Scientists discover genetic basis for how harmful algae blooms become toxic

Scientists discover genetic basis for how harmful algae blooms become toxic

Scientists have uncovered the genetic basis for the production of domoic acid, a potent neurotoxin produced by certain harmful algae blooms.

In a new study appearing in this week's issue of the journal Science, researchers identified a cluster of genes related to the production of domoic acid in microscopic plants, or phytoplankton, called Pseudo-nitzschia.

The researchers, whose work is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), found that the genes ...

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Published September 27, 2018 at 06:00PM
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NSF awards new level of support for tribal colleges, establishes STEM centers

NSF awards new level of support for tribal colleges, establishes STEM centers

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) has awarded $14 million to tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) to establish four new centers -- the first of their kind.

The Tribal Enterprise Advancement (TEA) centers will build upon the scientific and engineering (S&E) expertise at the TCUs to prepare the next generation of scientific professionals who will serve as the decision-makers and intellectual resources for their tribes and ...

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Published September 26, 2018 at 09:09PM
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NSF announces new awards for quantum research, technologies

NSF announces new awards for quantum research, technologies

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $31 million for fundamental quantum research that will enable the United States to lead a new quantum technology revolution. The awards are announced as NSF joins other federal agencies and private partners at a White House summit on quantum information science today.

"The quantum revolution is about expanding the definition of what's possible for the technology of tomorrow," said NSF Director France Córdova. "NSF-supported ...

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Published September 24, 2018 at 05:00PM
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Boeing, National Science Foundation announce partnership for workforce development and diversity in STEM

Boeing, National Science Foundation announce partnership for workforce development and diversity in STEM

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and Boeing today announced a new, $21 million partnership through which Boeing will invest $11 million to accelerate training in critical skill areas and increase diversity in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. Boeing becomes the first business to contribute at a national level to NSF INCLUDES, which aims to enhance U.S. innovation leadership through a commitment to broadening participation.

"We are grateful to Boeing for ...

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Published September 24, 2018 at 02:00PM
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NSF awards $15 million to understand how humans can better interact with the environment

NSF awards $15 million to understand how humans can better interact with the environment

A toxic red tide, or harmful algae bloom, is killing swaths of marine life and affecting the health of people living along Florida's southwest coast. Nationwide, harmful algae blooms cost an estimated $50 million each year. Excess nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus flowing downstream act as fertilizer, sparking these blooms in waterbodies such as the Gulf of Mexico, Lake Erie and Chesapeake Bay.

Paul Leisnham of the University of Maryland, College Park, is working to find out ...

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Published September 24, 2018 at 10:00AM
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NSF announces new awards for Understanding the Rules of Life

NSF announces new awards for Understanding the Rules of Life

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced 29 awards in support of Understanding the Rules of Life, one of the agency's "10 Big Ideas for Future NSF Investments." The awards, totaling $15 million, demonstrate NSF's commitment to address some of the greatest challenges in understanding the living world, in all of its complex levels of organization, ...

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Published September 21, 2018 at 02:00PM
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What makes a mammal a mammal? Our spine, say scientists

What makes a mammal a mammal? Our spine, say scientists

Mammals are unique in many ways. We're warm-blooded and agile in comparison with our reptilian relatives.

But a new study, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and led by Harvard University researchers Stephanie Pierce and Katrina Jones, suggests we're unique in one more way -- the makeup of our spines. The researchers describe their finding in a paper published this week in the journal Science.

"The spine is basically like a series of beads on a string, ...

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Published September 20, 2018 at 06:00PM
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Media invited to NSF for distinguished lecture with Boston University’s Michael Dietze

Media invited to NSF for distinguished lecture with Boston University’s Michael Dietze

Is nature predictable? If so, how can we better manage and conserve ecosystems? Near-term ecological forecasting is an emerging interdisciplinary research area that aims to improve researchers' ability to predict ecological processes on timescales that can be validated and updated.

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Biological Sciences invites media and members of the public to a distinguished lecture series with Michael Dietze of Boston University. An ecologist ...

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Published September 20, 2018 at 02:06PM
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NSF awards 6 Louis Stokes regional centers of excellence to broaden participation in STEM

NSF awards 6 Louis Stokes regional centers of excellence to broaden participation in STEM

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced awards for six Louis Stokes regional centers of excellence (LSRCEs) that will support recruitment and retention of minority undergraduate and graduate students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The centers will conduct broadening participation research and STEM implementation activities that lead to degree completion for minority students traditionally underrepresented in the STEM marketplace. The goal is ...

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Published September 19, 2018 at 09:00PM
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NSF announces new measures to protect research community from harassment

NSF announces new measures to protect research community from harassment

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has taken the next steps in its agency-wide effort to ensure the research and learning environments it supports are free from harassment, publishing a term and condition that requires awardee organizations to report findings and determinations of sexual harassment, as well as establishing a secure online portal for submitting harassment notifications.

On Sept. 21, 2018, NSF will publish a term and condition for awards, to become effective 30 days ...

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Published September 19, 2018 at 04:00PM
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NSF: Next steps against harassment

NSF: Next steps against harassment

For more information, see NSF's press release.

What NSF is doing:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) will release a term and condition requiring awardee organizations to report findings of sexual harassment. It will be posted in the Federal Register Sept. 21, 2018 and go into effect Oct. 21, 2018.

Why NSF is doing this:

As the primary ...

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Published September 19, 2018 at 04:00PM
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New NSF funding to build research infrastructure across the country

New NSF funding to build research infrastructure across the country

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded nearly $140 million to seven jurisdictions through the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), which builds research and development capacity in jurisdictions that demonstrate a commitment to research but have thus far lacked the levels of investment seen in other parts of the country.

The new EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Track-1 awards will bolster science and engineering research ...

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Published September 18, 2018 at 02:00PM
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NSF, NIEHS award $30 million for new research on links among oceans, lakes and human health

NSF, NIEHS award $30 million for new research on links among oceans, lakes and human health

Summer 2018. The west coast of Florida. A red tide spreading along this Gulf of Mexico shoreline has killed millions of fish, threatened the health of human residents and affected tourism in the region. Nationwide, such harmful algae blooms cost an estimated $50 million each year.

What led to the Florida "bloom" of harmful algae, and what short- and long-term effects might it have on people and other animals -- and on the gulf ecosystem?

To study the effects of harmful algae ...

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Published September 13, 2018 at 10:00AM
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NSF awards nearly $6M to advance STEM graduate education training

NSF awards nearly $6M to advance STEM graduate education training

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) program recently awarded $5.8 million to 12 new projects that will pilot, test and validate innovative approaches in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduate education.

"These investments by NSF will help us identify advances in graduate education that address current and future STEM workforce needs," said Jim Lewis, NSF acting assistant director for Education and Human Resources. ...

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Published September 12, 2018 at 08:05PM
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Engineering biology through DNA’s environment

Engineering biology through DNA’s environment

To advance the engineering of biology at the molecular and cellular levels, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $16 million for research to characterize the regulation of gene activity and expression, and to create strategies to modify those processes without altering the DNA sequence.

Chromatin -- a combination of DNA, RNA and proteins within a cell's nucleus -- can be modified by attaching additional molecules. This can cause altered gene expression without actually ...

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Published September 12, 2018 at 04:00PM
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University of New Mexico 'NSF Day'

University of New Mexico 'NSF Day'

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Published September 12, 2018 at 03:48PM
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Media call: NSF harassment policy next steps

Media call: NSF harassment policy next steps

Media are invited to join a one-hour call to learn about actions the National Science Foundation (NSF) is taking within our authority to reduce or eliminate harassment from the U.S. scientific and engineering research community.

The call will include updates on a new award term and condition and reporting requirements that NSF proposed in February 2018, and details on enhanced web resources and information to support the ...

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Published September 12, 2018 at 02:40PM
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New TRIPODS+X awards target Big Data solutions for broad range of research challenges

New TRIPODS+X awards target Big Data solutions for broad range of research challenges

Building on the success of its 2017 Transdisciplinary Research in Principles of Data Science (TRIPODS) awards, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is awarding $8.5 million in TRIPODS+X grants to expand the scope of the cross-disciplinary TRIPODS institutes into broader areas of science, engineering and mathematics.

In total, NSF will support 19 ...

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Published September 11, 2018 at 02:00PM
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NSF funds new integrative approaches to cognitive science, neuroscience

NSF funds new integrative approaches to cognitive science, neuroscience

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded funding to 18 cross-disciplinary projects to conduct innovative research on neural and cognitive systems.

The awards contribute to NSF's investments in support of Understanding the Brain and the BRAIN Initiative, a coordinated research effort that seeks to accelerate the development of new ...

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Published September 11, 2018 at 04:00AM
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Scientists launch project to help predict air quality, enhance crop yields

Scientists launch project to help predict air quality, enhance crop yields

Tracking how air moves at night near the Earth's surface could provide insights into how air pollution spreads and when it's best to apply pesticides.

This week, a team of University of South Carolina (USC) and University of Illinois (U of I) researchers will launch a project to do just that. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the two-month experiment -- called Stable Atmospheric Variability and Transport, or SAVANT -- will run from Sept. 15 to Nov. 15 in and near ...

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Published September 10, 2018 at 10:00AM
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NSF INCLUDES takes major step forward with new awards

NSF INCLUDES takes major step forward with new awards

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued new awards that represent the next major step for its NSF INCLUDES program -- the development of a national network to enhance U.S. leadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by broadening participation in those disciplines.

The U.S. innovation economy increasingly requires skilled STEM workers -- scientists, engineers, technicians and people with STEM backgrounds -- to maintain the nation's status as a ...

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Published September 06, 2018 at 02:57PM
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New institute to address massive data demands from upgraded Large Hadron Collider

New institute to address massive data demands from upgraded Large Hadron Collider

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has launched the Institute for Research and Innovation in Software for High-Energy Physics (IRIS-HEP), a $25 million effort to tackle the unprecedented torrent of data that will come from the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC), the world's most powerful particle accelerator. The upgraded LHC will help scientists fully understand particles such as the Higgs boson -- first observed in 2012 -- and their place in the universe.

When the ...

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Published September 04, 2018 at 02:00PM
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New NSF Research Traineeship awards aim to transform approaches to STEM graduate education

New NSF Research Traineeship awards aim to transform approaches to STEM graduate education

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Traineeship (NRT) program recently awarded 17 projects, totaling $51 million, to develop and implement graduate education traineeship models in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. The awards will help train the next generation of scientific leaders to develop the skills necessary to tackle complex societal problems.

"Innovative approaches are vital to transforming STEM graduate education," said Jim Lewis, ...

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Published September 04, 2018 at 02:00PM
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