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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		Cheaper Plastic Solar Cells in the Works South Dakota State University’s Diane Hinkens describes her work in an interdisciplinary research collaboration that is trying to design, synthesize and eventually fabricate a more efficient and less costly solar cell Released  January 13, 2009
		Crimes to Climate History: Tiny Diatoms Offer Big Clues NSF-supported botanist Peter Siver of Connecticut College studies microorganisms that shed light on climate change dating back millions of years. Released  January 7, 2009
		Respect for Sacred Values is Key to Conflict Resolution Ethical and religious beliefs can trump material gains in motivating human behavior Released  January 7, 2009
		For the "Few-Body Problem," a Solution From Another Plane Complex ionization collisions can be explained with a "simple" classical model Released  December 29, 2008
		Noyce Scholars Learn Classroom Survival Skills Program benefits future STEM teachers and high-need schools Released  December 18, 2008
		Fake Drugs Exposed by Rapid Chemical Assay Forensic chemistry leads to shut down of large-scale drug counterfeiting operation in Southeast Asia Released  December 18, 2008
		Image Building New computer technology mines photo databases for missing imagery Released  December 18, 2008
		Researchers Peek Under Ice Sheets for Clues on Climate Change Synthetic aperture radar technology provides world-class data Released  December 18, 2008
		A Crowded World Researchers use computer scenarios to study crowd behavior in time and space Released  December 18, 2008
		Jellyfish Researcher Explains How and Why Jellyfish Swarms Form Why are large swarms of jellyfish and other gelatinous animals being reported in many of the world's popular fishing and vacation spots? Released  December 16, 2008
		Unraveling the Wonders of Spider Silk University of California, Riverside researcher Cheryl Hayashi closely studies spiders and spider silk to discover the elusive genetic blueprints for silk making Released  December 9, 2008
		Volcanoes, Not Asteroid, May Have Taken Out the Dinosaurs New theory of dinosaurs’ demise looks to India Released  December 8, 2008
		Offering New HOPE in the Balance Of Security and Civil Liberties Data analytics gives law enforcement and intelligence agencies powerful tools that still protect privacy and civil liberties Released  December 2, 2008
		Estimating the True Costs Of Invasive Species in the Great Lakes Graduate student John Rothlisberger describes his research to measure losses caused by non-native species that were introduced by ocean-going ships Released  December 1, 2008
		Lab Tests Show Wind Turbine's Air Flow Researcher describes NSF-supported wind tunnel experiments that mimic atmospheric airflow around wind turbines to advance our understanding of real wind farm conditions Released  November 25, 2008
		Nanoparticles Taught to Swim NSF-supported research team at Penn State creates nanoscale motors powered by catalytic reactions that convert chemical energy into motion Released  November 20, 2008
		Batteries Made of Bacteria? Researchers believe the energy produced by Geobacter microbes can be harnessed for electrical power, environmental remediation and biosensors Released  November 19, 2008
		Islands: Exquisite Labs of Evolution Anne Yoder, director of the Duke University Lemur Center, and colleagues are using genetic and genomic approaches to unravel the history of lemurs and the primate family tree Released  November 14, 2008
		Unlocking the Secrets of Atomic Nuclei Rare isotope research at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory leads to important new applications in areas such as medical treatments and security technology Released  November 13, 2008
		Magnetic Fields in Far Away Galaxies Observed to be 10 Times Stronger than those in Milky Way Conventional theories of star and galaxy formation challenged Released  November 12, 2008
		Placing a Dollar Value on Services Provided by Bats Advanced imaging and information technology reveals economic and ecological impact of agricultural pest control Released  November 12, 2008
		The Biological Clock's Incredible Influence Revealed University of Georgia researchers find that the number of genes under the control of the biological clock in bread mold is dramatically higher than previously reported Released  November 5, 2008
		Foamy Invention Could Save Energy and Lives NSF CAREER awardee Afsaneh Rabiei's ultra-high-strength composite metal foam could revolutionize impact protection Released  October 29, 2008
		First Ultracold Polar Molecule Gas Ready for Research Groundbreaking technique could lead to quantum computers, molecular clocks and super-efficient power plants Released  October 29, 2008
		'Gone Bats' Over Aeroecology New scientific discipline studies bats, birds and other animals in atmosphere closest to Earth's surface Released  October 28, 2008
		Gut Reaction: Digestion Revealed in 3-D James Brasseur and his multidisciplinary team image the dynamic mixing of fluids and nutrient exchange in the human digestive system Released  October 17, 2008
		How to Make Adhesive as Good as a Gecko Materials scientist Ali Dhinojwala and his team use nanotechnology to develop adhesive tapes that stick better than a gecko’s foot Released  October 16, 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  October 14, 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  October 10, 2008
		Klein Bottle is a Real Natural in the Zoo of Geometric Shapes Discovery could advance understanding of human vision and lead to powerful data compression techniques Released  October 7, 2008