Bioscience
The Electronic Polymer Dosimeter for Radiotherapy, created by a team at Sandia National Laboratories. (Photo by Spencer Toy) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resolution image. LIVERMORE, Calif. — Using a simple concept and a patented Sandia sensor that detects radioactive materials, a team at Sandia National Laboratories has developed a patch to stop damage…
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Postdoctoral researchers who are designated Truman and Hruby fellows experience Sandia National Laboratories differently from their peers. Appointees to the prestigious fellowships are given the latitude to pursue their own ideas, rather than being trained by fitting into the research plans of more experienced researchers. To give wings to this process, the…
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a method to detect trace amounts of synthetic opioids. They plan to combine their approach with miniaturized sensors to create a hand-portable instrument easily used by law enforcement agents for efficient detection in the field. A photo illustrating 2 milligrams of fentanyl, a lethal dose…
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, bacteria have evolved numerous ways to evade or outright ignore the effects of antibiotics. Thankfully, healthcare providers have an arsenal of infrequently used antibiotics that are still effective against otherwise resistant strains of bacteria. Sandia National Laboratories postdoctoral fellow Alex Downs places a wearable puck…
Michael Omana affixes a mask to the current generation of the 3D printed head while testing at Sandia National Laboratories. (Photo by Craig Fritz) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resolution image. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A team at Sandia National Laboratories has developed a faster and more comprehensive way of testing personal protective equipment, or…
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico company secured funding this year and located 240 acres of land in the southeastern corner of the state to build a small reactor that will exclusively produce medical isotopes. The concept was developed and licensed by Sandia National Laboratories to help establish a stable domestic supply of medical isotopes,…
LIVERMORE, Calif. — You’re sweating and feverish and have no idea why. Fortunately, Sandia National Laboratories scientists have a device that can pinpoint what’s wrong in less than an hour. Sandia National Laboratories chemist Chung-Yan Koh, left, and former Sandia bioengineer Chris Phaneuf, right, hold the newly updated SpinDx diagnostic device. (Photo by Jules Bernstein)…
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — People who believe light-emitting diodes, or LEDS, are just an efficient upgrade to the ordinary electric light bulb are stuck in their thinking, suggest Sandia National Laboratories researcher Jeff Tsao and colleagues from other institutions in a Nature “Perspectives” article published in late November. Sandia National Laboratories Jeff Tsao believes engineered light will accomplish…
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — When people are in the early stages of an undiagnosed disease, immediate tests that lead to treatment are the best first steps. But a blood draw — usually performed by a medical professional armed with an uncomfortably large needle — might not be quickest, least painful or most effective method, according to…
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — In less than a month, Sandia National Laboratories converted 100 respiratory machines New Mexico hospitals already had on hand into machines that can safely be used as ventilators to help treat patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Sandia researchers developed pathogen management kits that can be attached to respiratory machines and use…
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M — It might not start a fashion trend, but Sandia National Laboratories is designing a wearable brain imager. The National Institutes of Health has granted Sandia $6 million to build the prototype medical device that would make magnetoencephalography (MEG) — a type of noninvasive brain scan — more comfortable, more accessible and potentially…
LIVERMORE, Calif. — As the threats posed by bioterrorism and naturally occurring infectious disease grow and evolve in the modern era, there is a rising potential for broad negative impacts on human health, economic stability and global security. To protect the nation from these dangers, Sandia National Laboratories has partnered with the Council on Strategic…
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is setting up a collaborative facility to help researchers worldwide study low-temperature plasmas, the most pervasive state of matter in the universe. Helium plasma is generated between a point anode and planar dielectric cathode in a lab at Sandia National Laboratories, which is setting up a collaborative facility to…
LIVERMORE, Calif. — A partnership between Sandia National Laboratories and the Boston firm BioBright LLC to improve the security of synthetic biology equipment has become more relevant after the United States and others issued warnings that hackers were using the COVID-19 pandemic to increase their activities. An illustration depicts a cyber adversary attempting to access…
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — COVID-19 researchers the world over face a daunting task of sifting through tens of thousands of existing coronavirus studies, looking for commonalities or data that might help in their urgent biomedical investigations. The first COVID-19 search developed at Sandia National Laboratories identifies, arranges and codes relevant documents. (Courtesy of Sandia National Laboratories)…
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is teaming with local hospitals and medical device manufacturers to increase the availability of respirator masks for health care workers. Respirator masks are among the most effective forms of protection health care workers have against contracting COVID-19. Sandia is helping local organizations increase the supply. (Photo by Randy Montoya)…
LIVERMORE, Calf. — Two researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are using genetic resequencing tools to find a way to stop the COVID-19 pandemic in its tracks. Biochemist Joe Schoeniger and virologist Oscar Negrete are working on genetically engineering a deployable antiviral countermeasure for COVID-19 using CRISPR-based technology. Sandia National Laboratories is researching genetic editing to…
LIVERMORE, Calif. — Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have created a platform for discovering, designing and engineering novel antibody countermeasures for emerging viruses. This new process of screening for nanobodies that “neutralize” or disable the virus represents a faster, more effective approach to developing nanobody therapies that prevent or treat viral infection. Watch a video…
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Competing in an international pool of universities, corporations and government labs, inventions from Sandia National Laboratories captured seven R&D 100 Awards (one in conjunction with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory) this year, as well as two special awards for green technology and corporate responsibility. Independent panels of judges selected projects to represent…
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories and their collaborators have developed a new membrane, whose structure was inspired by a protein from algae, for electrodialysis that could be used to provide fresh water for farming and energy production. Susan Rempe, right, a Sandia National Laboratories bioengineer, and Stephen Percival, a material scientist, examine…