National Science Foundation News - SciTechDaily

From Code to Chemistry: Coscientist, the AI System Mastering Nobel Prize-Winning Reactions

National Science Foundation — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 05:27:34 +0000

An AI-based system succeeds in planning and carrying out real-world chemistry experiments, showing the potential to help human scientists make more discoveries, faster. In less time than it will take you to read this article, an artificial intelligence-driven system was able to autonomously learn about certain Nobel Prize-winning chemical reactions and design a successful laboratory [...]

Landmark CERN Experiment Reveals: If You Dropped Antimatter, Would It Fall Down or Up?

National Science Foundation — Sat, 30 Sep 2023 22:39:18 +0000

Landmark CERN experiment may help explain why antimatter seemingly lost out in the early universe. If you dropped antimatter, would it fall down or up? In a unique laboratory experiment, researchers have now observed the downward path taken by individual atoms of antihydrogen, providing a definitive answer: antimatter falls down. In confirming antimatter and regular [...]

Gravitational Waves Detected Using “Cosmic Clocks” and Unseen Spatial Distortions

National Science Foundation — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 16:10:49 +0000

Radio telescope observations of Milky Way pulsars reveal spacetime distortions likely caused by enormous gravitational waves rolling through everything in existence You can’t see or feel it, but everything around you — including your own body — is slowly shrinking and expanding. It’s the weird, spacetime-warping effect of gravitational waves passing through our galaxy, according [...]

Cracking the Magnetic Code: Distant Radio Signals Reveal Earth-Like Exoplanets’ Hidden Force

National Science Foundation — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 15:00:02 +0000

Radio emissions originating about 12 light-years outside our solar system reveal possible magnetic interactions between star YZ Ceti and its prospective close-orbiting, rocky planet. Researchers have detected radio emissions from star YZ Ceti, which suggest the presence of a magnetic field on its Earth-sized rocky exoplanet, YZ Ceti b. Using the Karl G. Jansky Very [...]

MIT Chemists Show “Black Summer” Megafire Widened Ozone Hole by 10% in 2020

Jennifer Chu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Sun, 12 Mar 2023 06:55:08 +0000

Smoke Particles From Wildfires Can Erode the Ozone Layer MIT chemists show the Australian wildfires widened the ozone hole by 10 percent in 2020. A wildfire can pump smoke up into the stratosphere, where the particles drift for over a year. A new MIT study has found that while suspended there, these particles can trigger [...]

Astronomers Uncover Black Hole Closer to Earth Than Ever Before

National Science Foundation — Sun, 05 Mar 2023 15:22:13 +0000

Gemini North Telescope on Hawaii reveals first dormant, stellar-mass black hole. Astronomers have discovered the closest black hole to Earth, the first unambiguous detection of a dormant stellar-mass black hole in the Milky Way. Its close proximity to Earth, a mere 1,600 light-years away, offers an intriguing target of study to advance understanding of the [...]

Icefin Underwater Robot Provides Close-Up View of Melting Beneath “Doomsday Glacier”

National Science Foundation — Sun, 26 Feb 2023 13:33:48 +0000

Data come from an expedition using the underwater robot Icefin under remote Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica. The rapid retreat of Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica appears to be driven by processes under its floating ice shelf that are different than researchers realized. It is known as the “Doomsday Glacier” because of the potential threat it [...]

Unlocking the Mystery of Plant Breathing – Scientists Discover Mechanism Plants Use To Control “Mouths”

National Science Foundation — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 18:43:20 +0000

A significant discovery about the mechanisms by which plants open and close their stomata could lead to new methods of protecting crops from the effects of climate change, particularly the rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. While breathing is often taken for granted as an involuntary process, it is actually a complex mechanism. [...]

Astronomers Discover Important New Information Regarding Star Formation

National Radio Astronomy Observatory — Sat, 26 Nov 2022 18:05:33 +0000

The study reveals cosmic rays are driving galaxies’ winds An important new hint regarding how galaxies halt intense episodes of star formation has been found by astronomers using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) of the National Science Foundation. Their recent research on the nearby galaxy M33 suggests that fast cosmic ray electrons [...]

An “Environmental Catastrophe” – Why Is the Salton Sea Turning Into Toxic Dust?

University of California - Riverside — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 12:58:05 +0000

A new study has identified the cause of the lake’s water loss. In the last 25 years, the Salton Sea, California’s most polluted inland lake, has lost a third of its water. According to a new study, the reason for the decline is a reduction in Colorado River flow. As the lake dries up, the concentration of [...]

After Many Years of Searching – Potential First Traces of the Universe’s Earliest Stars Discovered

Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) — Sun, 23 Oct 2022 13:06:35 +0000

Evidence of a first-generation star that died in a “super-supernova” explosion is discovered by Gemini’s observation of a far-away quasar. The ancient chemical remains of the first stars to light the universe may have been found by astronomers. The researchers discovered an unusual ratio of elements that, in their opinion, could only come from the [...]

Explosive Neutron Star Merger Captured in Millimeter Light for the First Time

National Radio Astronomy Observatory — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 14:02:13 +0000

The flash is one of the most energetic short-duration gamma-ray bursts ever observed. For the first time, researchers have captured millimeter-wavelength light from an intense explosion brought on by the merger of a neutron star and another star using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international observatory operated by the US National Science Foundation’s [...]

Study Finds That Testosterone Promotes “Cuddling”

Emory University — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 16:44:20 +0000

The hormone seems to help animals quickly switch between prosocial and antisocial behaviors. According to a recent animal study, testosterone may encourage males to be sociable and friendlier. The research on Mongolian gerbils was conducted by Emory University neuroscientists and was recently published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. “For what we [...]

Accomplishing the Impossible: New, Simple Method Can Destroy “Forever” Chemicals

Northwestern University — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 10:47:36 +0000

A new method beheads PFAS, causing it to break down into benign end products. The term “forever chemicals” refers to a group of manufactured chemicals that have been used extensively since the 1940s. They cannot be destroyed by fire, eaten by bacteria, or diluted by water. Furthermore, if these harmful chemicals are buried, they seep [...]

Evidence of Unprecedented Modern Sea-Level Rise Found in Ancient Caves

University of South Florida — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 10:28:59 +0000

A geology professor at the University of South Florida has uncovered the influence of the industrial boom on global warming. The early 1900s were a thrilling moment for people all around the globe, with tremendous breakthroughs in the steel, electric, and car sectors. Industrial developments also represent a tipping point in our climate. The sea [...]

Scientists Discover Biological Differences Between Liberals and Conservatives

Ohio State University — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 08:40:24 +0000

Research reveals that partisan views have biological roots. According to the largest study of its type, brain scans of individuals obtained as they engaged in different activities or even did nothing accurately indicated whether they were politically conservative or liberal. Researchers discovered that the “signatures” in the brain revealed by the scans were just as [...]

Captivity Can Turn Fish Into Cannibals

North Carolina State University — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 11:10:15 +0000

According to recent research, wild fish cannibalism is uncommon. Even though mosquitofish and guppies are known to be cannibalistic in captivity, it is very improbable that they would engage in cannibalism in the wild. Instead, the few instances of cannibalism in these fish are probably the result of an intense struggle for food. The results of [...]

Rare Crustacean, Thought To Be Extinct, Found in a 2500-Foot-Long Cave

Pensoft Publishers — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 22:07:27 +0000

A cave inside Huntsville’s city was discovered to contain a small, rare crayfish that was previously believed to be extinct. A team led by an assistant professor at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) has uncovered a small, rare crayfish that was believed to have been extinct for 30 years in a cave in [...]

Seeing Hurricanes – Even Just Through the Media – Can Impact Your Mental Health

University of California - Irvine — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 03:18:38 +0000

UCI-led research ties exposure to hurricanes to worsened mental health A groundbreaking study conducted by experts at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) found a correlation between repeated exposure to hurricanes—whether direct, indirect, or media-based—and adverse psychological symptoms that may be linked to increased mental health issues. The results, which were recently published in the [...]

Stanford-Developed Millirobot Swims in Your Body and Delivers Medicine to Places That Need It

Stanford School of Engineering — Sun, 17 Jul 2022 21:36:21 +0000

The tiny robots could bring health care closer to highly precise medicine delivery You probably already know that medications aren’t often designed to target specific pain areas if you’ve ever taken the same round tablet to try to cure everything from headaches to stomach cramps. While many illnesses have been treated with over-the-counter medications for [...]

Trees Might Not Be As Effective at Combating Climate Change As We Thought

American Association for the Advancement of Science — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 11:38:53 +0000

Questions remain about what variables limit tree growth New research from an international team of researchers reveals that tree growth seems to be restricted by cell growth rather than photosynthesis. The study was published in the journal Science on May 12th and was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, [...]

MIT Physicists Have Discovered New Qubits for Quantum Computers Using Vibrating Atoms

Jennifer Chu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Sat, 05 Feb 2022 14:06:12 +0000

The new qubits stay in “superposition” for up to 10 seconds, and could make a promising foundation for quantum computers. MIT physicists have discovered a new quantum bit, or “qubit,” in the form of vibrating pairs of atoms known as fermions. They found that when pairs of fermions are chilled and trapped in an optical [...]

Ruins of Ancient Star Cluster Discovered at the Fringes of Our Galaxy

Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 10:48:36 +0000

Gemini Observatory helps reveal that a stream of old stars at the Milky Way’s edge is a shredded star cluster. A primordial stellar stream discovered in the outer reaches of the Milky Way has a lower proportion of heavy elements than any known stellar system in our galaxy. Observations with the Gemini Observatory showed that [...]

Luminescent Sensor Identifies Valuable Rare Earth Element Terbium in Unexpected Locations

U.S. National Science Foundation — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 11:20:29 +0000

Researchers funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation have developed a luminescent sensor that can detect and measure the presence of a rare earth element called terbium. The element is used in manufacturing devices like car batteries, smart phones, energy-efficient lighting, and X-ray equipment. The scientists were successful in locating the element using a protein [...]