 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| News From the National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) — For more information about NSF and its programs, visit www.nsf.gov NSF Funded News
Key: Meeting
Showing releases 501-525 out of 700 releases.
Public Release: 20-Jul-2009
 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences{DISSERTATION} Sea lamprey jettison one-fifth of their genome Sea lampreys, which arose from the jawless fish that first appeared a half-billion years ago, dramatically remodel their genomes during embronic development. This is believed to be the first recorded observation of a vertebrate reorganizing its genome during normal development. Evolutionary biologists are interested in how and why the lamprey re-organizes its genome because the animal is a living fossil with millions of years of evolutionary history. Its closest ancestors were among the first vertebrates on earth. 
National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, National Research Service, NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Contact: Leila Gray
Public Release: 20-Jul-2009
Journal of Human Evolution{DISSERTATION} Prehistoric cold case shows hints of interspecies homicide The wound that ultimately killed a Neandertal man between 50,000 and 75,000 years was most likely caused by a thrown spear, the kind modern humans used but Neandertals did not, according to Duke University-led research.
National Science Foundation, L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, University of New Mexico
Contact: Monte Basgall
Public Release: 20-Jul-2009
Nature{DISSERTATION} Caltech-led team shows how evolution can allow for large developmental leaps Most evolutionary changes happen in tiny increments. But when it comes to traits like the number of wings on an insect, or limbs on a primate, there is no middle ground. How are these sorts of large evolutionary leaps made? According to a team led by scientists at Caltech, such changes may at least sometimes be the result of random fluctuations, or noise (nongenetic variations), working alongside a phenomenon known as partial penetrance.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, International Human Frontier Science Organization, European Molecular Biology Organization
Contact: Lori Oliwenstein
Public Release: 20-Jul-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences{DISSERTATION} UCI scientists discover ozone-boosting chemical reaction Burning of fossil fuels pumps chemicals into the air that react on surfaces such as buildings and roads to create photochemical smog-forming chlorine atoms, UC Irvine scientists report in a new study.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Jennifer Fitzenberger
Public Release: 20-Jul-2009
{DISSERTATION} OSU researchers receive NSF grant, will travel to Antarctica Dr. Alex Simms, assistant professor in the Boone Pickens School of Geology, and Dr. Regina DeWitt, assistant research professor in the physics department, have received a $199,978 grant from the National Science Foundation to continue a research project on sea level changes in Antarctica. Next spring, Simms and two graduate students will travel to the continent to collect samples of beach deposits.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Kelly Green
Public Release: 20-Jul-2009
Quaternary Science Reviews{DISSERTATION} Pacific tsunami threat greater than expected The potential for a huge Pacific Ocean tsunami on the West Coast of America may be greater than previously thought, according to a new study of geological evidence along the Gulf of Alaska coast.
National Science Foundation, NASA, US Geological Survey
Contact: Carl Stiansen
Public Release: 20-Jul-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences{DISSERTATION} California's Channel Islands hold evidence of Clovis-age comets A 17-member team has found what may be the smoking gun of a much-debated proposal that a cosmic impact about 12,900 years ago ripped through North America and drove multiple species into extinction.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Jim Barlow
Public Release: 20-Jul-2009
Nature Physics{DISSERTATION} Testing relativity in the laboratory Xiang Zhang, a faculty scientist with the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and professor at the University of California Berkeley, lead a study in which it was determined that the interactions of light and matter with spacetime, as predicted by general relativity, can be studied using the new breed of artificial optical materials that feature extraordinary abilities to bend light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation.
US Army, National Science Foundation
Contact: Lynn Yarris
Public Release: 20-Jul-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences{DISSERTATION} New life histories emerge for invasive wasps, magnify ecological harm A switch from annual to multiyear colonies and a willingness to feed just about any prey to their young have allowed invasive yellowjacket wasps to disrupt native populations of insects and spiders on two Hawaiian islands, a new study has found.
National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency
Contact: Erin Wilson
Public Release: 20-Jul-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences{DISSERTATION} Tension in axons is essential for synaptic signaling, researchers report Every time a neuron sends a signal -- to move a muscle or form a memory, for example -- tiny membrane-bound compartments, called vesicles, dump neurotransmitters into the synapse between the cells. Researchers report that this process, which is fundamental to the workings of the nervous system, relies on a simple mechanical reality: Tension in the axon of the presynaptic neuron is required.
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Science Foundation
Contact: Diana Yates
Public Release: 17-Jul-2009
{DISSERTATION} Montana State University computer engineering labs going online as part of pilot program A two-year grant will help the MSU College of Engineering determine whether students learn from Web-based laboratory courses as effectively as they do from hands-on courses.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Michael Becker
Public Release: 17-Jul-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences{DISSERTATION} Greater Yellowstone elk-wolf study shows elk having fewer calves due to changes in nutrition Wolves have caused elk in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem to change their behavior and foraging habits so much so that herds are having fewer calves, mainly due to changes in their nutrition.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Scott Creel
Public Release: 17-Jul-2009
Journal of Experimental Biology{DISSERTATION} Why winning athletes are getting bigger A new theory by Duke University engineers has showed that not only have Olympic swimmers and sprinters gotten bigger and faster over the past 100 years, but they have grown at a much faster rate than the normal population.
National Science Foundation, US Air Force
Contact: Richard Merritt
Public Release: 16-Jul-2009
Journal of Climate{DISSERTATION} Solar cycle linked to global climate, drives events similar to El Nino, La Nina New research shows that maximum solar activity and its aftermath have impacts on Earth that resemble La Niņa and El Niņo events in the tropical Pacific Ocean. The findings may pave the way toward better weather predictions.
National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy
Contact: Rachael Drummond
Public Release: 16-Jul-2009
Science{DISSERTATION} Researchers discover evolutionary event underlying the origin of dachshunds, dogs with short legs A single evolutionary event appears to explain the short, curved legs that characterize all of today's dachshunds, corgis, basset hounds and at least 16 other breeds of dogs, a team led by the National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, reported today. In addition to what it reveals about short-legged dogs, the unexpected discovery provides new clues about how physical differences may arise within species and suggests new approaches to understanding a form of human dwarfism.
NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute, National Science Foundation
Contact: Raymond MacDougall
Public Release: 16-Jul-2009
Current Biology{DISSERTATION} New pheromone helps female flies tell suitors to 'buzz off' Using a new form of high-resolution laser mass spectrometry, researchers scanning the surface of fruit flies discovered a previously unidentified pheromone -- CH503 -- that contributes to the anti-aphrodisiac effects observed in female fruit flies after copulation.
NIH/National Institute of General Sciences, National Science Foundation, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Contact: Veronica Meade-Kelly
Public Release: 16-Jul-2009
Science{DISSERTATION} Research indicates ocean current shutdown may be gradual The findings of a major new study are consistent with gradual changes of current systems in the North Atlantic Ocean, rather than a more sudden shutdown that could lead to rapid climate changes in Europe and elsewhere.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Peter Clark
Public Release: 16-Jul-2009
Science{DISSERTATION} Study reveals sandfish tucks legs and swims like a snake through desert sand A study published in the July 17 issue of the journal Science details how sandfish -- small lizards with smooth scales -- move rapidly underground through desert sand. In this first thorough examination of subsurface sandfish locomotion, researchers found that the animals place their limbs against their sides and create a wave motion like snakes to propel themselves through granular media.
National Science Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Contact: Abby Vogel
Public Release: 16-Jul-2009
Science{DISSERTATION} 'Motion picture' of past warming paves way for snapshots of future climate change By accurately modeling Earth's last major global warming -- and answering pressing questions about its causes -- scientists led by a University of Wisconsin-Madison climatologist are unraveling the intricacies of the kind of abrupt climate shifts that may occur in the future.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Zhengyu Liu
Public Release: 16-Jul-2009
PLoS Genetics{DISSERTATION} Male sex chromosome losing genes by rapid evolution, study reveals Scientists long have suspected that the sex chromosome that only males carry, the Y chromosome, is deteriorating, but until now, no one has understood the evolutionary processes that control this chromosome's demise. Now, a pair of Penn State scientists has discovered that the Y chromosome is evolving at a rapid rate, resulting in a dramatic loss of genes that eventually could lead to the chromosome's complete disappearance.
National Institutes of Health, Penn State University, National Science Foundation
Contact: Barbara K. Kennedy
Public Release: 16-Jul-2009
Science{DISSERTATION} Learning is social, computational, supported by neural systems linking people Education is on the cusp of a transformation because of recent scientific findings in neuroscience, psychology, and machine learning that are converging to create foundations for a new science of learning.
National Science Foundation, NIH/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Contact: Joel Schwarz
Public Release: 14-Jul-2009
Trends in Microbiology{DISSERTATION} Reviews of microbial gene language published in special issue of Trends in Microbiology The Gene Ontology is a powerful language that gives researchers a shared vocabulary to describe disease-related and beneficial interactions between a microbe and its host. By allowing scientists to link experimental results to a computer-readable language, the Gene Ontology provides scientists with an important bridge between specific experiments that characterize gene function and larger-scale, systems biology efforts to provide a global picture of host-microbe interactions.
US Department of Agriculture, National Science Foundation
Contact: Barry Whyte
Public Release: 14-Jul-2009
9th International Symposium on Fiber Reinforced Polymer Reinforcement for Concrete Structures{DISSERTATION} Concrete columns with internal bars made of glass fibers can make a building sturdier A new study demonstrates that the behavior of fiber reinforced polymer reinforced concrete columns is very similar to that of the conventional steel counterpart. Thus, for structures that function in harsh environments like coastal regions, or for structures that support sensitive equipment, such as magnetic resonance imaging units; the use of FRP is emerging as a valuable option.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Marie Guma-Diaz
Public Release: 14-Jul-2009
Oceanography{DISSERTATION} Scientists report first remote, underwater detection of harmful algae, toxins Scientists at NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute have successfully conducted the first remote detection of a harmful algal species and its toxin below the ocean's surface. The achievement was recently reported in the June issue of Oceanography.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, National Oceanographic Partnership Program, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, National Science Foundation
Contact: Ben Sherman
Public Release: 14-Jul-2009
Journal of Neuroscience{DISSERTATION} Ben-Gurion U discovers drug can prevent epilepsy following traumatic brain injury The researchers prevent brain changes leading to epilepsy in rats treating with drug that blocks transforming growth factor-beta receptor. They found that the hyper-excitability that is normally present after a brain trauma could be blocked. "The idea is to identify and treat only the brain injury patients that are at risk for developing epilepsy using novel imaging approaches that we are currently developing. ... At least in the rats, it works now," Friedman says.
CURE Foundation, German National Science Foundation, Mary Elizabeth Rennie Epilepsy Foundation, Israel Science Foundation, United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation
Contact: Andrew Lavin
Showing releases 501-525 out of 700 releases.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
