When researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recently announced they had ignited a burst of more than 10 quadrillion watts of fusion power, it was cause for celebration at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics as well.

The announcement validates the laser-driven implosion techniques that the two labs have closely collaborated on, as a way to assess the viability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile and perhaps even pave the way for an abundant supply of clean energy.

“This really clears up a lot of the concern about the ability to ignite thermonuclear fuel in the lab, or that we would need much bigger lasers to do it,” says Riccardo Betti, LLE’s chief scientist and a leading expert in the field. “This is a major step forward.”

A news release from Lawrence Livermore said the Aug. 8 experiment was enabled by focusing 192 of the world’s highest-energy lasers onto a target the size of a BB, producing a hot spot the diameter of a human hair, which then generated more than 10 quadrillion watts of fusion power for 100 trillionths of a second.

“This advancement puts researchers at the threshold of fusion ignition, an important goal of the NIF, and opens access to a new experimental regime,” the news release stated.

More promisingly, the fusion reactions for the first time appeared to be self-sustaining, meaning that the torrent of particles flowing outward from the hot spot at the center the pellet heated surrounding hydrogen atoms and caused them to fuse as well, the New York Times reported. Read more.

Christopher Deeney will join the University as deputy director at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics beginning Monday, August 30.

He previously served as chief science and technology officer, National Security Directorate, at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), in addition to his years of experience at the Nevada National Security Site, the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and the Sandia National Laboratories. Deeney is known as a scientific and innovation leader with direct experience running complex operations.

Deeney will serve as a key member of LLE’s senior management staff, providing executive-level guidance and direction, including serving as director when required.

“Chris has an insider’s knowledge of the federal system, which oversees the LLE’s funding,” says Stephen Dewhurst, vice dean for research at the School of Medicine and Dentistry and associate vice president for health sciences research for the University, who is currently serving a one-year appointment as interim vice president for research. “Combined with his energetic, enthusiastic, and collaborative personality,” Dewhurst adds, “he’s a perfect fit for our academic environment. I’m very excited that he has chosen to join LLE in this new leadership role.” Read more.

A new study shows that women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, who were exercising moderately or vigorously before chemotherapy (getting the recommended 150 minutes per week) were less likely to suffer from “chemo brain” during and after treatment.

Chemo-brain, or brain fogginess, is a well-known side effect for some cancer survivors treated with chemotherapy. In prior studies, women with breast cancer have said that brain fog is a significant problem. The new research suggests that exercise may be a prevention tool, and lays the groundwork for clinical trials to further investigate the power of exercise in cancer care.

“We’ve always believed that exercise is a great way to help cancer patients,” said Michelle Janelsins, senior author of the study, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

“But now we have evidence that meeting physical activity guidelines prior to getting chemotherapy has benefits,” says Janelsins, an associate professor of surgery and member of the Cancer Prevention and Control research program at the Wilmot Cancer Institute. “It puts you in fighting shape and appears to offer some protection against things such as memory difficulties or the inability to pay attention, which are common concerns for those undergoing chemotherapy.” Read more.

A combination of sound and silence may be a key in helping slow the progression of permanent hearing loss. Medical Center researchers found that intermittent broadband sound played over an extended time preserved sensory cells in the ear, while also rewiring some of the central auditory system in the brain, helping preserve the ability to sense the timing of sounds.

“By showing that the detection of sound is being preserved in the brain, we’re saying it’s not just the hair cells in the ear, there’s some connectivity in the central auditory system in the brain that is vital to hearing too,” says Adam Dziorny, assistant professor of pediatrics and biomedical engineering, and first author of the study which appears in the journal eNeuro. “This isn’t a cure, but it could be a step that may lead to a treatment in the future.”

For 12-hour periods, researchers played a mix of broadband sound with gaps of silence for mice with sensorineural hearing loss – the most common type of hearing loss in humans caused by damage to hair cells or the nerve that connects the ear to the brain. Previous studies have shown the presence of broadband sound preserves structure and function of sensory cells in the ear. In this study, Dziorny explains, the gaps of silence allowed researchers to presume that rewiring was occurring in the brain itself within the central auditory system. These gaps are what preserved the mouse’s ability to sense the timing of sound.

“Past research has shown that the brain is capable of modifying its signaling to both the frequency and loudness of sounds. This study shows that the brain can also be trained to modify temporal aspects as well,” says Anne Luebke, associate professor of neuroscience and biomedical engineering and co-author of this study. “This is important for speech comprehension since not only do you need to hear the speech sounds, you also need to be able to hear them in normal timing. We know a speech recording played too fast or too slow is incomprehensible.”

Researchers see these findings as an important step toward demonstrating that children with sensorineural hearing loss have the potential to preserve function using an augmented acoustic stimulus–as long as the stimulus changes the way neurons encode temporal elements of sound, and preserves outer hair cells. “This will not preserve long term hearing. The underlying biological process will still exist so there will be a drop off in hearing over time,” Dziorny says. “But preserving hearing for even a period of time will allow someone to develop speech and language processing.”

“Developmental Emergence of Neural Circuit Architecture and Function,” the 2021 Symposium of the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience & University of Rochester Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, will be held Friday and Saturday, October 22–23.

The keynote speakers are Mriganka Sur, Newton Professor of Neuroscience, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Beatriz Luna, professor of psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh.

Contact Kathleen Jensen for more information.

The Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) Research Development Fund (RDF) for 2021 is now accepting applications to support collaborations that mobilize for a sustainable future.

In its 13th year, the RDF provides researchers at member universities with grants of up to £10,000 to foster research collaborations across the network.

Each member institution is permitted to lead two proposals per year but can collaborate on as many as desired.

Faculty members interested in leading a proposal effort should contact the University’s  WUN coordinator, Ruth Levenkron for more information.

Applications are due Friday, October 22.

Additional information may be found on the Global Engagement website.

The Wilmot Cancer Institute’s 2021 pilot program will fund new collaborative research studies that will support future application for extramural team science funding from the National Cancer Institute (i.e., multiple PI R01s, P01s and U01s).

The award level is $100,000 for one year.

Any type of cancer-related research is eligible for support (basic, translational or clinical). The project team must be led by a Wilmot member or associate member. Transdisciplinary teams are encouraged to apply. Application scoring will be based upon scientific merit, innovation, and responsiveness to the RFA.

Applications are due Oct. 30, 2021. To apply, please download the RFA and application face page. Funded projects are expected to begin on Jan. 1, 2022.

Contact Thom Fogg with questions.