News archive

Browse the full collection of SLAC press releases and news features and stay up to date on the latest scientific advancements at the laboratory.

Five years ago, the brightest source of X-rays on the planet lit up at SLAC. The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser's scientific and technical progress since its momentous "first light" have been no less luminous, say those who...

Image - Some of the LCLS team members stand by the newly installed undulators in this 2009 photo. From right: Mike Zurawel, Geoff Pile from Argonne National Laboratory, Paul Emma, Dave Schultz, Heinz-Dieter Nuhn and Don Schafer. (Brad Plummer)

Scientists from the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology are helping build cameras for the Cherenkov Telescope Array, an advanced, ground-based gamma-ray observatory.

Photo - A photomultiplier module undergoing testing
News Feature · VIA Symmetry Magazine

Possible Hints of Dark Matter in Fermi Data

Scientists say collisions between dark matter particles might be the cause of a curious excess of gamma-ray light coming from the center of our ga

Windows that darken to filter out sunlight in response to electric current, function much like batteries. Now, X-ray studies at SLAC provide a crystal-clear view into how this color-changing material behaves in a working battery – information that could benefit...

lithium ions interact with an ultrathin sheet of nickel oxide
News Feature · VIA Symmetry Magazine

The Oldest Light in the Universe

The Cosmic Microwave Background, leftover light from the big bang, carries a wealth of information about the universe—for those who can read it.

SLAC researchers have found a new way to transform graphite into diamond. The approach may have implications for industrial applications ranging from cutting tools to electronic devices.

One common stereotype of a theoretical physicist is the solitary scientist, scribbling away in his or her office and only emerging when there’s a "Eureka!" in the offing. SLAC accelerator physicist Gennady Stupakov would beg to differ.

Photo - Gennady Stupakov, SLAC accelerator theorist.

X-ray studies conducted at SLAC and in the United Kingdom have resurrected the detailed chemistry of 50-million-year-old leaves from fossils found in the western United States and found striking similarities to their modern descendants.

A composite optical and X-ray image (red is copper, green is zinc, blue is nickel) of a 50-million-year-old leaf fossil. Trace metals correlate with the leaf's original biological structures. Also visible are ancient caterpillar feeding tubes.

SLAC's Hasan DeMirci will explain how using X-rays, scientists can observe the setup of a ribosome's machinery and the changes in its structure ca

stillframe from public lecture video about mutant ribosomes and antibiotics

Scientists have discovered a potential way to make graphene – a single layer of carbon atoms with great promise for future electronics – superconducting, a state in which it would carry electricity with 100 percent efficiency.

Superconducting Graphene Layers

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