National Science Foundation

Gravitational forces deep in Earth impact landscape evolution Research led by Stony Brook University scientists focuses on the interplay among the evolution of the landscape, climate and fossil record of mammal evolution, and mammal diversification in the Western U.S. A little explored aspect of the research is… Published October 31, 2022 at 07:00AM Read more at nsf.gov

NSF announces $10 million partnership with Micron to support semiconductor design and manufacturing workforce development The U.S. National Science Foundation today announced a cross-sector partnership with Micron Technology, Inc. to develop bold, potentially transformative solutions to address semiconductor manufacturing challenges and workforce shortages. NSF and… Published October 28, 2022 at 05:59AM Read more at nsf.gov

What happens when one organism stabs another with its fangs, thorns, spines? Researchers have created a model that can calculate the energetics involved when one organism stabs another with its fangs, thorns, spines or other puncturing parts. Because the model can be applied to a variety of organisms, it will help scientists… Published October 27, 2022 at 06:29AM Read more at nsf.gov

Deepest scientific ocean drilling sheds light on Japan's next great earthquake Scientists who drilled deeper into an undersea earthquake fault than ever before have found that the tectonic stress in Japan's Nankai subduction zone is less than expected, according to researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and the… Published October 26, 2022 at 07:23AM Read more at nsf.gov

NSF announces name changes to education directorate WASHINGTON – The U.S. National Science Foundation today announced changes to the names of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources and the Division of Human Resource Development. To more accurately reflect and communicate the values and… Published October 25, 2022 at 07:15AM Read more at nsf.gov

Plastics of the future will have many past lives, thanks to chemical recycling One day in the not-too-distant future, the plastics in satellites, cars and electronics may all be living their second, 25th or 250th lives. New research from the University of Colorado Boulder, published in Nature Chemistry, details how a class of… Published October 25, 2022 at 06:30AM Read more at nsf.gov

Air pollution can amplify effects of climate change, new study finds The impacts of air pollution on human health, economies and agriculture differ drastically depending where on the planet the pollutants are emitted, according to a new study. Led by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and the University… Published October 24, 2022 at 07:38AM Read more at nsf.gov

This week with NSF Director Panchanathan NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan fielded a packed schedule this week, from receiving a public service award to meeting with international colleagues to visiting Rice University in Houston, Texas. Panchanathan met with the Finance Minister of… Published October 21, 2022 at 02:07PM Read more at nsf.gov

How can infants learn about sounds in their native language? Infants can differentiate most sounds soon after birth, and over the following months, they become language-specific listeners. But researchers are still trying to understand how babies recognize "contrastive" sounds, a linguistics term that… Published October 19, 2022 at 07:46AM Read more at nsf.gov

'Drug factory' implants eliminate mesothelioma tumors in mice Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have shown they can eradicate advanced-stage mesothelioma tumors in mice in just a few days with a treatment combining Rice's cytokine "drug factory" implants and a checkpoint inhibitor… Published October 19, 2022 at 07:38AM Read more at nsf.gov

New NSF workforce development program opens new doors in emerging technology fields The U.S. National Science Foundation today launches a new $30 million workforce development program, Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies, or ExLENT. The program will expand practical learning opportunities for individuals… Published October 19, 2022 at 05:58AM Read more at nsf.gov

Forests' carbon uptake will be compromised by climate change, leaf temperature study suggests Leaves in forest canopies are not able to cool themselves below the surrounding air temperature, likely meaning that trees' ability to avoid damaging temperature increases, and to pull carbon from the atmosphere, will be compromised in a warmer… Published October 18, 2022 at 06:44AM Read more at nsf.gov

NSF Director Panchanathan delivered remarks at the 2022 World Academic Summit in New York City Policymakers, researchers, academics and industry leaders convened at the 2022 World Academic Summit earlier this month to discuss how higher education can adapt to meet rising expectations and their impact on institutions, students and academia. U.S… Published October 17, 2022 at 09:34AM Read more at nsf.gov

Tiny coral reef fish parents decide when their embryos hatch Leaving the comfort and safety of home to explore the world is a difficult decision. But when it comes to a tiny coral reef fish called a neon goby, dads help their offspring take the plunge by pushing them out the door when the time is right. A U.S… Published October 17, 2022 at 07:04AM Read more at nsf.gov

Anti-insulin protein linked to longevity and reproduction in ants An insulin-suppressing protein may be the fountain of youth for ants and provide clues about aging in other species, according to a study led by New York University researchers. Published in Science and supported in part by the U.S. National Science… Published October 17, 2022 at 07:06AM Read more at nsf.gov

This week with NSF Director Panchanathan NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan focused on education this week, with a virtual appearance Tuesday at the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit 2022 and a trip to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire on Friday. The director delivered the… Published October 14, 2022 at 01:05PM Read more at nsf.gov

What happens if Earth loses its last remaining large animals? Are elephants important? How about rhinos? Or lions? What happens if Earth loses its last remaining large animals? U.S. National Science Foundation-supported research by biologist Felisa Smith at the University of New Mexico shows the profound… Published October 13, 2022 at 08:22AM Read more at nsf.gov

Martian rock-metal composite shows potential of 3D printing on Mars A little Martian dust appears to go a long way. A small amount of simulated crushed Martian rock mixed with a titanium alloy resulted in a strong high-performance material in a 3D-printing process that could one day be used on Mars to make tools or… Published October 12, 2022 at 08:03AM Read more at nsf.gov

Malaria spike linked to amphibian die-off Dozens of species of frogs, salamanders and other amphibians quietly disappeared from parts of Latin America in the 1980s and 2000s, with little notice from humans outside of a small group of ecologists. Yet the amphibian decline had direct health… Published October 12, 2022 at 08:03AM Read more at nsf.gov

NSF congratulates laureates of the 2022 Nobel Prize in economics The U.S. National Science Foundation congratulates Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig for their 2022 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Their combined discoveries revealed the critical role that banks play in modern… Published October 11, 2022 at 01:19PM Read more at nsf.gov

Antiferromagnetic hybrids achieve important functionality for spintronic applications Antiferromagnets have zero net magnetization and are insensitive to external magnetic field perturbations. These spintronic devices, as they are called, hold great promise for creating future ultra-fast and energy-efficient information storage… Published October 11, 2022 at 10:55AM Read more at nsf.gov

This week with NSF Director Panchanathan NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan did some serious globetrotting this week, from a science and technology forum in Kyoto, Japan, to the Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts. The director spent Sunday and Monday in Kyoto, where he delivered… Published October 07, 2022 at 12:44PM Read more at nsf.gov

NSF grows future U.S. manufacturing technologies and jobs Manufacturing underpins U.S. economic prosperity, security and employment. The White House today published the U.S. National Strategy for Advanced Manufacturing, with the U.S. National Science Foundation playing a critical role. NSF strategically… Published October 07, 2022 at 06:55AM Read more at nsf.gov

Where do high-energy particles that endanger satellites, astronauts and airplanes come from? For decades, scientists have been trying to solve a vexing problem about the weather in outer space. At unpredictable times, high-energy solar particles bombard Earth and objects outside Earth’s atmosphere with radiation that can endanger the lives… Published October 03, 2022 at 07:17AM Read more at nsf.gov

NSF Invests to Improve Undergraduate STEM Education at Hispanic-Serving Institutions As the nation celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, the U.S. National Science Foundation's Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program has awarded 48 grants to Hispanic-serving institutions in Fiscal Year 2022… Published October 05, 2022 at 01:24PM Read more at nsf.gov

NSF congratulates laureates of the 2022 Nobel Prize in chemistry The U.S. National Science Foundation congratulates Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless on their 2022 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Their breakthrough discoveries transformed the field by enabling new ways to create complex molecules… Published October 05, 2022 at 12:35PM Read more at nsf.gov

Older forests can buffer effects of climate change for some bird species Old-growth forests and managed forests with old-growth characteristics can provide relief from climate change for some bird species, research by Oregon State University scientists and colleagues suggest. The study builds on earlier research, which… Published October 05, 2022 at 03:47AM Read more at nsf.gov

NSF congratulates laureates of the 2022 Nobel Prize in physics The U.S. National Science Foundation congratulates Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeilinger on their 2022 Nobel Prize in physics. The groundbreaking work of all three researchers has revealed the strange nature of quantum entanglement and… Published October 04, 2022 at 11:04AM Read more at nsf.gov

Weedy rice has become herbicide-resistant through rapid evolution In research published in the journal Communications Biology, U.S. National Science Foundation-supported scientists at Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Arkansas report that a crop pest called weedy rice has become widely… Published October 04, 2022 at 07:42AM Read more at nsf.gov

Artificial intelligence used to better monitor Maine's forests Monitoring and measuring forest ecosystems are complex challenges because software, collection systems and computing environments require increasing amounts of energy. Now, the University of Maine's Wireless Sensor Networks laboratory, or WiSe-Net… Published October 03, 2022 at 07:19AM Read more at nsf.gov