Foreign Science and Engineering Graduate Students Returning to U.S. Colleges

Enrollment of first-time, full-time foreign graduate students on temporary visas studying science and engineering (S&E) grew by 16 percent in 2006, following a 4 percent increase in 2005. The increases in the past two years reflect a reversal of the declines in enrollments of new foreign S&E graduate students experienced after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C."The numbers indicate a rebound of first-time, ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111036&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Lithium and Beryllium No Longer "Lack Chemistry"

Even though the lightest known metals in the universe, lithium (Li) and beryllium (Be), do not bind to one another under normal atmospheric or ambient pressure, an interdisciplinary team of Cornell scientists predicts in the Jan. 24 issue of Nature that Li and Be will bond under higher levels of pressure and form stable Li-Be alloys that may be capable of superconductivity. Superconductivity is the flow of electricity with zero resistance. The ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111031&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Agriculture Changing Chemistry of Mississippi River

Midwestern farming, and increased water flowing into the Mississippi River as a result, have injected the equivalent of five Connecticut Rivers' worth of carbon dioxide into the Mississippi each year over the last 50 years, according to a study published this week in the journal Nature. The research is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF)."It's like the discovery of a new large river being piped out of the corn belt," said Peter Raymond, ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=110999&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

New Antarctic Ice Core to Provide Clearest Climate Record Yet

After enduring months on the coldest, driest and windiest continent on Earth, researchers today closed out the inaugural season on an unprecedented, multi-year effort to retrieve the most detailed record of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere over the last 100,000 years.Working as part of the National Science Foundation's West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide (WAIS Divide) Ice Core Project, a team of scientists, engineers, technicians and students from multiple U.S. institutions have ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111000&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Feeding the World: New Method for Producing High-Vitamin Corn Could Improve Nutrition in Developing Countries

Scientists have developed a potentially powerful new tool in the fight against deficiencies in dietary vitamin A, which cause eye diseases, including blindness, in 40 million children annually, and increased health risks for about 250 million people, mostly in developing countries. This tool consists of "a new method of analyzing the genetic makeup of corn that will enable developing countries to identify and increase cultivation of corn that has naturally high levels of ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=110998&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Molecular Walker Takes Baby Steps

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology report they are able to program the pathways by which DNA molecules self-assemble, and hence to engineer diverse dynamic functions at the molecular level."This capability is essential for something like the memory of a DNA computer, which would need large groups of molecules that can toggle from the on/off position in a fast and reliable fashion," said National Science Foundation (NSF) Program Manager Kathy ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111001&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

NSF Dedicates New South Pole Station

The United States has dedicated a new scientific station at the geographic South Pole--the third since 1957--officially ushering in a new support system for sophisticated large-scale experiments in disciplines ranging from astrophysics to environmental chemistry and seismology.The dedication of the new Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, which took place on Sat., Jan. 12, local time (U.S. stations in Antarctica keep New Zealand time), also reasserts the National Science Foundation's ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=110961&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

National Science Board Releases Science and Engineering Indicators 2008

Members of the National Science Board today delivered to the President and the Congress Science and Engineering Indicators 2008 (SEI'08), the Board's biennial report on the state of science and engineering research and education in the United States. Called the "gold standard," it is the most comprehensive source of information on research and development conducted by universities, industry, the federal government and the international science and ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=110984&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

9/11 Attacks American Hearts

A new study by researchers at the University of California at Irvine says stress and fear in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon may have prolonged health effects for Americans.For the first time, researchers have evidence that high levels of mental and emotional stress from traumatic events may be linked to an increase in cardiovascular problems among those with no personal, direct exposure to the conditions that caused ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=110908&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Digital Library for Geosciences Moves to National Center for Atmospheric Research

The nation's most extensive collection of digital learning resources for geoscience education is now based at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. The move ensures that the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE), developed with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), will continue to serve hundreds of thousands of K-12 educators and learners around the country."DLESE was an early pioneer in NSF's efforts to establish ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=110947&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

"The Linguists," Documenting Vanishing Voices, Premieres at Sundance

In Siberia, fewer than 25 elderly people speak Chulym, a language spoken for generations by traditional hunter-gatherers and fishermen in small rural villages. In Bolivia, a language once spoken by healers to the Inca emperor is on the verge of extinction. In the Orissa state in the east of India, younger generations no longer speak Sora, a language of the region with a complex and expressive way of putting words together.These examples are brought vividly to life in ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=110952&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Scientific Balloons Achieve Antarctic Flight Record

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have jointly achieved a new milestone in the almost 20-year history of scientific ballooning in Antarctica, by launching and operating three long-duration sub-orbital flights within a single Southern-Hemisphere summer.Scientists from the United States, Japan, South Korea, France and other international collaborators concurrently are using high balloons to investigate the nature of ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=110933&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Feeding the World: New Method for Producing High-Vitamin Corn Could Improve Nutrition in Developing Countries

Scientists have developed a potentially powerful new tool in the fight against deficiencies in dietary vitamin A, which cause eye diseases, including blindness, in 40 million children annually, and increased health risks for about 250 million people, mostly in developing countries. This tool consists of "a new method of analyzing the genetic makeup of corn that will enable developing countries to identify and increase cultivation of corn that has naturally high levels of v More ...

National Science Board Releases Science and Engineering Indicators 2008

Members of the National Science Board today delivered to the President and the Congress Science and Engineering Indicators 2008 (SEI'08), the Board's biennial report on the state of science and engineering research and education in the United States. Called the "gold standard," it is the most comprehensive source of information on research and development conducted by universities, industry, the federal government and the international science and eng More ...

NSF Dedicates New South Pole Station

The United States has dedicated a new scientific station at the geographic South Pole--the third since 1957--officially ushering in a new support system for sophisticated large-scale experiments in disciplines ranging from astrophysics to environmental chemistry and seismology.The dedication of the new Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, which took place on Sat., Jan. 12, local time (U.S. stations in Antarctica keep New Zealand time), also reasserts the National Science Foundation's (NS More ...

Digital Library for Geosciences Moves to National Center for Atmospheric Research

The nation's most extensive collection of digital learning resources for geoscience education is now based at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. The move ensures that the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE), developed with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), will continue to serve hundreds of thousands of K-12 educators and learners around the country."DLESE was an early pioneer in NSF's efforts to establish More ...

9/11 Attacks American Hearts

A new study by researchers at the University of California at Irvine says stress and fear in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon may have prolonged health effects for Americans.For the first time, researchers have evidence that high levels of mental and emotional stress from traumatic events may be linked to an increase in cardiovascular problems among those with no personal, direct exposure to the conditions that caused the More ...

"The Linguists," Documenting Vanishing Voices, Premieres at Sundance

In Siberia, fewer than 25 elderly people speak Chulym, a language spoken for generations by traditional hunter-gatherers and fishermen in small rural villages. In Bolivia, a language once spoken by healers to the Inca emperor is on the verge of extinction. In the Orissa state in the east of India, younger generations no longer speak Sora, a language of the region with a complex and expressive way of putting words together.These examples are brought vividly to life in "The Linguist More ...

National Science Board Members to Discuss Science and Engineering Indicators 2008

Members of the National Science Board will roll out Science and Engineering Indicators 2008, the Board's biennial report on the state of science and engineering research and education in the United States, at 10 a.m. on Jan. 15, in the House Science and Technology Committee Hearing Room. Every two years, the Board presents its report to the president and Congress. It is the most comprehensive source of information on research and development conducted by universities, industry More ...

Scientific Balloons Achieve Antarctic Flight Record

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have jointly achieved a new milestone in the almost 20-year history of scientific ballooning in Antarctica, by launching and operating three long-duration sub-orbital flights within a single Southern-Hemisphere summer.Scientists from the United States, Japan, South Korea, France and other international collaborators concurrently are using high balloons to investigate the nature of ultra-h More ...