Today's News

A groundbreaking study of the human ribosome is revealing that the tiny molecular machine is more versatile than previously understood.
Minor changes in its sequencing can change its operation, allowing it to adapt to a changing environment, as described in a paper published Wednesday in Cell.
“From a practical standpoint, these first studies of the atomistic mechanism of the human ribosome open a window into a range of diseases, from anemia, to cancer, to Alzheimer’s,” said researcher Karissa Sanbonmatsu of Los Alamos National Laboratory. The new publication shows the first study of decoding the genetic code by human ribosomes in atomic detail.
“Cracking the mechanism of human ribosomes will have applications to a variety of diseases, so we are now seeing the real payoff of over a decade of computer simulations of the ribosome,” Sanbonmatsu said.
For more than a decade, LANL has been involved in applying computational approaches for modeling the structure and dynamic aspects of large and biologically important molecular machines such as the ribosome.

It looks as though the mad frenzy of candidates and reporters scrambling to read election results off grocery tapes on election night is a thing of the past.
During the June 3 primary election, Los Alamos County tested a method of reporting results electronically. The feedback received so far has been positive, and county staff is now reviewing what worked, what did not and how the system can be improved.
“The idea was, how can we bring this process into a more modern, digital, easy-access for all demographics that is updated regularly,” said Visual Information Specialist Leslie Bucklin. “Because we’re not Albuquerque, and we don’t have four news channels to get us all the results. So for us, it was how can we provide the same kind of service that a Channel 4 or Channel 7 would without having them?”
County Clerk Sharon Stover instigated the change.

Officials were hoping the new golf course community building would be finished by now.
Not so fast.
Harry Burgess, the county administrator, released a statement Wednesday, saying the contract with the contractor, Gerald A. Martin, has been formally terminated.
Construction activities have been suspended.
“At the request of the contractor, the county will enter into public works mediation to address the situation later this month,” a press release stated, announcing the termination of the contract. “The county moved to end the contract after the project manager became concerned about an apparent lack of progress being made on the building. The contractor vacated the work site approximately three weeks ago.
The county noted an outstanding construction item involving exterior building lighting as well as an ADA compliance issue with one of the restrooms. As such, the county was unable to obtain a certificate of occupancy.