Chase Hunter is the Alameda County reporter for the Bay Area News Group. Hunter grew up in the West Valley of Phoenix and moved to Sonoma County in 2021 where he reported for the Sonoma Index-Tribune and the Santa Rosa Press Democrat on wildfires, crime, city government, agriculture, and the environment.
Principal investigators Stefan Minasian, left, and Polly Arnold are reflected in a glass with notes and structure of the Berkelocene molecule they discovered at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif.
, on Friday, March 21, 2025. The discovery was made at the lab where famous chemist Glenn Seaborg created Berkelium, the same element used for this experiment. After a year of fastidious planning, a microscopic sample of the ultra-rare radioactive element berkelium arrived at a Berkeley Lab. With just 48 hours to experiment before it would become unusable, a group of nearly 20 researchers focused intently on creating a brand-new molecule. Using a chemical glove box, a polycarbonate glass box with protruding gloves that shields substances from oxygen and moisture, scientists combined the berkelium metal with an organic molecule containing only carbon and hydrogen to create a chemical reaction. Principal investigators Stefan Minasian, left, and Polly Arnold stand in the lab where they discovered the Berkelocene molecule at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. The discovery was made at the lab where famous chemist Glenn Seaborg created Berkelium, the same element used for this experiment. Post-doc researcher Dominic Russo said he had previously performed similar experiments that had not gone quite according to plan. Those solutions, he said, turned a reddish color, which signaled failure. The latest experiment with berkelium offered something entirely new to him as he watched the solution turn a dark violet — a chemist’s version of watching “The Wizard of Oz” turn from black and white to technicolor for the first time.“That’s a different color — I don’t know what that is,” Russo said, recalling the day of the experiment. “The color was very promising, the solubility was very promising. … Seeing the picture a few hours after , that was sort of the eureka moment.”U.S. Department of Justice launches investigation into UC Berkeley over ‘antisemitic hostile’ workplace, a new molecule that usurps theorists’ expectations about how carbon bonds with heavy-metal elements. In the future, berkelocene may help humanity safely dispose of nuclear waste, according to a study “This is testing what we’re capable of, so it’s exploring everything to do with Mother Nature,” researcher Polly Arnold said. “We’re part of a really large number of people around the world who are trying to safeguard all of our civil nuclear waste and all of the isotopes that we have.”and remains one of the rarest synthetic elements in the world. The element and its molecular counterpart are both named after the city of Berkeley. Since 1967, just overin the United States — the majority of which comes from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Berkeley Lab’s experiment acquired just 0.3 micrograms for its experiment. Adding to the challenging nature of the element, berkelium is highly air sensitive and radioactive, making it extremely onerous to work with. “People have been able to do air-sensitive chemistry and have been able to do radioactive work with radioactive elements for a long time,” Minasian said, “but marrying those two fields has been a lot harder.” After a sample of the resulting berkelocene had been synthesized into a crystal, researchers deployed an X-ray diffraction spectrometer to reveal the team had, in fact, discovered a new molecule. The new molecular structure is, in the nomenclature of researchers, a “sandwich.” In this formation, a berkelium atom, serving as the filling, lays in between two 8-membered carbon rings — the “bread” — and resembles an atomic foot-long sub. Principal investigators Polly Arnold, left, and Stefan Minasian point at the Berkelium where the Berkelocene molecule has been added in the Periodic Table after their discovery at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. The discovery was made at the lab where famous chemist Glenn Seaborg created Berkelium, the same element used for this experiment. “It has this very symmetric geometry, and it’s the first time that that’s been observed,” Minasian said. “Really high symmetry structures are great for chemists. Because when we are trying to understand why an element decides to organize itself in a particular way and you see symmetry, it helps you then develop an understanding.” Interest in radioactive carbon bonds like these has persisted in the world of chemistry since they were first investigated for applications in the Manhattan Project, the United States’ top-secret research project to create the atomic bomb during World War II. While past “sandwiches” have been used to more efficiently combust the hydrocarbons in gasoline, the discovery of berkelocene may eventually aid scientists as they seek a solution to safely dispose of radioactive waste, Arnold said. So far, world leaders’ best bet to rid their countries of radiation has been to push nuclear waste deep underground where, hopefully, no one can access it now or, for the most dangerous waste products, in the next. While eliminating nuclear waste won’t be achieved by “berkelium sandwiches,” Arnold said, Berkeley Lab’s breakthrough may provide a scientific foundation that advances humanity toward that end goal. “We showed that its properties weren’t what you would predict from just looking at its position in the periodic table,” Arnold said. “One day, we won’t have to do these risky reactions. One day, theory will be able to predict things, and they might be able to predict the long-term storage, where we can’t do it so easily.”Dear Abby: They nag me when I post about my unusual hobby. What can I do other than unfriend them?New Parkinson's treatment developed at Stanford could help millionsAsking Eric: I want to cut my friends off forever. But first I want to know why they hurt me.Dear Abby: How can I show my wife I appreciate her forbearance?Dear Abby: Our brother misses so many family celebrations because of his strict date ruleVote now: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week
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