News releases

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope’s ‘Eye’ Will be Built at SLAC.

A SLAC-led research team working at the lab’s FACET facility has demonstrated a new way of accelerating positrons that could help develop smaller, more economical future particle colliders.

Simulation of high-energy positron acceleration in an ionized gas, or plasma

Scientists have revealed never-before-seen details of how our brain sends rapid-fire messages between its cells using SLAC's X-ray laser.

Image - This illustration shows a protein complex at work in brain signaling. Its structure, which contains joined protein complexes known as SNARE and synaptotagmin-1, is shown in the foreground. (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)

A biomedical breakthrough reveals never-before-seen details of the human body’s cellular switchboard that regulates sensory and hormonal responses.

Illustration shows arrestin (yellow), an important type of signaling protein, while docked with rhodopsin (orange).

Scientists for the first time tracked ultrafast structural changes, captured in quadrillionths-of-a-second steps, as ring-shaped gas molecules burst open and unraveled.

Image - This illustration shows shape changes that occur in quadrillionths-of-a-second intervals in a ring-shaped molecule that was broken open by light. (SLAC)

Researchers discovered that adding two chemicals to the electrolyte of a lithium metal battery prevents the formation of dendrites – “fingers” of lithium that pierce the barrier between the battery’s halves, causing it to short out, overheat and sometimes burst...

An experiment at SLAC's X-ray laser has revealed in atomic detail how a hypertension drug binds to a cellular receptor that plays a key role in regulating blood pressure.

Image - This photo shows a medical device used to monitor blood pressure. In a study at SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source X-ray laser, researchers studied how a hypertension drug binds to a cellular receptor known as an angiotensin II type 1 receptor.

Scientists have used an X-ray laser at SLAC to get the first glimpse of the transition state where two atoms begin to form a weak bond on the way to becoming a molecule.

Illustration of a transition state in a chemical reaction.

Technique Could Allow Study of Viral Infections, Cell Division and Photosynthesis in New Detail

A pond containing a visible bloom of cyanobacteria, with an artistic rendering of an individual cell

Plans to build the world’s largest digital camera at SLAC have reached a major milestone, with funding approval for the 3,200-megapixel camera. The camera will be the centerpiece of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), which will provide unprecedented details...

World’s Most Powerful Digital Camera Sees Construction Green Light

Antimatter Catches a Wave at SLAC

Scientists Discover Atomic-resolution Details of Brain Signaling

Long-sought Discovery Fills in Missing Details of Cell 'Switchboard'

New ‘Molecular Movie’ Reveals Ultrafast Chemistry in Motion

Study Finds a Way to Prevent Fires in Next-Generation Lithium Batteries

X-ray Study May Aid in Designing Better Blood Pressure Drugs

Scientists Get First Glimpse of a Chemical Bond Being Born

Scientists Take First X-ray Portraits of Living Bacteria at the LCLS

World’s Most Powerful Camera Receives Funding Approval