Two new AI institutes will harness AI to analyze vast amounts of astronomical data, accelerating discoveries and democratizing access to research. Researchers at all career levels will gain access to trustworthy AI tools, enabling them to explore the cosmos with newfound insights.
Using tartrazine, researchers create transparency in tissues by matching refractive indices, revealing hidden organs and structures. This technique has implications for diagnosing injuries, digestive disorders, and cancers.
A new AI system, Coscientist, has demonstrated its ability to autonomously learn about Nobel Prize-winning chemical reactions and design successful laboratory procedures. The system achieved this in just a few minutes, outperforming human chemists in some cases.
Researchers confirmed that antimatter falls under the influence of gravity, ruling out gravitational repulsion as a cause for its absence in the universe. The study used an antihydrogen experiment to observe individual atoms taking a downward path, providing a definitive answer to long-standing questions about antimatter's behavior.
Researchers at U.S. National Science Foundation's IceCube Neutrino Observatory reveal a galactic portrait made with particles of matter, unlike any before, by determining the origin of thousands of neutrinos. The breakthrough allows for the first 'ghost particle' image of the Milky Way galaxy.
A team of researchers using radio telescope observations found evidence of gravitational waves passing through the Milky Way, causing spacetime distortions that appear as variations in pulsar ticking rates. The discovery provides insights into how galaxies evolve and supermassive black holes grow and merge.
The National Science Foundation has invested $162 million in nine Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers to create novel materials with remarkable properties. These breakthroughs will enable new commercial opportunities, train the next generation of scientific leaders, and advance critical emerging technologies.
Astronomers observe repeating radio signal from star YZ Ceti, indicating potential magnetic field of nearby Earth-sized planet YZ Ceti b. The detection provides new insights into the environment around stars and has implications for the search for habitable exoplanets.
The new report shows increased representation of women, Black, Hispanic, American Indian, and Alaska Native people in STEM jobs over the past decade, but those groups remain underrepresented compared to their overall distribution. The report highlights progress in diversity and equity in STEM education and careers.
Researchers found a molecular pathway that plants use to direct their carbon dioxide intake, allowing for more efficient water use and increased crop resilience. This breakthrough could lead to new tools for crop breeders and farmers to produce crops robust enough for the changing environment.
The US National Science Foundation will decommission the 305-meter telescope at Arecibo Observatory due to catastrophic failure and long-term stability issues. The observatory's staff and visitors' safety is the top priority, and other parts of the facility will be preserved for future research.
The National Science Foundation has awarded $8 million in funding to seven research projects studying soil signals to advance sustainable agriculture, climate change and food production. Researchers will develop new methods to capture, communicate and analyze soil processes, including sensors and data tools.
The NSF's Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope has produced its first images, showcasing a pattern of turbulent plasma that covers the entire sun. This breakthrough will enable scientists to better understand space weather and its impacts on Earth.
The National Science Foundation's newest solar telescope has successfully produced its first images of the sun's surface. The telescope, which uses advanced technology to study the sun's magnetic field and temperature, is expected to provide valuable insights into the sun's behavior and impact on Earth
The NSF-Boeing partnership aims to provide new educational opportunities for workers in STEM fields through online learning platforms. The five-year program will focus on building key STEM skills and exploring the effectiveness of online courseware, ultimately creating tools for current and future employees.
The National Science Foundation has announced a new PAWR platform, AERPAW, in Raleigh and Cary, North Carolina, which will focus on wireless communications for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and ground mobility. The platform aims to accelerate research into the capabilities necessary for mobility systems.
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has captured the first direct visual evidence of a supermassive black hole, located 55 million light-years from Earth. The image reveals the black hole's mass is 6.5-billion times that of the Sun.
Researchers on an international ocean drilling expedition are studying the West Antarctic Ice Sheet's history to understand its role in future sea level rise. The study will help determine how changes in seawater and air temperature have affected ice gain or loss over millions of years.
A seismic study spanning the Mariana Trench reveals that subduction zones drag about three times more water into the deep Earth than previously estimated. The observations highlight the important role of subduction zones in the global water cycle, with implications for our understanding of the Earth's interior.
Funding for higher education research and development (R&D) in the US increased by 4.7% to $75.3 billion in FY2017, with federal funding accounting for 53.5% of total expenditures. Basic research accounted for 62% of R&D spending, down from 66% in FY2010.
The National Science Foundation is partnering with federal agencies to expand its STEM diversity program and create new graduate internship opportunities. The partnerships aim to increase diversity in the STEM workforce and remove barriers to STEM careers.
The NSF's Discovery Research PreK-12 program has awarded over $50 million to enhance STEM education for students and teachers across 24 US states and the US Virgin Islands. The grants focus on research-based projects that strengthen teaching, learning, and assessment in pre-K through grade 12 settings.
The NSF-funded E-CAS project will investigate the viability of commercial clouds for leading-edge research computing, with Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform as initial providers. The project aims to accelerate scientific discoveries by leveraging cloud computing capabilities.
Researchers studying Earth's 'living skin' reveal insights into forest ecohydrology in a changing climate and plant stress in drought-prone forests. The Critical Zone Observatories project explores how landscapes evolve over human timescales and respond to climate change.
New research reveals hidden realms in ice-covered lakes and deep soils affecting water clarity, salt marsh survival, drought impact, and climate change pace. NSF's LTER Network of 28 sites explores various ecosystems to better understand ecological processes.
Scientists from the U.S. National Science Foundation-funded expedition aboard the Atlantis will share their research findings on submarine volcanic activity and crust formation. The live broadcasts, scheduled for Dec. 11-13, will also feature young researchers and their experiences with modern deep-sea exploration.
Researchers found a significant increase in nitrate flowing downstream after the storm, posing risks to coastal ecosystems. The study also revealed that Hurricane Maria killed twice as many trees as previous storms, altering forest compositions and potential carbon cycles.
Researchers are working to understand subseafloor microbial communities and their potential impact on Earth's biosphere. They've discovered that microbes living in deep ocean sediments may represent as much as one-third of Earth's total biomass, with the habitable part of the ocean crust potentially being 10 times greater.
The National Science Foundation is investing in 10 new projects to research biodiversity and its interactions with climate, land use, and invasive species. The Dimensions of Biodiversity program aims to transform how we understand life on Earth by addressing multiple dimensions of biodiversity simultaneously.
Researchers at Yale, Harvard, and Northwestern universities used a unique process to fire a beam of molecules into lasers, revealing the electron's round, negative charge. The findings support the Standard Model of particle physics and challenge alternative theories.
Researchers identified a cluster of genes responsible for producing the neurotoxin domoic acid in microscopic plants. The knowledge will allow scientists to track the development of bloom toxicity at the genetic level and predict toxin production before it occurs, helping to mitigate harm from algae blooms.
The National Science Foundation has awarded $15 million in grants to researchers studying the complex interactions between humans and their environment. Projects will investigate topics such as nutrient management, wildfires, hydrology, and volcanic eruptions to better understand how people can interact with nature in a more sustainabl...
A new study led by Harvard University researchers finds that mammal spines have gained new regions during evolution, which enabled them to adapt to different environments. The research challenges the long-held idea that mammal-specific characteristics emerged from a single ancestral blueprint.
Researchers found that stronger connectivity alters how rainfall affects moisture, heat, and carbon fluxes in ecosystems, as well as the progression from early to late-stage drought. The study provides insights into how connectivity influences ecosystem responses to extreme events.
Future El Niño and La Niña events are expected to cause more intense temperature and precipitation changes, including increased wildfire risk in the Southwest US. Climate model simulations suggest that these events will become even cooler and wetter in California, exacerbating flood risks.
The National Science Foundation has awarded $16 million to 18 cross-disciplinary projects exploring the intersection of neural and cognitive systems. These innovative research approaches aim to tackle fundamental questions about the brain, developing new methods for studying neural activity and behavior.
The NSF Research Traineeship program awards $51 million to develop and implement innovative graduate education models in STEM fields. The projects aim to prepare students with skills necessary to tackle complex societal problems, focusing on areas like data revolution, human-technology frontier, food, energy, and water systems.
The NSF Institute for Research and Innovation in Software for High-Energy Physics (IRIS-HEP) will tackle the unprecedented data challenges from the HL-LHC. The institute aims to develop innovative software tools and train the next generation of users to analyze large sets of data.
The NSF is investing $60 million in a new high-performance computing system, Frontera, at the Texas Advanced Computing Center. The system will offer unprecedented scale and capacity for science and engineering research, enabling leap-ahead discoveries in fields like physics and molecular dynamics.
The NSF's EDGE program has awarded $10 million to develop genomic tools that will enable researchers to identify mechanisms determining gene function in organisms. This research aims to advance efforts to predict phenotype by developing enhanced genomic tools and infrastructure, contributing to understanding the rules of life.
The NSF's EDGE program awards $10 million to develop genomic tools that can identify mechanisms determining how genes affect organisms' physical and functional characteristics. Researchers will create innovative tools to predict phenotype, contributing to 'Understanding the Rules of Life' and various societal benefits.
The National Science Foundation awards $9 million for nine new research projects using ecological data from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) to address long-standing questions about climate, land use and invasive species. MacroSystems Biology projects explore ecological interactions across spatial and temporal scales.
The National Science Foundation is investing in research to detect, disrupt and disable illicit supply networks that traffic people, weapons, drugs, human organs, and nuclear material. This funding supports a combination of engineering and computer, physical and social sciences to dismantle these networks.
Researchers used data from robotic floats to find that open water near Antarctica releases more carbon dioxide than thought, contradicting previous studies. The study aims to improve our understanding of the Southern Ocean's role in regulating the global climate.
The National Science Foundation has awarded $45 million to 31 projects under the Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program, aiming to increase retention and graduation rates for STEM students at these institutions. The program invests in building capacity and increasing STEM education and research capacity at HSIs.
The NSF has awarded a five-year, $6.4 million grant to the Sevilleta LTER site in central New Mexico to understand how environmental changes affect dryland ecosystems over time. Researchers will study the transition from grassland to shrubland and the impact of climate variability on ecosystem dynamics.
Researchers aim to create storage systems integrating synthetic biology with semiconductor technology, potentially storing 1,000 times more data than current capabilities. The goal is to develop devices with greater storage capacity and lower power usage.
Researchers used satellite-based measurements to track changes in groundwater levels and storage capacity in the Central Valley aquifer system, revealing permanent loss of water storage capacity. The study provides new tools for water resource managers to monitor aquifers and mitigate the effects of drought.
Researchers using NSF's IceCube Neutrino Observatory data confirmed a single neutrino's origin as a previously known blazar, providing the first definitive evidence of proton acceleration by black holes. This discovery sheds light on cosmic ray origins and supports multi-messenger astronomy.
Researchers have discovered volcanic activity beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which could impact ice-sheet melting and sea level rise. The finding suggests that terrestrial ice on the continent may be more resilient to current carbon-dioxide levels than previously thought.