The Joint Genome Institute: Decoding the Human Genome

This spring, the Joint Genome Institute, a collaboration of Lawrence Livermore, Lawrence Berkeley, and Los Alamos national laboratories, will announce the completion of the draft sequence of chromosomes 5, 16, and 19 in the human genome. Decoding these chromosomes, which constitute about 10 percent of human DNA, gives researchers a valuable tool for locating our 100,000 genes and determining their function. Work is also under way to sequence the DNA of several microbes that may be useful for remediating toxic waste sites or understanding how microbes contribute to carbon sequestration and global warming. After the institute's work on human DNA is complete, work will begin on the mouse, about 85 percent of whose genes are identical to those in humans.

The Next Accelerator for Revolutionizing Physics

Lawrence Livermore has joined forces with three other Department of Energy laboratories-Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory-to design the proposed Next Linear Collider (NLC). Scientists believe that this electron-positron collider, which will operate in the teraelectronvolt (trillion-electronvolt) range, and other extreme high-energy particle accelerators like it will help answer some of the most fundamental questions in cosmology and elementary particle physics. Currently in the preconceptual design stage, the NLC is being designed to operate ultimately at 1.5 teraelectronvolts. The big challenge is to build this 30-kilometer-long collider for under $1 billion using mature technologies. Lawrence Livermore is contributing its expertise and innovations to the design of the accelerator modulators, which convert ac line power into dc pulses; the accelerator structures, which accelerate beams of electrons and positrons to the interaction region; and the high-power positron targets, which create the positron beams.

Research Highlights

A Speckled Look at Saturn's Moon, Titan

Remote Sensor Test Range--Proving Ground for Tomorrow's Sensing Technologies

and LLNL Disclaimers

UCRL-52000