• Safely Studying Dangerous Infections Just Got a Lot Easier

    To combat a pandemic, science needs to move quickly. An extremely fast new 3D imaging method can show how cells respond to infection and to possible treatments.

  • Using AI to Find Anomalies Hiding in Massive Datasets

    Identifying a malfunction in the nation’s power grid can be like trying to find a needle in an enormous haystack. A new machine-learning technique could pinpoint potential power grid failures or cascading traffic bottlenecks in real time.

  • Improving Bay Area Seismic Hazard Maps

    Using the Santa Cruz Mountains as a natural laboratory, researchers have built a 3D tectonic model that clarifies the link between earthquakes and mountain building along the San Andreas fault for the first time. The findings may be used to improve seismic hazard maps of the Bay Area.

  • A Security Technique Fools Would-Be Cyber Attackers

    Multiple programs running on the same computer may not be able to directly access each other’s hidden information, but because they share the same memory hardware, their secrets could be stolen by a malicious program through a “memory timing side-channel attack.” Researchers demonstrate a method that safeguards a computer program’s secret information while enabling faster computation.

  • How AI Is Shaping the Cybersecurity Arms Race

    The average business receives 10,000 alerts every day from the various software tools it uses to monitor for intruders, malware and other threats. Dealing with this avalanche of alerts is achallenge which underscores the need for better ways to stem the tide of cyber-breaches.

  • U.S. to Bolster Critical Mineral Supply Chain

    The U.S. federal government and private sector are taking actions to bolster the supply chain for rare earths and other critical minerals used in technologies from household appliances and electronics to defense systems. These steps will reduce the U.S. dependence on China, a major producer of these elements.

  • Can California’s Lithium Valley Power the EV Revolution?

    The Salton Sea geothermal field in California potentially holds enough lithium to meet all of America’s domestic battery needs, with even enough left over to export some of it. But how much of that lithium can be extracted in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way? And how long will the resource last?

  • Improved Nuclear Accident Code Helps Policymakers Assess Risks from Small Reactors

    New software will help the global nuclear industry in assessing the consequences of nuclear accidents. The Maccs code, developed by Sandia researchers, can also evaluate the potential health and environmental risks posed by advanced nuclear reactors and small modular nuclear reactors.

  • Lake Evaporation Patterns Will Shift with Climate Change

    Lakes serve as a major global source of freshwater. As temperatures continue to get warmer, so will lakes. As global average temperatures rise, lake evaporation is projected to increase at double the rate of ocean evaporation. However, future increases in lake evaporation vary substantially across regions.

  • How a Two-century Megadrought Gap Set Up the West for Its Water and Climate Crisis

    Since the turn of the 21st century, researchers probing evidence locked in tree rings and other clues to past climate conditions have been building an increasingly unnerving picture of southwestern North America as prone to deep, prolonged droughts. Megadrought is the emerging term for the worst of these extreme dry spells — those lasting two decades or more.

  • Providing Student Research Opportunities to Strengthen Nuclear Security

    Student researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso Aerospace Center will engage in nuclear materials technology research through a five-year, $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Work will focus on the design, synthesis and fabrication of advanced materials.

  • Hotter, Drier Nights Mean More Runaway Fires

    Thanks to the warming climate, the potential for more severe nighttime wildfires is increasing, and warmer nights mean firefighters will not be able to rely on cooler temperatures to help them get a handle on fires, a new study shows.

  • What Drives Sea Level Rise? U.S. Report Warns of 1-Foot Rise within Three Decades and More Frequent Flooding

    Sea levels are rising, and that will bring profound flood risks to large parts of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts over the next three decades. A new report led by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warns that the U.S. should prepare for 10-12 inches of relative sea level rise on average in the next 30 years. That much sea level rise means cities like Miami that see nuisance flooding during high tides today will experience more damaging floods by midcentury.

  • U.S. Coastline to See Up to a Foot of Sea Level Rise by 2050

    The United States is expected to experience as much sea level rise by the year 2050 as it witnessed in the previous hundred years. That’s according to a NOAA-led report updating sea level rise decision-support information for the U.S. The report also finds that the sea level rise expected by 2050 will create a profound increase in the frequency of coastal flooding, even in the absence of storms or heavy rainfall.

  • Getting Better at Telling Misinformation from Reliable Expert Consensus

    Psychology researchers have shown how to better communicate key messages and avoid misinformation.