NSF News

Two-month Time-lapse Video of Antarctic Ice Goes Viral

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:00:00 EDT

Cassandra Brooks is a Stanford University doctoral student with the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources.

She spent two months in 2013 aboard the National Science Foundation-operated icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer as part of a research cruise investigating the role of dissolved organic carbon in the Ross Sea ecosystem.

She--and a video she produced on the voyage--became ...

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Scientists Discover Oldest Evidence of Split Between Old World Monkeys and Apes

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:17:00 EDT

Two fossil discoveries from the East African Rift reveal new information about the evolution of primates, according to a paper published this week in the journal Nature.

Findings by scientists at Ohio University's (OU) Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and colleagues document the oldest fossils of two major groups of primates: the group that today includes apes and humans (hominoids) and the group that includes Old World monkeys such as baboons and ...

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University of Chicago Launches Bionimbus Protected Data Cloud to Analyze Cancer Data

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:39:00 EDT

The University of Chicago launched the first secure cloud-based computing system that enables researchers to access and analyze human genomic cancer information without the costly and cumbersome infrastructure normally needed to download and store massive amounts of data.

The Bionimbus Protected Data Cloud, as it is called, enables researchers who are authorized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to access and analyze data in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) ...

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Human Disease Leptospirosis Identified in New Species, the Banded Mongoose, in Africa

Tue, 14 May 2013 07:00:00 EDT

The newest public health threat in Africa, scientists have found, is coming from a previously unknown source: the banded mongoose.

Leptospirosis, the disease is called. And the banded mongoose carries it.

Leptospirosis is the world's most common illness transmitted to humans by animals. It's a two-phase disease that begins with flu-like symptoms. If untreated, it can cause meningitis, liver damage, pulmonary hemorrhage, renal failure and death.

"The ...

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Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Seed Dispersal, Environmental Conditions Matter in African Forests

Tue, 14 May 2013 04:59:00 EDT

Nouabale-Ndoki National Park is a tree-dotted enclave in Central Africa's Republic of Congo. Heavy logging surrounds the park, but it still has one of the largest intact forests in Africa. In recognition, it recently became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Trees--thousands of them--make up a forest. How did Nouabale-Ndoki's trees become so numerous, and how do they stay that way?

The answer, say biologists, lies far below the tree canopy, in the soil where seedlings ...

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Math Institute Serves as Bridge for Pure and Applied Mathematics

Tue, 14 May 2013 04:46:00 EDT

For a time, many people believed that the world of pure math, which involves solving problems in the abstract, was distinct from that of applied math, which uses math to solve real world problems, such as in engineering, and relies more heavily on the use of computers.

The perception of the pure mathematician was of someone with a pencil and paper, proving a theorem, while people who used math for practical applications through computations simply traveled a different path. ...

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Where, When Will Thunderstorms Strike Colorado's Front Range, Adjacent Great Plains?

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:02:00 EDT

To better predict where and when spring thunderstorms rip across Colorado's Front Range and the adjacent Great Plains, researchers are launching a major field project this week with high-flying aircraft and fine-grained computer simulations.

The month-long study could point the way to major improvements in lead times for weather forecasts during what has been called a crucial six- to 24-hour window.

"People want to know whether there will be thunderstorms ...

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Challenges of Landing "Curiosity" on Mars

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:00:00 EDT

On May 16, the Directorate for Engineering at the National Science Foundation will host a Distinguished Lecture on the challenges of landing the rover, "Curiosity," on Mars.

Charles Elachi, director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, will discuss the intricate technical challenges and engineering steps undertaken to successfully land Curiosity.

The feat, accomplished on Aug. 5, 2012, ...

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National Science Foundation Statement By Acting Director Cora B. Marrett on the National Strategy for the Arctic Region

Fri, 10 May 2013 16:35:00 EDT

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is pleased to have participated in the development of the new National Strategy for the Arctic Region. The release of the Arctic Strategy is timely and builds upon existing governmental collaborations to identify and address ...

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Climate Record From Bottom of Russian Lake Shows Arctic Was Warmer Millions of Years Ago

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:53:00 EDT

The Arctic was very warm during a period roughly 3.5 to 2 million years ago--a time when research suggests that the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was roughly comparable to today's--leading to the conclusion that relatively small fluctuations in carbon dioxide levels can have a major influence on Arctic climate, according to a new analysis of the longest terrestrial sediment core ever collected in the Arctic.

"One of our major findings is that the Arctic was very warm in the ...

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NSF Joins Forces with Intel and GE to Move the Needle in Producing U.S. Engineers and Computer Scientists

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:30:00 EDT

Imagine a young athlete arriving at a university with the potential to win big over the next four years. Now imagine this athlete sitting out an entire season while practicing with the team and getting the lay of the land. This strategy is called redshirting, and it has proven to be an effective way to prepare athletes for success.

Now imagine using the same concept for preparing undergraduates for a degree in engineering. It's just one of the creative approaches ...

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Life on a Coral Reef: Insult Is (Sometimes) Added to Injury

Wed, 08 May 2013 05:23:00 EDT

When is insult added to injury for a Caribbean coral reef?

When overfishing removes predatory fish that feed on sponges, according to results reported this week in the journal PLOS ONE.

Using the undersea habitat Aquarius--moored on Conch Reef off Key Largo, Florida--marine scientist Joseph Pawlik of the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) and colleagues found that these predator-fish are the same brightly colored angelfish and parrotfish ...

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National Science Board to Meet May 9-10, 2013, in Arlington, Va.

Tue, 07 May 2013 10:37:00 EDT

The National Science Board (NSB) will meet May 9-10, 2013, to address science and engineering policy of interest to the National Science Foundation (NSF). The meeting will also feature presentations from the NSB Public Service Award recipient Jo Anne Vasquez, Vannevar Bush Award recipient Neal Lane, and ...

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Helping People through the Decision-Making Process Using a Web-Based Application

Tue, 07 May 2013 03:31:00 EDT

Not everyone likes to make decisions alone. People sometimes need feedback. Now they have a social media site that can give it to them.

"Think of it as 'Facebook for Decision-Making,'" says Ali Abbas, associate professor in the department of industrial and enterprise systems engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who designed the new system. "The idea was to build a decision support site online through a social network."

...

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NSF Chooses U.S. Students to Participate in Joint Science Education Program in Greenland

Mon, 06 May 2013 10:00:00 EDT

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected five high-school students from as many states nationwide to deploy to the Arctic this summer as part of a science-education and cultural-exchange program with their peers from Denmark and Greenland.

The students will participate in a three-week field experience in Greenland as part of the multinational Joint Science Education Project (JSEP). The U.S. students were selected in a competitive process that drew 375 ...

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