Berkeley Lab

Currently, the U.S. relies on imported gallium to make #microchips and LEDs, but a new analysis shows that our demand could be met with gallium recovered from industrial waste. #LBNLCriticalMinerals @BerkeleyLabETA https://bit.ly/4ytNkpe

Old circuit boards contain precious metal, but how do we get it back out? Sunchem used the @molecularfoundry.lbl.gov to develop an amazing process that pulls 99% pure gold and copper from e-waste without toxic chemicals. A pilot facility is coming soon! #LBNLCriticalMinerals https://bit.ly/4ytNkpe

Recycling the #CriticalMinerals in electronic waste is crucial to meet growing demand for new devices & shrinking supply of raw materials. But the processes are far from easy. We're solving the challenge with innovative bio-based separation methods. #LBNLCriticalMinerals https://bit.ly/4ytNkpe

Most metals become brittle and crack in the cold, but new alloys from a team led by Berkeley Lab defy expectations: withstanding high heat and staying intact far below zero. In future, the materials could be used for extreme applications like jet engines and spacecraft. https://go.nature.com/4sBo1j3

DYK microbes can help extract #CriticalMinerals? Engineered yeast from the @jgi.doe.gov and @molecularfoundry.lbl.gov grab & store elements like mini collection units. We’re studying how the organisms could pull valuable but dilute elements from mining wastewater. https://bit.ly/4ytNkpe

Valuable #CriticalMinerals found in industrial byproducts like mine tailings and coal fly ash are going to waste. Our scientists are building a versatile tool using advanced sensors & ML to detect hot spots among the waste, so we know where to recover. #LBNLCriticalMinerals https://bit.ly/4ytNkpe

Could a routine blood test reveal radiation exposure? Berkeley Lab scientists developed a machine learning tool for simple & accessible screening of workers at risk of exposure. @atap.lbl.gov @biosci.lbl.gov

We're studying deep underground reservoirs of hot salty waters below California & the Gulf Coast to learn how to tap these resources for the valuable #lithium needed by battery makers and other industries. #LBNLCriticalMinerals https://bit.ly/4ytNkpe

A sponge-like material could solve the challenge of extracting #lithium from salty waters called brines, giving the U.S. a reliable domestic source. The highly reusable sponge quickly sucks up magnesium and other minerals, leaving purified lithium behind. #LBNLCriticalMinerals https://bit.ly/4ytNkpe

Congratulations to @cs.lbl.gov Sam Williams, one of this year’s recipients of the prestigious E. O. Lawrence Award! Williams created transformative performance modeling tools and algorithms that help supercomputers run more efficiently.

When it comes to designing accelerators, “There are an infinite number of possibilities, and only a handful of those are actually good solutions… Agentic assistants are made for speedrunning these kinds of workflows.” — Berkeley Lab’s Thorsten Hellert @atap.lbl.gov

Congratulations to Berkeley Lab’s new Early Career Research Program (ECRP) awardees Asmit Bhowmick, Marcus Noack, Dan Wang, and Bingqing Cheng! @atap.lbl.gov @biosci.lbl.gov @cs.lbl.gov https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2026/10/08/four-berkeley-lab-scientists-receive-doe-early-career-research-awards/

The western U.S. has huge deposits of lithium-rich clay, but getting the #lithium out is a long-standing challenge. A new method could unlock a vast domestic resource. Better yet? It’s energy-efficient & avoids toxic byproducts. #LBNLCriticalMinerals https://bit.ly/4ytNkpe

"Gravity is probably discrete, measured like electromagnetism, but what else could happen is a shockingly difficult question to answer," says @berkeleylab.lbl.gov's Daniel Carney.

The mineral spodumene is an abundant natural source of lithium, but processes to separate it typically require lots of energy & hazardous acids. Our scientists' new approach uses safe ingredients and less energy, opening up a rich domestic supply for the battery industry. https://bit.ly/4ytNkpe

Society depends on critical minerals for energy, transportation, consumer products, healthcare, and scientific and defense technologies. Our scientists are building affordable & reliable domestic supply chains from raw, recycled, and waste sources. #LBNLCriticalMinerals https://bit.ly/4ytNkpe

EUV lithography prints chip circuits 50,000x thinner than a hair, built on decades of research at Berkeley Lab's CXRO. "CXRO will continue to play a vital role in helping push the boundaries of Moore's Law even further in the many years to come." – Bruno La Fontaine Read more:https://bit.ly/4z9RT7R

Berkeley Lab researchers have developed Time-of-Flight Cascade Gamma Imaging, a new technique that could advance a promising cancer therapy called targeted alpha therapy. Read more: https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2026/10/01/targeted-cancer-therapy-gets-a-sharper-focus/

For over a decade, nearly every major heat shield material NASA has flown was tested here first: the @als.lbl.gov. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2026/09/24/scientists-get-real-time-look-inside-spacecraft-heat-shields-during-extreme-heat-conditions/

Join us in celebrating Hakyung Lee, Adway Gupta, Paula-Marie Ivey, and Mythili Surendran—this year’s winners of the 2026 Berkeley Lab Research SLAM! Congratulations to all 12 finalists who took the stage! @biosci.lbl.gov @als.lbl.gov @molecularfoundry.lbl.gov https://slam.lbl.gov/

“This will be important for the future development of semiconductor devices at the ultimate limits of miniaturization.” - Mike Crommie https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2026/09/17/a-new-close-up-view-of-electrons-inside-semiconductors/

New research opens the door to the discovery of never-seen-before electron behaviors that can be used for new semiconductor capabilities. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2026/09/17/a-new-close-up-view-of-electrons-inside-semiconductors/

#ICYMI: Dark matter researchers have seen something unusual in the LZ detector. Physicist Richard Gaitskell talks with @scifri.bsky.social about the hunt for a #DarkMatter particle and what’s so interesting about the recent result.

Today, we remember those we lost on September 11, 2001, and the families, friends, and communities who still carry that loss. We also honor the courage and compassion shown by those who stepped forward to help. 🤍

"Open-weight models are not just interesting for companies, from startups to large corporations; they are also critical to open and reproducible use of AI in scientific research,” says @berkeleylab.lbl.gov director Kathy Yelick.

“Before one can declare victory, you need a few more data points, but now they have something to aim for, they know where to look.” - Wick Haxton, Berkeley Lab scientist emeritus on LZ’s new #DarkMatter result. Learn more from New Scientist ⬇️

What were you doing on June 16, 2023? That’s when the LZ #DarkMatter experiment recorded an unusual particle interaction in their detector. Read the full story from @sciam.bsky.social: https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/finally-found-dark-matter-080000076.html?guccounter=1

Scientists spotted something intriguing in the LZ #DarkMatter detector. “It’s like seeing a present under the Christmas tree. You’re hoping it’s something good and you’re excited no matter what.” - Wick Haxton, Berkeley Lab scientist emeritus.

“We're still twisting our brains trying to think if there's a rare background mechanism we could've missed, but it's thrilling to wonder if this could be the first hint of a dark-matter observation.” - Aaron Manalaysay, Berkeley Lab researcher on @lzdarkmatter.bsky.social @nytimes.com

“We're still twisting our brains trying to think if there's a rare background mechanism we could've missed, but it's thrilling to wonder if this could be the first hint of a dark-matter observation.” - Aaron Manalaysay, Berkeley Lab researcher on @lzdarkmatter.bsky.social

1/10 The LUX-ZEPLIN experiment — LZ — sits in a South Dakota mine. In the liquid xenon it caught one unusual flash. A hint of #darkmatter? It’s far too soon to celebrate. Here are the facts — with the caveats. ⚛️🧪🔭 newscenter.lbl.gov/2026/09/01/l... Image by M. Kapust / Sanford Research Facility

Deep underground, the LUX-ZEPLIN detector recorded a rare event in a region where dark matter might appear, but researchers are not calling it a discovery yet. @berkeleylab.lbl.gov

The LZ experiment has observed a particle interaction that could be interpreted as a signal from WIMPs, a #DarkMatter candidate — but researchers need more data to know for sure. @lzdarkmatter.bsky.social

A Global Catalog of Microbial Symbionts 🌍🦠🧬🫨 New resource from @jgi.doe.gov, led by @astrogenomics.bsky.social and @fmschu.bsky.social with contributions by @emileyeloe-fadrosh.bsky.social @miferg.bsky.social and many more 🔓 www.nature.com/articles/s41... @biosci.lbl.gov @berkeleylab.lbl.gov

Congrats to #BioBSE researchers Aindrila Mukhopadhyay and co-PI Aparajitha Srinivasan on their funded FY27 FICUS Research proposal! The will study dynamic stress adaptation in a microbe, which could boost #biomanufacturing. www.emsl.pnnl.gov/news/ten-pro... @berkeleylab.lbl.gov @jgi.doe.gov

Check out our latest newsletter for advances in #fusion research, a compact photon source for high-resolution imaging, and a novel method that could accelerate the design and operation of #ParticleAccelerators. Berkeley Lab - Department of Energy https://atap.lbl.gov/atap-newsletter/

At low energies, material around a fusion reaction isn’t just a container—it can change how often fusion occurs. @atap.lbl.gov and @ucdavis.bsky.social researchers say the finding could guide neutron-source materials. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2026/07/23/when-it-comes-to-fusion-materials-matter/

Harnessing fusion could transform people’s access to energy. Here are six ways that Berkeley Lab researchers are developing technologies and techniques that bring fusion energy closer to reality. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2025/06/12/the-technologies-fueling-the-future-of-fusion/

From forests to wetlands and the subsurface to the exosphere, our Earth is a collection of complex ecosystems and processes. We’ve pioneered approaches to explore these in the lab and in remote and extreme field environments to better understand ecological and climate systems. Learn more ⬇️

Researchers watched carbon dioxide turn into graphite in real time, revealing how captured carbon could one day become a critical battery material instead of waste. #CriticalMinerals https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2026/07/30/pulling-graphite-out-of-thin-air/

“The foundational genomic models from our project will have broad application and help transform biotechnology and industrial processes.” – Paul Adams, LBNL Biosciences Area https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2026/02/02/foundational-ai-models-to-accelerate-biological-discovery/

What is coherence and why does it matter at the @als.lbl.gov? Coherent light allows researchers to pinpoint tiny irregularities that can make or break scientific discoveries. Watch the video to see the science behind it all: https://youtu.be/b2O0H7AtUG8

Then and now, science is a team effort. Across 95 years, generations of Berkeley Lab researchers and staff have worked together to push knowledge forward and make new discoveries possible. Today, we’re proud to celebrate our 95th birthday. 🎂 https://www.lbl.gov/about/

95 looks good on us. 🎉 Today we're celebrating Berkeley Lab's birthday and the generations of people who have made this place what it is. Here's to curiosity, collaboration, discovery, and everyone who keeps the Lab moving forward. 🎂 Learn more 👉🏽 https://www.lbl.gov/about/

The universe wasn’t slowing down—it was speeding up. Berkeley physics professor and @berkeleylab.lbl.gov senior scientist Saul Perlmutter recounts how he and his team made the groundbreaking discovery that earned him a Nobel Prize in Physics. bit.ly/4xIxbLF

“Snow-eater heat waves are caused by the buildup of atypical high pressure," says @berkeleylab.lbl.gov's Alan Rhoades. "Like a boulder diverting water in a stream, the unusual high pressure diverts storms away from mountains."