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News From the Field - Archive
More NSF research news--links to what institutions, organizations and others are reporting about NSF-supported research and education.
2006
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December 27, 2006
New Research Could Lead to "Invisible" Electronics
Researchers have demonstrated that, by combining organic and inorganic materials, they have produced transparent, high-performance transistors that can be assembled inexpensively on both glass and plastics. The results of this breakthrough bring futuristic high-quality displays such as a car windshield that displays a map to your destination, military goggles with targets and instructions displayed right before a soldier's eyes, or a billboard that doubles as a window, closer to reality.
Full story
Source: Northwestern University
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December 11, 2006
Stanford Researchers Predict a New State of Matter in Semiconductors
Physicists have now theorized a new state of matter that may pave the way for electronic devices that dissipate less energy and generate less heat. The researchers proposed the existence of the so-called "quantum spin Hall state," which has extraordinary properties.
Full story
Source: Stanford University
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December 7, 2006
Immigrants of a Feather Don’t Necessarily Flock Together
The traditional idea that immigrants cluster together in neighborhoods with their countrymen after coming to the United States and move away after achieving economic success is far from universal. New research indicates that who immigrants marry or partner with has a strong influence on where they live.
Full story
Source: University of Washington
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December 5, 2006
Consumers Neutral on Risks, Benefits of Nano
The largest and most comprehensive survey of public perceptions of nanotechnology products finds that U.S. consumers are willing to use specific nano-containing products -- even if there are health and safety risks -- when the potential benefits are high.
Full story
Source: Rice University
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December 1, 2006
Negative Vibes From Space
Astronomers have discovered the first negatively charged molecule in space, identifying it from radio signals that were a mystery until now. While about 130 neutral and 14 positively charged molecules are known to exist in interstellar space, this is the first negative molecule, or anion, to be found.
Full story
Source: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
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December 1, 2006
Seagrass Ecosystems at a 'Global Crisis'
An international team of scientists is calling for a targeted global conservation effort to preserve seagrasses and their ecological services for the world's coastal ecosystems, according to an article published in the December issue of Bioscience.
Full story
Source: U. of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
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November 15, 2006
Princeton Physicists Test the Physics of Star Formation in the Laboratory
Currently, scientists do not understand the required conditions and the accretion, or matter collection process, involved in star and planet formation. New research suggests that it is virtually impossible for one suggested mechanism, hydrodynamic turbulence, to generate effective accretion to form stars and planets.
Full story
Source: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
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November 10, 2006
Proteins Glue Semiconductor Nanowires Together
New implantable biomedical devices that can act as artificial nerve cells, control severe pain, or allow otherwise paralyzed muscles to be moved, might one day be possible thanks to developments in materials science.
Full story
Source: University of Michigan/nanotechweb.org
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November 6, 2006
New Techniques Pave Way for Carbon Nanotubes in Electronic Devices
Many of the vaunted applications of carbon nanotubes require the ability to attach these super-tiny cylinders to electrically conductive surfaces, but to date, researchers have only been successful in creating high-resistance interfaces between nanotubes and substrates. Now a team from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute reports two new techniques, each following a different approach, for placing carbon nanotube patterns on metal surfaces of just about any shape and size.
Full story
Source: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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November 3, 2006
University of Pennsylvania Researcher Shows that DNA Gets Kinky Easily at the Nanoscale
Scientists have answered a long-standing molecular stumper regarding DNA: How can parts of such a rigid molecule bend and coil without requiring large amounts of force? According to a team of researchers from the United States and the Netherlands, led by a physicist from the University of Pennsylvania, DNA is much more flexible than previously believed when examined over extremely small lengths.
Full story
Source: University of Pennsylvania
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November 2, 2006
Pulsating Gels Could Power Tiny Robots
When certain gels are put into a solution, they will not only expand, but also repeatedly contract again. Researchers have now formulated the first general model to study large-scale shape changes in such responsive gels.
Full story
Source: University of Pittsburgh
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November 2, 2006
VLA Discovers Giant Rings Around Galaxy Cluster
Astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope have discovered giant, ring-like structures around a cluster of galaxies. The discovery provides tantalizing new information about how such galaxy clusters are assembled, about magnetic fields in the vast spaces between galaxy clusters, and possibly about the origin of cosmic rays.
Full story
Source: National Radio Astronomy Observatory
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October 27, 2006
NCSA Visualizations Featured in Upcoming NOVA Special
High-resolution scientific visualizations created at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) will artfully illustrate the latest black hole research in the PBS NOVA special "Monster of the Milky Way," which debuts Oct. 31. Full story
Source: National Center for Supercomputing Applications
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October 19, 2006
Mars May Be Cozy Place for Hardy Microbes
A class of especially hardy microbes that live in some of the harshest Earthly environments could flourish on cold Mars and other chilly planets, according to a research team of astronomers and microbiologists. Full story
Source: Space Telescope Science Institute
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October 18, 2006
EERI Seeks to Identify Lessons from the Kona, Hawaii, Earthquake
The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), an Oakland-based professional association dedicated to reducing earthquake risk, is carrying out a field reconnaissance investigation to gather preliminary lessons from Sunday’s M 6.7 earthquake offshore of the island of Hawaii.
Full story
Source: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
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October 16, 2006
Cosmic Bubble Image Wins NRAO Contest
A striking image of an enormous bubble blown into the dusty gas disk of our own Milky Way galaxy has won first place in the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's second annual Radio Astronomy Image Contest.
Full story
Source: National Radio Astronomy Observatory
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October 12, 2006
How Can we Make Nanoscale Capacitors Even Smaller?
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have discovered what limits our ability to reduce the size of capacitors, often the largest components in integrated circuits, down to the nanoscale.
Full story
Source: University of California, Santa Barbara
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October 10, 2006
Prototype Fiber Optic Seismometer
Modern seismometers throughout the world rely on electronic displacement transducers to sense motions whenever the earth's surface moves. New advances in optical fiber technology are providing an alternative to this type of modern observatory grade seismometer.
Full story
Source: High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network
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October 9, 2006
New Optical Fiber Infrasound Sensor Deployment at Camp Elliot
Optical fiber infrasound sensors (OFIS) are long, compliant tubes wrapped with two optical fibers that interferometrically measure atmospheric pressure along the length of the tube. The University of California, San Diego OFIS team is building a multi-arm OFIS array at the Camp Elliot field station.
Full story
Source: High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network
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October 5, 2006
Alaska Study Offers Strategies to Mitigate Climate Warming
Using Interior Alaska's boreal forests as a case study, a team of scientists led by University of Alaska-Fairbanks ecologist F. Stuart (Terry) Chapin III, recently offered four policy strategies for sustaining people and the environment as both face a dramatically warming climate.
Full story
Source: University of Alaska-Fairbanks
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October 4, 2006
Supernova Radioisoptopes Show Sun was Born in Star Cluster, Scientists Say
The death of a massive, nearby star billions of years ago offers evidence the sun was born in a star cluster, say astronomers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Rather than being an only child, the sun could have hundreds or thousands of celestial siblings, now dispersed across the heavens.
Full story
Source: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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October 3, 2006
New Window of Universe Opens at Griffith; Unprecedented Image from Palomar
Caltech scientists have produced the largest astronomical image ever in order to inspire the public with the wonders of space exploration. The image has been reproduced as a giant mural in the new exhibit hall of the landmark Griffith Observatory, which will reopen November 3, after several years of renovation.
Full story
Source: California Institute of Technology
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October 3, 2006
Largest 3D Map of Galaxies
A team of American, Australian and British astronomers has released maps from the largest full-sky, three-dimensional survey of galaxies ever conducted.
Full story
Source: Royal Astronomical Society
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September 25, 2006
Dinosaurs' Climate Shifted Earlier Than Thought
Ancient rocks from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean suggest dramatic climate change during the dinosaur-dominated Mesozoic Era, a time once thought to be monotonously hot and humid..
Full story
Source: Indiana University
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September 20, 2006
Knotty Problem Puzzles Protein Researchers
A team at MIT has discovered the most complicated knot ever seen in a protein, and they believe it may be linked to the protein's function as a rescue agent for proteins marked for destruction.
Full story
Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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September 19, 2006
MIT Bioengineer Wins MacArthur 'Genius' Award
Professor Linda Griffith, a noted biotechnologist, has won a 2006 MacArthur Fellowship, more commonly known as a "genius" grant. Griffith was honored for "shaping the frontiers of tissue engineering and synthetic regenerative technologies," according to the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Full story
Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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September 18, 2006
'Out of the Blue,' A MacArthur Award for Aeronautics Scholar Claire Tomlin
Claire Tomlin, an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics and, by courtesy, of electrical engineering, studies control theory and practice. A phone call on Sept. 12 told her she'd won a MacArthur Fellowship, a "no strings attached" award of $500,000 that supports people, not projects.
Full story
Source: Stanford University
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September 18, 2006
Jupiter-Sized Transiting Planet Found by Astronomers Using Novel Telescope Network
An international team of astronomers has detected a planet slightly larger than Jupiter that orbits a star 500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Draco. The humble telescopes used in the discovery consist of mostly amateur-astronomy components and off-the-shelf 4-inch camera lenses.
Full story
Source: High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network
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September 18, 2006
MIT Tames Tricky Carbon Nanotubes
Based on a new theory, MIT scientists may be able to manipulate carbon nanotubes -- one of the strongest known materials and one of the trickiest to work with -- without destroying their extraordinary electrical properties.
Full story
Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
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September 18, 2006
Evolutionary Software to be Released Free of Charge
New software developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, allows scientists to more effectively analyze and compare both sequence and structure data from a growing library of proteins and nucleic acids.
Full story
Source: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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September 14, 2006
Stratospheric Injections Could Help Cool Earth
Stabilizing climate with cuts in greenhouse gas emissions as well as injections of climate-cooling sulfates could prove more effective than either approach used separately.
Full story
Source: National Center for Atmospheric Research/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
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September 11, 2006
Study to Forecast Side-Effects of Pollution Policy
The University of Michigan will lead a four-university team in a large-scale project to develop software to help analysts craft greenhouse gas reduction policies in the transportation industry.
Full story
Source: University of Michigan
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September 7, 2006
Organic Semiconductors Make Cheap, Flexible Photovoltaics and LEDs
Imagine T-shirts that light up, or a beach umbrella that collects solar energy to run a portable TV. All this and more could come from cutting-edge research at Cornell that demonstrates a new type of organic semiconductor device which shows electroluminescence and acts as a photovoltaic cell.
Full story
Source: Cornell University
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September 7, 2006
UMass Amherst-Led Research Will Protect Consumers by Ramping Up Security for 'Smart' Tags
Strengthened security for "smart tags"--the wireless devices that allow drivers to zip through automatic tollbooths or pass a security desk with the flash of a card--is the aim of a new initiative that has received $1.1 million from the National Science Foundation. Led by Kevin Fu of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, the researchers are developing much-needed cryptographic protocols, hardware and applications for the increasingly common devices.
Full story
Source: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
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September 7, 2006
Harvard University Engineers Demonstrate Laser Nanoantenna
Engineers and applied scientists from Harvard University have demonstrated a new photonic device with a wide range of potential commercial applications, including higher density DVD's, more powerful microscopes and novel tools for biology and engineering.
Full story
Source: Harvard University
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August 31, 2006
Huge Luxury Home to Get Seismic Dampers Tested by UB, RPI
Just weeks after the University at Buffalo and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute successfully conducted the first tests of seismic dampers for residential applications, the firm that manufactures the dampers has made its first sale of the protective devices for a residence. Full story
Source: The State University of New York at Buffalo
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August 31, 2006
UA Physicists Invent 'QuIET'--Single Molecule Transistors
University of Arizona physicists have discovered how to turn single molecules into working transistors. It’s a breakthrough needed to make the next-generation of remarkably tiny, powerful computers that nanotechnologists dream of. Full story
Source: University of Washington
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August 30, 2006
Nanotube Ink: Desktop Printing of Carbon Nanotube Patterns
Using an off-the-shelf inkjet printer, a team of scientists has developed a simple technique for printing patterns of carbon nanotubes on paper and plastic surfaces. The method could lead to a new process for manufacturing a wide range of nanotube-based devices, from flexible electronics and conducting fabrics to sensors for detecting chemical agents.
Full story
Source: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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August 30, 2006
Cosmic Blasts Much More Common, Astronomers Discover
A cosmic explosion seen last February may have been the "tip of an iceberg," showing that powerful, distant gamma ray bursts are outnumbered ten-to-one by less-energetic cousins, according to an international team of astronomers.
Full story
Source: National Radio Astronomy Observatory
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August 29, 2006
Sunscreen Can Damage Skin, Researchers Find
Are sunscreens always beneficial, or can they be detrimental to users? A research team led by University of California Riverside chemists reports that unless people out in the sun apply sunscreen often, the sunscreen itself can become harmful to the skin.
Full story
Source: University of California, Riverside
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August 28, 2006
Texas Tech Researchers Make Chemical Warfare-Protective Nanofibers
While cotton may be the fabric of our lives, Texas Tech University researchers may have discovered a polyurethane nanofiber technique that can save lives. Researchers recently discovered a honeycomb polyurethane nanofabric by using electrospinning. The nanofabric, created by exposing polyurethane to high voltage, can not only trap toxic chemicals, but also be used in a hazardous material suit.
Full story
Source: Texas Tech University
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August 23, 2006
Supermagnetic Neutron Star Surprises Scientists, Forces Revision of Theories
Astronomers using radio telescopes from around the world have discovered a spinning neutron star with a superpowerful magnetic field -- called a magnetar -- doing things no magnetar has been seen to do before. The strange behavior has forced them to scrap previous theories about radio pulsars and promises to give new insight on the physics behind these extreme objects.
Full story
Source: National Radio Astronomy Observatory
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August 22, 2006
Snap Judgments Decide a Face's Character
We may be taught to judge a book by its cover, but when we see a new face, our brains decide whether a person is attractive and trustworthy within a tenth of a second, according to recent Princeton research.
Full story
Source: Princeton University |
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August 22, 2006
Engineers Create Gecko-Inspired High-Friction Micro-Fibers
Inspired by the remarkable hairs that allow geckos to hang single-toed from sheer walls and scamper along ceilings, a team of researchers led by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, has created an array of synthetic micro-fibers that uses very high friction to support loads on smooth surfaces.
Full story
Source: University of California, Berkeley |
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August 15, 2006
Order and Chaos in Electrosprays: The Electrified Dripping Faucet
New research shows how a variety of electrospray regimes share some similarities with a dripping faucet. The findings demonstrate how applying high voltage to such a faucet changes the dripping behavior from order to chaos and back again, an important factor for making the electrosprays more predictable and easier to use.
Full story
Source: George Washington University
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August 10, 2006
NSF-Funded Wireless Network Leads Palomar Observatory Astronomers to Major Discoveries
For the past three years, astronomers at the California Institute of Technology's Palomar Observatory have been using the High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network as the data transfer cyberinfrastructure to further our understanding of the universe. Recent applications include the study of some of the most cataclysmic explosions in the universe, the hunt for extrasolar planets, and the discovery of our solar system's tenth planet.
Full story
Source: California Institute of Technology |
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August 7, 2006
Green Bank Radio Telescope Spies Chemical Precursors to Life
An international research team using NSF's Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia has discovered eight new complex, biologically significant molecules in interstellar space. These findings should help scientists understand how the molecular precursors to life can form in the giant clouds of gas and dust in which stars and planets are born. Full story
Source: National Radio Astronomy Observatory |
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July 27, 2006
Scientists Build "Magnetic Semiconductors" One Atom at a Time
In a stride that could hasten the development of computer chips that both calculate and store data, a team of Princeton scientists has turned semiconductors into magnets by the precise placement of metal atoms within a material from which chips are made. Full story
Source: Princeton University |
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