Down to a Science: A LANL Podcast Los Alamos National Laboratory

After World War II, J. Robert Oppenheimer was a world-famous scientist who people recognized. Over time, that celebrity status faded. Christopher Nolan's film and the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography that inspired it have once again made Oppenheimer a recognizable name to the average person.

Neutrinos are one of the most abundant subatomic particles in the universe. Despite their abundance, our knowledge of neutrinos is limited as their minimal interactions with matter make them very difficult to detect. Today we’re talking with Sowjanya Gollapinni, a physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, about the elusive particle.

Forests are one of the most cherished natural habitats on the planet. Climate change brings more risk and uncertainty to their future. When thinking about climate change many people picture rising temperatures, increasing carbon emissions, fluctuating weather patterns, more wildfires and rising sea levels. Against that backdrop, how will climate change affect our forested ecosystems?

Drought and fire take their toll, but an often overlooked climate-change-driven threat to forests is bark beetles.

'LA-UR-23-27432'

A team of researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory recently returned from the Haughton Impact Crater in northern Canada, where they tested technology that could one day be used to search for life on other planets. Today on Down to a Science, we’re talking with Nina Lanza, a planetary scientist at Los Alamos, and Lisa Danielson, director of the Center for Space and Earth Science at Los Alamos, about their expedition to the Arctic.

Genes are complex systems that determine a person’s eye color, hair color and susceptibility to certain diseases such as heart disease. What are the driving factors in genetic expression? That’s one question Karissa Sanbonmatsu, a structural biologist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, is trying to answer by creating 3D simulations of genes. She explains how visual simulations at the molecular level will lead to a better understanding of genetic expression and better medical treatments.

In a world where there is an increasing need for clean energy, an often-overlooked solution is biofuels. Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Babs Marrone talks about technologies that can combat carbon emissions.