NSF Director visits the world’s largest experimental earthquake infrastructure facility

NSF Director visits the world’s largest experimental earthquake infrastructure facility
LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Today, U.S. National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan met with staff and students from the University of California San Diego, local officials and industry partners to observe and discuss research investments…

Published July 01, 2022 at 02:33AM
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Spatial aspects of biodiversity important for healthy forests

Spatial aspects of biodiversity important for healthy forests
Biologists at Washington University in St. Louis have determined that tree beta diversity -- a measure of site-to-site variation in the composition of species in an area -- matters more for ecosystem functioning than other components of biodiversity…

Published June 30, 2022 at 01:30PM
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Historical irrigation leaves long-lasting legacies on the prairie

Historical irrigation leaves long-lasting legacies on the prairie
A hallmark of environmental science is understanding how ecosystems respond to global change. Much of this research focuses on short-term ecosystem responses, such as how an ecosystem responds to a sudden onset of drought. But previous conditions can…

Published June 30, 2022 at 01:37PM
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Less air pollution leads to higher crop yields, study shows

Less air pollution leads to higher crop yields, study shows
Increasing agricultural productivity usually depends on adding something, such as fertilizer or water. Now, a Stanford University-led study reveals that removing one thing in particular -- a common air pollutant -- could lead to dramatic gains in…

Published June 29, 2022 at 02:11PM
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Models predict that planned phosphorus reductions will make Lake Erie more toxic

Models predict that planned phosphorus reductions will make Lake Erie more toxic
Reducing levels of the nutrient phosphorus to control harmful algal blooms in places such as Lake Erie is advantageous to toxic cyanobacteria strains, which can lead to an increase in toxins in the water, according to a new modeling study. U.S…

Published June 29, 2022 at 02:14PM
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Genetics breakthrough in sea urchins aids biomedical research

Genetics breakthrough in sea urchins aids biomedical research
Marine biologists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography have created a line of sea urchins whose genetic makeup is fully mapped and can be edited to study human disease genes. The creation of these new research model organisms will accelerate…

Published June 28, 2022 at 06:36PM
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Genetic, environmental factors contribute to how socioeconomic status impacts the brain

Genetic, environmental factors contribute to how socioeconomic status impacts the brain
A study in Science Advances has revealed correlations among socioeconomics, genetics, environmental factors and brain structure. Socioeconomic status is typically defined by characteristics such as an individual's income, education and occupation…

Published June 28, 2022 at 06:00PM
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NSF Research Traineeship program expands to include 43 states

NSF Research Traineeship program expands to include 43 states
The U.S. National Science Foundation announced 22 new awards through its NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program. The $58 million investment, including $6.9 million of support from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, expands the program to comprise…

Published June 27, 2022 at 03:21PM
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Mastodon tusk chemical analysis reveals first evidence of one extinct animal's annual migration

Mastodon tusk chemical analysis reveals first evidence of one extinct animal's annual migration
Around 13,200 years ago, a roving male mastodon died in a bloody mating season battle with a rival in what is now northeast Indiana, nearly 100 miles from his home territory, according to the first study to document the annual migration of an…

Published June 27, 2022 at 01:56PM
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Bizarre meat-eating dinosaur joins rogues' gallery of giant predators from Sahara Desert

Bizarre meat-eating dinosaur joins rogues' gallery of giant predators from Sahara Desert
U.S. National Science Foundation-funded researchers at Ohio University and other institutions have discovered a new kind of large-bodied meat-eating dinosaur, or theropod, from a celebrated fossil site in Egypt’s Sahara Desert. The fossil of a still…

Published June 27, 2022 at 01:52PM
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A cloudless future? The mystery at the heart of climate forecasts

A cloudless future? The mystery at the heart of climate forecasts
We hear a lot about how climate change will change the land, sea and ice. But how will it affect clouds? "Low clouds could dry up and shrink like the ice sheets," said Michael Pritchard, an Earth system scientist at the University of California…

Published June 23, 2022 at 03:15PM
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Great white sharks may have contributed to megalodon extinction

Great white sharks may have contributed to megalodon extinction
Megatooth sharks like Otodus megalodon, more commonly known as megalodon, lived between 23 and 3.6 million years ago in oceans around the globe, and may have reached 20 meters (65.6 feet). For comparison, the largest great white sharks today reach a…

Published June 23, 2022 at 03:19PM
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Researchers discover particle accelerator region inside a solar flare

Researchers discover particle accelerator region inside a solar flare
Solar flares are among the most violent explosions in the solar system. But despite their immense energy -- equivalent to a hundred billion atomic bombs detonating at once -- physicists still haven't been able to answer exactly how these sudden…

Published June 22, 2022 at 07:31PM
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Indigenous Borneans knew a tree was two distinct species. Genetic analysis confirms they were right.

Indigenous Borneans knew a tree was two distinct species. Genetic analysis confirms they were right.
More than 200 years ago, a Spanish botanist described Artocarpus odoratissimus, a species of fruit-bearing tree found in Borneo and the Philippines. The Iban people, who are indigenous to Borneo, know the tree to have two different varieties, which…

Published June 22, 2022 at 07:08PM
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Altered gene helps plants absorb more carbon dioxide, produce more useful compounds

Altered gene helps plants absorb more carbon dioxide, produce more useful compounds
Every day, plants around the world perform an invisible miracle. They take carbon dioxide from the air and, with the help of sunlight, turn it into countless chemicals essential to both plants and humans. Some of these chemicals, known as aromatic…

Published June 22, 2022 at 07:14PM
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Astronomers explain why Uranus is lighter in color than Neptune

Astronomers explain why Uranus is lighter in color than Neptune
Neptune and Uranus are similar in size and atmospheric conditions but curiously, Neptune is a darker shade of blue. Astronomers used observations from the international Gemini Observatory, a program of NSF's NOIRLab, the NASA Infrared Telescope…

Published June 22, 2022 at 07:26PM
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NSF announces new opportunities for Hispanic-serving institutions to support research and capacity building through collaborations and partnerships

NSF announces new opportunities for Hispanic-serving institutions to support research and capacity building through collaborations and partnerships
The U.S. National Science Foundation announced a new funding opportunity of nearly $29 million through the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program, also known as the HSI program. Through this new solicitation…

Published June 22, 2022 at 05:25PM
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NSF, AACC announce 2022 Community College Innovation Challenge winners

NSF, AACC announce 2022 Community College Innovation Challenge winners
Today, the U.S. National Science Foundation, in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges announced the three winning teams of this year's Community College Innovation Challenge. A team of expert judges selected the Bergen…

Published June 16, 2022 at 09:14PM
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NSF selects Kellina Craig-Henderson to lead its Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate

NSF selects Kellina Craig-Henderson to lead its Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate
The U.S. National Science Foundation has selected Kellina Craig-Henderson to serve as Assistant Director of its Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate. She had been serving as acting assistant director since January. Craig-Henderson is…

Published June 16, 2022 at 02:13PM
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New class of light-powered polymer catalysts could improve pharmaceutical manufacturing

New class of light-powered polymer catalysts could improve pharmaceutical manufacturing
Chemical reactions powered by light require photoredox catalysts that convert light into a chemical reaction. Chemists based at MIT, supported by a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation, have developed a new class of photoredox catalysts…

Published June 16, 2022 at 02:30PM
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3D-printed shape memory alloy is engineered with superelasticity

3D-printed shape memory alloy is engineered with superelasticity
Engineers at Texas A&M University conducting a study supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation have created a superelastic shape memory alloy using 3D printing. Their method avoids defects like warping and delamination that commonly occur…

Published June 16, 2022 at 02:30PM
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Toward more sustainable wine: Scientists can now track sulfur from grapes to streams

Toward more sustainable wine: Scientists can now track sulfur from grapes to streams
Each week during growing season, California winemakers coat their precious grapes with sulfur fungicides to prevent powdery mildew infection. It's an effective defense against a potentially crop-devastating disease in one of the state's largest…

Published June 15, 2022 at 02:41PM
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How electric fish evolved their electric organs

How electric fish evolved their electric organs
Electric organs help fish such as the electric eel do all sorts of amazing things. They send and receive signals that are akin to bird songs, helping them recognize other electric fish by species and sex. Now a U.S. National Science Foundation-funded…

Published June 15, 2022 at 02:46PM
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How sleep builds relational memory

How sleep builds relational memory
Relational memory is the ability to remember arbitrary or indirect associations between objects, places, people or events -- such as names and faces. Previous research has established that animal and human memory benefits from quality sleep. In a new…

Published June 14, 2022 at 04:51PM
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Smart pacemaker dissolves when it is no longer needed

Smart pacemaker dissolves when it is no longer needed
Researchers at Northwestern University funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation have created an implantable pacemaker that dissolves once the device is no longer needed. The latest iteration is a "smart" device with four soft, flexible…

Published June 14, 2022 at 04:48PM
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Capturing carbon with crops, trees and bioenergy

Capturing carbon with crops, trees and bioenergy
An integrated approach to land management practices in the U.S. can reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere far more than earlier estimates based on separate approaches, Michigan State University scientists say. Their research was published in the…

Published June 13, 2022 at 05:23PM
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Researchers quantify the impact of urban vegetation on mortality rates

Researchers quantify the impact of urban vegetation on mortality rates
A nationwide study on urban greenery found that increased green vegetation in large, metropolitan areas could have prevented more than 30,000 deaths over two decades. Researchers examined publicly available data to model and quantify the impact of…

Published June 13, 2022 at 05:23PM
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The world ocean is losing its memory under global warming

The world ocean is losing its memory under global warming
Using future projections of the latest generation of Earth system models, a U.S. National Science Foundation-supported study published in Science Advances found that most of the world's ocean is steadily losing its year-to-year memory under global…

Published June 08, 2022 at 04:33PM
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Common component of many sunscreens may hasten corals' demise

Common component of many sunscreens may hasten corals' demise
You can love something to death. That is one way of thinking about a Stanford University study that reveals how a common component of many sunscreens worn by coral reef-exploring tourists may hasten the demise of these endangered ecosystems. The U.S…

Published June 08, 2022 at 04:33PM
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Freezing points of salty liquid oceans on icy moons of distant planets

Freezing points of salty liquid oceans on icy moons of distant planets
Scientists at the University of Washington and the University of California, Berkeley, combined geoscience and engineering to study watery oceans on the icy moons of distant planets. The research, partially supported by funding from the U.S. National…

Published June 07, 2022 at 04:33PM
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Image-based simulations could improve accuracy in assessing how bone fractures heal

Image-based simulations could improve accuracy in assessing how bone fractures heal
U.S. National Science Foundation-supported researchers based at Lehigh University used bone imaging techniques to study fracture healing and model the mechanical properties of healing bone. Their model will advance the development of a virtual…

Published June 07, 2022 at 04:33PM
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Study examines the effect of prolonged spaceflight on the brain

Study examines the effect of prolonged spaceflight on the brain
Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University, supported in part by two grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation, imaged the brains of astronauts before and after the astronauts completed an extended tour on the International Space…

Published June 06, 2022 at 04:33PM
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Astronomers find star system that may be a rare 'black widow' binary

Astronomers find star system that may be a rare 'black widow' binary
Astronomers conducting research funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation have discovered what could be a "black widow" binary 3,000 light years from Earth. It’s known as ZTF J1406+1222. A black widow binary is a neutron star that spins…

Published June 06, 2022 at 04:33PM
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Discovery Files - Bone Therapy

Discovery Files - Bone Therapy

3D bioprinting is being used to print living human tissue, but what else could it create?

Full story at https://www.nsf.gov/news/mmg/mmg_disp.jsp?med_id=188249&from=?WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click

This is an NSF News item.


Published June 10, 2022 at 04:00AM
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The Discovery Files – Fish on the Menu?

The Discovery Files – Fish on the Menu?

As marine ecosystems change with warming ocean temperatures, will seafood still be on the dinner menu? GEO-OCE Grant Award # 1426891

Full story at https://www.nsf.gov/news/mmg/mmg_disp.jsp?med_id=188225&from=?WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click

This is an NSF News item.


Published June 02, 2022 at 04:00AM
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