Crystallizing Nanoscience

For a hint of what lies ahead for the Molecular Foundry under construction at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL), one only needs to look inside the laboratory of its director, UC Berkeley Chemistry professor Paul Alivisatos. He's a pioneer in the growth of nanocrystals, chemically-pure clusters of anywhere from 100 to 100,000 atoms with applications ranging from medical imaging to renewable energy devices to electronics.

Hunting the Achilles' Heel of Hepatitis

One way to disrupt a mechanical process is to throw a wrench into the works. This also holds true for viruses, biological parasites that hijack a cell's reproductive mechanisms to replicate themselves. The key though to successful sabotage is knowing precisely where to toss the wrench. Jennifer A. Doudna, a UC Berkeley professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, is hunting for this chink in the armor of the Hepatitis virus.

The Mysterious Matter of Dark Matter

Familiar particles like protons and neutrons make up just a tiny fraction of the total mass and energy of the universe, perhaps just one percent. The rest--appropriately dubbed dark matter and dark energy--is literally invisible to us. UC Berkeley astronomy professor Chung-Pei Ma's research aim is to shine light on this ghostly universe surrounding us.

Paul Alivisatos has created nanocrystals of various shapes and sizes, including spheres, rods, and tetrapods. (courtesy LBL)