Biology Discoveries

NSF's public investment in science, engineering, education and technology helps to create knowledge and sustain prosperity. Read here about the Internet, microbursts, Web browsers, extrasolar planets, and more... a panoply of discoveries and innovations that began with NSF support.

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		Gut Reaction: Digestion Revealed in 3-D James Brassseur and his multidisciplinary team image the dynamic mixing of fluids and nutrient exchange in the human digestive system Released  Fri Oct 17 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Using Your Computer to Grow More Nutritious Rice for a Hungry World Computational biologists use a powerful distributed computing network to research rice genome for increased yields of more nourishing rice varieties Released  Tue Oct 14 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Teaching Is in This Scientist's Genes Doctoral student Susannah Gordon-Messer talks about her research and her science outreach using “bouncy, sticky, slimy chemistry” to educate and inspire young minds Released  Fri Oct 10 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Size Trade-off: Horns vs. Copulatory Organs Indiana University biologist Armin Moczek explains his findings about the inverse relationship between horn and copulatory organ size in male beetles and how it affects species divergence Released  Tue Sep 30 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		The Bizarre Creatures of Madagascar Paleontologist David Krause describes his search for the ancestors of mammals that live in Madagascar today Released  Wed Sep 24 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Finding the Switches to Our Cells' 'Computer' Thousands of memory switches inside our cells help them remember and function Released  Wed Sep 24 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Researcher Walks Among Dying Baby Chimps Virginia Tech scientist Taranjit Kaur describes her team's research studying chimpanzees in western Tanzania and the virus that is threatening the chimps’ health Released  Tue Sep 09 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Bones in Lava Tubes Reveal Hawaii's Natural History Michigan State University's Matthew Cimitile describes a Hawaiian adventure exploring lava tubes in search of bird bones from endangered and extinct species Released  Fri Aug 22 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		A Thousand Points of Light: Bioluminescent Fungi San Francisco State University Mycologist Dennis Desjardin Takes Readers Along on a Nocturnal Hike in a Brazilian Forest to Find Glowing Mushrooms Released  Fri Aug 15 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Crumbling Walls of Ancient Chesapeake Bay Crater Threaten Regional Groundwater Supplies Saltwater intrusion into collapsing crater also allows microbes to flourish Released  Tue Aug 12 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Natural Bio-Army Trained to Fight Cancer Bioengineer Tarek Fahmy and colleagues are engineering new nanoscopic and microscopic biomaterials to stimulate the body’s production of killer T-cells to fight infectious diseases Released  Fri Aug 08 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Stem Cell Research Goes Beyond Biology Todd McDevitt tells how engineering can help us understand stem cell differentiation and develop approaches to realize the potential of stem cells for regenerative therapies Released  Thu Jul 17 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Researcher Says Life Evolved Between the Mica Sheets Biophysicist Helen Greenwood Hansma of the University of California, Santa Barbara, on the origin of her new hypothesis for the origins of life Released  Mon Jul 14 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Methane Formation in the Oceans: New Pathway Discovered Significant importance for study of greenhouse gas production on Earth Released  Thu Jul 10 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Environmental Programs in China Successful, Study Finds Key reforms could turn them into world models Released  Thu Jul 10 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Fossil Feathers Preserve Evidence of Color Organic material reveals remnants of color pigments Released  Thu Jul 10 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		What's Behind the Crazy Shapes of Fruits Ohio State researchers discover and clone a gene that controls the shape of tomatoes Released  Tue Jul 08 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Beauty Is in the Genes of the Beholder New research on American pronghorns explains why not everything is about looks Released  Thu Jul 03 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Scientists See Squid Attack Squid Oregon State oceanographer Kelly Benoit-Bird and colleagues succeed in using sonar to track Humboldt squid Released  Fri Jun 27 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		The Freaky Fishes of the Congo American Museum of Natural History ichthyologist Melanie Stiassny takes us on a journey down the Congo River to explore its rich fish diversity Released  Tue May 20 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		A Season at the Penguin Ranch in Antarctica A veteran Antarctic researcher talks about the whys and hows of studying the diving physiology and behavior of emperor penguins on the "Ice" Released  Mon May 19 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		How to Capture Yellow Jackets (and Not Get Stung) Georgia Tech assistant biology professor Michael Goodisman on the thrill of collecting yellow jacket nests and why he studies these dangerous but important social insects Released  Wed May 14 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Computer Program Reveals Anyone's Ancestry Researchers develop computer algorithm that can trace the genetic ancestry of thousands of individuals in minutes Released  Mon May 05 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Microbes to People: Without Us, You're Nothing! How tiny microbes run the world Released  Mon Apr 21 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		The World's Smallest Whistle-Blowers: Microbes Microbes warn of ecological damage Released  Mon Apr 21 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Mysterious Compound Seen as Key to Ocean Life Scientists study chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) to gain a better understanding of life in the oceans Released  Mon Apr 07 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		At the Crossroads of Stem Cells and Computer Science A Rutgers University graduate student takes readers on a journey from Piscataway, New Jersey, to Hsinchu, Taiwan, and shares some experiences with East-West collaboration, stem cell sorting and computer science Released  Thu Mar 20 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		New Species Found in Mysteriously Diverse Jungle Louisiana State University's Chris Austin describes his work studying the diversity of life on the island of New Guinea Released  Mon Mar 17 00:00:00 EDT 2008
		Using Abstract Mathematics to Solve Real-World Problems Researcher's mathematical theory used in new technologies to destroy cancerous tumors Released  Wed Mar 05 00:00:00 EST 2008
		2007: Year in Review A look back at some of the NSF-supported advances and activities reported last year Released  Wed Jan 30 00:00:00 EST 2008