Earth's Biogeochemical Cycles, Once in Concert, Falling Out of Sync

What do the Gulf of Mexico's "dead zone," global climate change, and acid rain have in common? They're all a result of human impacts to Earth's biology, chemistry and geology, and the natural cycles that involve all three.On August 4-5, 2009, scientists who study such cycles--biogeochemists--will convene at a special series of sessions at the Ecological Society of America (ESA)'s 94th annual meeting in Albuquerque, N.M.They will present results of ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115201&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

National Science Board to Meet August 5-6 in Arlington, Va.

On August 5 and 6, the National Science Board (NSB) will meet to address science and engineering policy issues and oversight of the National Science Foundation (NSF).Open session highlights of the NSB meeting include:Wed., August 58:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.Developments in Regional Arctic Climate Modeling (Committee on Programs and Plans)Update on the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) (Committee on Programs and ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115323&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

NYU Physicists Make Room for Oddballs

Here's a question. How many gumballs of different sizes can fit in one of those containers at the mall so as to reward a well-spent quarter? It's hard to believe that most people never consider it even when guessing the number of candies in a bowl at Halloween.But physicists at the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at New York University recently developed a new way to help answer the question. They say the solution is found in how the particles pack in terms of how ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115358&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Of Mutts and Men

Domesticated animals provide man with benefits such as food, clothing and muscle power. Dogs, which descend from gray wolves that originated in Eurasia, were the first animals domesticated by man. Since that time, man has imposed a strong artificial selection pressure for desirable traits, resulting in the various dog breeds we have today.A recent study published in the August 3 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides insight into the origin of some ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115370&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

New Hope for Fisheries on the Horizon?

Scientists have joined forces in a groundbreaking assessment on the status of marine fisheries and ecosystems.The two-year study, led by Boris Worm of Dalhousie University and Ray Hilborn of the University of Washington and including an international team of 19 co-authors, shows that steps taken to curb overfishing are beginning to succeed in five of the 10 large marine ecosystems that they examined.The paper, which appears in the July 31 issue of the journal Science, ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115279&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Membrane Breaks Through Performance Barrier

Engineers have developed a new method for creating high-performance membranes from crystal sieves called zeolites; the method could increase the energy efficiency of chemical separations up to 50 times over conventional methods and enable higher production rates. The ability to separate and purify specific molecules in a chemical mixture is essential to chemical manufacturing. Many industrial separations rely on distillation, a process that is easy to design and implement but consumes ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115332&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Researchers Link Jellyfish, Other Small Sea Creatures to Large-Scale Ocean Mixing

The ocean's smallest swimming animals, such as jellyfish, can have a huge impact on large-scale ocean mixing, researchers have discovered."The perspective we usually take is how the ocean--by its currents, temperature, and chemistry--is affecting animals," says John Dabiri, a Caltech bioengineer who, along with Caltech graduate student Kakani Katija, discovered the new mechanism. "But there have been increasing suggestions that the inverse is also important, ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115295&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

NSF Selects University of Michigan Historian to Head Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected University of Michigan historian Myron Gutmann, director of the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, to head its directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE). The directorate supports research that builds fundamental knowledge of human behavior, interaction, social and economic systems, and organizations and institutions.Gutmann, who specializes in historical demography and ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115316&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

What Scientists Know About Jewel Beetle Shimmer

"Jewel beetles" are widely known for their glossy external skeletons that appear to change colors as the angle of view changes. Now they may be known for something else--providing a blueprint for materials that reflect light rather than absorbing it to produce colors.Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta recently discovered jewel beetles change color because of the light-reflecting properties of the cells that make up their external skeletons, not ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115304&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Remembering Walter Cronkite

The following is a statement by Arden L. Bement, Jr., Director, National Science Foundation.As the funeral for Walter Cronkite is held today in New York, we at the National Science Foundation want to add our voices to the many others who have saluted the veteran journalist and broadcaster. As the anchor of the CBS Evening News from 1961 and managing editor from 1963 until he retired in 1981, Cronkite brought the news of the world into our homes, often during turbulent ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115309&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

'Til Mortgage Do Us Part: The Science

On July 29, the National Science Foundation will examine the human dimensions of the nation's mortgage crisis in a virtual press briefing. One year after passage of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 that authorizes $300 billion in new 30-year fixed rate mortgages for subprime borrowers, top economists answer media questions about how the psychology and neurobiology of individual investors affects the housing market.Yale University economist Robert Shiller, who predicted ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115310&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Solar Cycle Linked to Global Climate

Establishing a key link between the solar cycle and global climate, research led by scientists at the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., shows that maximum solar activity and its aftermath have impacts on Earth that resemble La Niña and El Niño events in the tropical Pacific Ocean.The research may pave the way toward predictions of temperature and precipitation patterns at certain times during the ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115207&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Classifying "Clicks"

A new way to classify sounds in some human languages may solve a problem that has plagued linguists for nearly 100 years--how to accurately describe click sounds distinct to certain African languages. Cornell University professor Amanda Miller and her colleagues recently used new high-speed, ultrasound imaging of the human tongue to precisely categorize sounds produced by the N|uu language speakers of southern Africa's Kalahari Desert.  The research potentially could ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115186&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Congressional Briefing on Capitol Hill: Energy Storage

On July 16, Discover Magazine's noontime, congressional briefing series examines how wind and solar energy storage could play a key role in dramatically changing the nation's energy infrastructure. Top experts address the major challenges facing alternate energy storage technologies and how close the nation is to achieving a critical breakthrough.These congressional briefings are open to the press. The National Science Foundation, IEEE-USA, and ASME jointly host the briefing with ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115210&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

When Robots Invaded the Senate

Scalpels that a surgeon uses to excise small tumors but never actually touches. Robots that can take the place of lab rats in clinical trials. Cars that can drive themselves through busy streets. These were just some of the cutting-edge technologies on display at the Hart Senate Office Building last week as the National Science Foundation (NSF) presented a luncheon briefing and open house for Senate members and their staff on cyber-physical systems (CPS), an emerging technological field that ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115211&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Yellowstone's Ancient Supervolcano: Only Lukewarm?

The geysers of Yellowstone National Park owe their eistence to the "Yellowstone hotspot"--a region of molten rock buried deep beneath Yellowstone, geologists have found. But how hot is this "hotspot," and what's causing it?In an effort to find out, Derek Schutt of Colorado State University and Ken Dueker of the University of Wyoming took the hotspot's temperature.The scientists published results of their research, funded by the National Science ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=112126&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Real-World Lessons in Virtual World

It's bad enough that I haven't found a mate. I'm also hungry and I'm losing stamina. I've lost the rest of my group and a large grizzly bear has positioned himself across my path. What's a wolf to do?Adopting the identity of a wolf is the key to learning about wolf behavior and ecology in WolfQuest, a computer game developed and hosted by the Minnesota Zoo with funding from the National Science Foundation. WolfQuest is one example of how, through computer gaming technology, learning ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=112127&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

DNA Barcodes: Are They Always Accurate?

DNA barcoding is a movement to catalog all life on earth by a simple standardized genetic tag, similar to stores labeling products with unique barcodes. The effort promises foolproof food inspection, improved border security and better defenses against disease-causing insects, among many other applications.But the approach as currently practiced churns out some results as inaccurately as a supermarket checker scanning an apple and ringing it up as an orange, according to a new Brigham ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=112113&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Geophysicist Robert Detrick Named NSF Division Director for Earth Sciences

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Geosciences has appointed Robert Detrick of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) as its new director of the Division of Earth Sciences. Detrick is currently a senior scientist and vice president for Marine Facilities and Operations at WHOI, and will begin his NSF position on Nov. 3, 2008."We are delighted that Bob Detrick will be joining NSF in this important national leadership role," said Tim Killeen, ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=112108&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Universities Detail Declines in Federal R&D Funding for Science and Engineering Fields

Federal funding of academic science and engineering research and development (R&D) failed to outpace inflation for the second year in a row, according to recently released fiscal year (FY) 2007 data from the National Science Foundation (NSF).The data from NSF's Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges showed an increase in federally funded expenditures of 1.1 percent in current dollars to $30.4 billion, but after adjusting for inflation, the ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=112105&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.