Green technology

Green Technology computing, information, data, and communications services to many DoE projects. LBL also helps to manage the Joint Genome Institute—a key contributor to the Human Genome Project. LBL scientists have been involved in many important discoveries. Researchers have identified 16 of the elements on the periodic table, including technetium-99m, which revolutionized biomedical imaging, and americium, which is commonly used in smoke detectors. LBL researchers Louis and Walter Alvarez led a team that discovered high levels of iridium in the K-T boundary layer, a layer of clay sediments found in rocks all over the world. Their discovery led to the theory that the dinosaurs were wiped out by an iridium-rich asteroid that hit the earth 65 million years ago. Dark energy, the mysterious substance believed to make up 73% of the universe, was discovered by LBL’s Supernova Cosmology Project. The lab was also behind the discovery that cholesterol comes in both good and bad forms, which has led to improved testing and treatment for heart disease.