-busting drugs.

INTERNETTING: Livermore lab researchers working with scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have achieved the first successful transcontinental operation of a magnetic fusion experiment via the Internet. From a computer control room in Livermore, the lab/MIT team conducted fusion experiments more than 3,000 miles away on MIT's experimental fusion reactor. By doing experiments in this way from their home labs, researchers can save travel time and costs while preserving institutional diversity.

TOUGH COATING: The Los Alamos lab has found a way to coat Kevlar fibers -- used in everything from bulletproof vests to sporting equipment -- with an ultra-thin chemical composite film, making the superstrong fiber even more durable and versatile. The method encases bundles of Kevlar fibers in a film of titanium nitride, used to coat tools to protect them from wear and tear.

Return to LabSOURCE Homepage

LLNL Disclaimers
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION