In 2014, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) built on a 62-year tradition of translating basic science into technologies that ensure national security, address pressing real world problems and expand the boundaries of fundamental science.

Iowa State professor using science to improve interrogations.

University of Utah engineers develop material for better detectors.

With fears growing over chemical and biological weapons falling into the wrong hands, scientists are developing microrockets to fight back against these dangerous agents, should the need arise. In the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano, they describe new spherical micromotors that rapidly neutralize chemical and biological agents and use water as fuel. 

3D printer technology and glass beads—a powerful combination.

Criminals are smuggling an estimated $30 billion in U.S. currency into Mexico each year from the United States, but help could be on the way for border guards, researchers reported recently. The answer to the problem: a portable device that identifies specific vapors given off by U.S. paper money.

Nanotechnology is advancing tools likened to Star Trek's "tricorder" that perform on-the-spot chemical analysis for a range of applications including medical testing, explosives detection and food safety.