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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		In Industrial Manufacturing, Efficiency Falls as Technology Advances A comprehensive study of old and new manufacturing processes, from machining metal to making carbon nanofibers, shows that the more advanced technologies are less efficient in their use of energy and materials per kilogram of output Released  May 1, 2009
		Safer Nano Cancer Detector Nanoparticle test in mice could pave the way for human uses Released  April 30, 2009
		Heat-tolerant Crops Could Prevent Future Starvation and Help Preserve Biofuels With NSF support, plant molecular biologist L. Curtis Hannah is developing variants of key crops that will produce increased yields under heat stress Released  April 27, 2009
		Students Venture Into the Hearts of Violent Storms Texas Tech grad student and IGERT trainee Tanya Brown describes conducting research amid thunderstorms and hurricanes Released  April 22, 2009
		Improved Lithium Ion Battery Technology Could Fast-Charge Electric Vehicles, Boost Acceleration "Beltway" coating on cathode eases ions' way into crystalline tunnels Released  April 22, 2009
		Louisiana Crayfish: Good, Bad and Delicious University of Notre Dame graduate students Matthew Barnes and Ashley Baldridge travel to China to better understand why some welcome the introduction of Louisiana crayfish despite the damage the invaders do to native fishes and crops Released  April 15, 2009
		Changes in Altitude/Changes in Attitude: Scientists and Policymakers Share Views in the Treetops Excursion to a rainforest canopy creates a communication bridge between scientists and policymakers Released  April 13, 2009
		Fine-tuned Brains New research shows how musical training enhances an individual's ability to recognize emotion in sound Released  April 10, 2009
		Making Nanoscale Solar Cells in China Graduate student Meghan Schulz talks about conducting research and engaging in cultural exchanges during an international internship in Shanghai Released  April 7, 2009
		A Better Mass for the W Boson; Higgs Boson Given Less Space to Hide Analyzing several years' worth of results from Fermilab's Tevatron collider, physicists come up with the most accurate measurement to date of the mass of the W boson, and narrow down the possible mass of the still undiscovered Higgs boson Released  April 7, 2009
		Computer Science--A Growing Field That Needs a Few (More) Good Women Women involved in computer science say more girls should consider a career in this exciting field Released  March 30, 2009
		Caves Reveal Evolution of Ancient Microbes Jenn Macalady's geomicrobiology group is discovering the rules that enable microbes living in dark, oxygen-free environments to adapt and evolve Released  March 27, 2009
		Squeezing Noise Below Quantum Limits Exquisitely sensitive microwave amplifier increases nano-scale measurement accuracy; could lead to quantum computing breakthroughs Released  March 26, 2009
		Taking the Pulse of the Forest Michael Loranty describes 'wiring' a forest for research to determine how much water the trees use Released  March 18, 2009
		A Beautiful Memory Breakthrough in "entanglement" demonstrates potential of quantum information science Released  March 17, 2009
		More and More Scientists Serve Up Science for Mass Consumption Scientists use innovative, barrier-busting methods to educate the public and decision-makers about cutting-edge science Released  March 16, 2009
		2008: Year in Review A look back at some of the NSF-supported advances and activities that made news last year Released  March 13, 2009
		New Record for World's Smallest Letters Stanford University breaks record set in 1991, promises denser information storage Released  March 10, 2009
		Rap Music Brings Science to Urban Youth Evergreen State University researcher Nalini Nadkarni tells how she incorporates rap music in a science outreach program to interest urban youth in forest ecology Released  March 9, 2009
		A New Vision for Scientific Visualizations New technologies create a relatively easy and inexpensive way for researchers to create high-quality visualizations from large data sets Released  March 3, 2009
		Shockwave of X-ray Starquake Enthralls Scientists For postdoctoral researcher Andrew Steiner and other astrophysicists, the shockwave that jolted the Earth in late December 2005 was a lucky find, providing new data on neutron stars Released  March 2, 2009
		How to Teleport Quantum Information from One Atom to Another Researchers have shown for the first time how to use a process called teleportation to transfer a quantum state over a significant distance from one atom to another Released  February 25, 2009
		Excited Atoms Advance Quantum Computing Scientists using a single atom to control another with the Rydberg Blockade principle have moved a step closer to unimaginable computing power Released  February 24, 2009
		Electrical Nanowires Probe Individual Cells Radically new technology for studying and controlling cells at the nanoscale Released  February 20, 2009
		Reflecting on the Many Uses of Glass The director of NSF's International Materials Institute for New Functionality in Glass at Lehigh University focuses on glass research and exciting students from underrepresented groups about glass science and engineering Released  February 20, 2009
		Nanoscale Repulsion Tiny quantum force, measured for the first time, could be an aid to nanodevice designers Released  February 19, 2009
		Saving Hawaii From Alien Plants Graduate student Joshua Atwood talks about analyzing state environmental policies and participating in surveys to detect non-native plant species on O’ahu during his NSF-supported internship Released  February 13, 2009
		Measuring Excitement for Carbon Nanotubes Studying light pulses in nanoscale molecules brings scientists closer to understanding properties that may lead to a multitude of applications Released  February 10, 2009
		Water Plays Surprising Role in Climate Change From Hawaii's Mauna Loa, climate scientists measure oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in water vapor to better understand changes in the water cycle Released  February 6, 2009
		Clean Water for a Crowded, Contaminated World Revolutionary purification techniques address impending global water crisis Released  February 2, 2009