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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		Methane Clouds Observed Near Titan's Equator May Explain Presence of Riverbeds on the Surface The Huygens probe discovered fluid-formed channels in the arid equatorial regions of Titan, Saturn's largest moon Released  August 12, 2009
		West Nile Virus: The Search for Answers in Chicago’s Suburbs The pattern of West Nile virus in Chicago’s suburbs may hold the answers to understanding this disease Released  August 11, 2009
		Permafrost Could Be Climate's Ticking Time Bomb Researchers conduct fieldwork to track permafrost melting in Alaska and gain insight about the release of carbon into the atmosphere Released  August 5, 2009
		How Penguins & Seals Survive Deep Dives Jessica Meir goes to extreme environments to learn how birds and mammals thrive in conditions that humans cannot tolerate, and she tells readers all about it Released  July 31, 2009
		Life Underground Critical to Earth's Ecosystems Scientists travel 'down the rabbit hole' for new view of subterranean biodiversity Released  July 29, 2009
		Chemist Aims to Turn Molecules Into Motors Charles Sykes and his team use scanning tunneling microscopes to study novel molecular motors and rotors Released  July 22, 2009
		Bugs: The Forgotten Victims of Climate Change Researchers consider the impact of relocating species to new environments to save insects from global warming Released  July 21, 2009
		Video Game Technology and Science? Chemists use the computer technology behind today’s video games to rapidly calculate the structure of molecules Released  July 15, 2009
		Nanoparticles Explored for Preventing Cell Damage Engineers investigate using nanoparticles both as a preventative and a treatment for disease Released  July 14, 2009
		Putting the Heat on Tropical Lizards Climate change has a significant impact on tropical lizards and their ecosystems Released  July 13, 2009
		Every Breath You Take Scientists search for an understanding of the air-water interface and its effect on air quality Released  July 13, 2009
		New Supernova Is Discovered by Young Citizen Scientist Caroline Moore's discovery has made experts question how stars die Released  July 9, 2009
		How Jellybeans Can Reveal Neuroscience to the Public Graduate student Alexis Webb describes her experiences in partnering with fellow neuroscience students to create a program to help neuroscientists communicate with the public Released  July 7, 2009
		Plasma Waves Studied for New Electronics With NSF support, long-time electrical engineer William Stillman talks about his return to school and the focus of his research involving terahertz radiation Released  July 1, 2009
		Algae: A New Way to Make Biodiesel NSF small business grantee Ben Wen describes a new catalytic approach for algae biodiesel production that uses less work and energy, produces less waste, and makes a lot more fuel Released  June 24, 2009
		Scientists Tackle Climate Model Mystery Researchers trace a problem with a key climate model to its hydrology scheme and find a simpler scheme keeps simulations in line with real-world observations Released  June 19, 2009
		Unlocking the Secrets and Powers of the Brain Leading minds in neuroscience discuss what we know about how our brains work and where the field is headed Released  June 15, 2009
		Exploring High-temperature Superconductivity and the Pseudogap Research using two complimentary techniques increases understanding of superconductor materials Released  June 15, 2009
		Libraries, Food Banks Benefit From Transportation Modeling NSF CAREER awardee Karen Smilowitz applies the art of operations research to find optimal solutions to problems in the nonprofit sector Released  June 10, 2009
		The Search for Drinking Water in Nicaragua NSF-supported graduate student describes her fieldwork searching for geologic fractures that could improve groundwater exploration and the siting of wells in the rugged terrain Released  May 29, 2009
		Journal Spotlights Research on Marine Microbes Funded by National Science Foundation The authors of all five articles included in Nature's recent special section on microbial oceanography have received NSF funding Released  May 29, 2009
		Coping With Unusual Atomic Collisions Makes an Atomic Clock More Accurate Researchers have figured out how to nullify collision effects and make the clock still more precise Released  May 20, 2009
		Nanotechnology Video Wins Competition, Scores Big Hit on YouTube While nanotechnology is a field that is generally not well understood by the public, Ryan Miyakawa and fellow graduate students at the University of California Berkeley found a way to both enlighten and entertain non-scientists with this topic Released  May 11, 2009
		How to Listen to One Brain Cell at a Time NSF Graduate Research Fellow Carl Schoonover presents his take on some of the intangibles of a complex method that measures neural activity Released  May 10, 2009
		Hunting for Life in Rocks Beneath the Seas University of Southern California geobiologist Katrina Edwards describes research to find and characterize microbes in the crust beneath the deep sea Released  May 8, 2009
		Jellyfish: Far From Passive Drifters-in-the-currents "Biomixing" by floating animals churns waters in oceans, seas, lakes Released  May 8, 2009
		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