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.

An international collaboration aims to create a 3D map of the universe, unraveling the mysterious nature of dark energy.

Photo of a small section of the DESI focal plane

Rebecca Leane and colleagues showed dark matter could heat planets in our galaxy to incredible temperatures. Here, she explains how that works and how it could pave the way for sensitive new searches for the mysterious substance.

Portrait of Rebecca Leane

With a new suite of tools, scientists discovered exactly how tiny plate-like catalyst particles carry out a key step in that conversion – the evolution of oxygen in an electrocatalytic cell – in unprecedented detail.

Illustration of nanoscale catalyst particles.

Charge transfer is highly important in most areas of chemistry, including photosynthesis and other processes in living things. A SLAC X-ray laser study reveals how it works in a molecule whose lopsided response to light has puzzled scientists for nearly...

An illustration showing how charge transfer affects the structure of a molecule called DMP

Zhenan Bao, Axel Brunger and Robert Byer are among 252 new members elected to the society, which honors exceptional scholars, leaders, artists and innovators engaged in advancing the public good.

AAAS new members

Derived from microscopic algae, the rare, light-driven enzyme converts fatty acids into starting ingredients for solvents and fuels.

Illustration of molecular structure of an enzyme that is powered by sunlight

Known as “pair-density waves,” it may be key to understanding how superconductivity can exist at relatively high temperatures.

Illustration depicting how two types of waves within superconducting materials intertwine to form a third type known as charge-density waves

Exploring and manipulating the behavior of polar vortices in materials may lead to new technology for faster data transfer and storage.

polar vortices

Two groups of researchers drew on SLAC tools to better understand how to target a key part of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Illustration of SARS-CoV-2, a round ball with spikes.

It’s an example of how surprising properties can spontaneously emerge in complex materials – a phenomenon scientists hope to harness for novel technologies.

Illustration of a 2D superconducting state emerging in a 3D superconductor

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