NSF Science Now

In this week’s episode of NSF Science Now we explore “Yellowstone”, one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers, acidification of McMurdo Sound, a living laboratory and finally EcoATM. Provided by the National Science Foundation

In this week’s episode of NSF Science Now we explore Hawaiian volcanoes, smart homes, robot locomotion and finally novel engineering ideas on the tiny wings of butterflies. Provided by the National Science Foundation

In this week’s episode of NSF Science Now we explore NSF’s Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Site, phytoplankton and climate change, how silver turns people blue and finally why math hurts.

In this week’s episode of NSF Science Now we explore Arctic walrus habitats, Cave2, Pandas and finally Algae and biofuels.

In this week’s episode of NSF Science Now we explore negative thoughts, robotic fish, sensitive alligators and finally the discovery of a camp used by explorers a century ago during the “Heroic Age” of Antarctic exploration.

In this week’s episode of NSF Science Now we explore climate change and the Colorado River, helping children with disabilities, porcupine’s quills, and finally the decline of chinstrap penguins.

In this week’s episode of NSF Science Now we explore BigFoot, body language, and finally Antarctic subglacial lakes. Provided by the National Science Foundation

In this week’s episode of NSF Science Now we explore spiders’ silk, a bionic eye, coral reefs, and finally the sense of touch.

In this week’s episode of NSF Science Now we explore an experimental motion control car, a gliding robot called Grace, how song sparrows protect their domain, and finally a four-wheel vehicle capable of detecting deadly cracks in Antarctic ice. Provided by the National Science Foundation

In this week’s episode we examine cockroaches for clues to better locomotion. We discover how children can possess higher lever thinking at a very early age. How virtual reality helps physical therapists remotely treat patients and finally we explore distant galaxies from a telescope at the South Pole.

In this week’s episode we learn how long-term droughts affect the environment. We explore the role mood can play in decision making. We examine the impact of ground-level ozone. And finally we explore the melting of the Greeenland ice cap.

This week's episode highlights Vanderbilt University's humanoid robot geared to help children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, University of Michigan researchers harnessing terahertz technology that could one day help doctors see deep into tissues without the damaging effects of x-ray, Rice University discovery that rocks in the earth's mantle beneath the ocean floor melt much deeper than previously thought and finally, Blue Waters, one of the world's most powerful supercomputers is now available for use nationwide. It's unparrelled processing power enables researchers to perform large-scale scientific applications at the cutting edge of computational science. Video Credit: Dena Headlee/NSF

This week’s episode of NSF Science Now highlights new primate fossil discoveries in Tanzania, the first screening method to detect the early presence of ovarian cancer, a polymer material that more efficiently utilizes solar energy and finally research to gather the most detailed 3-D mapping ever of the Galicia Rift off the coast of Spain.

This week’s episode of NSF Science Now explores sea turtle locomotion by researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology, new images from the Gemini North telescope of comet ISON, also how researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign have created the first digital cameras that mimics insects’ unique, 180-degree vision and finally we’ll explore Antarctica through a unique Rutgers University program documentary about science on the frigid continent.

This week's episode of Science Now highlights the University of Minnesota's mind controlling robot that could potentially help people who are paralyzed or have neurodegenerative diseases, PolarTREC's FishSpy camera capturing life beneath the frigid waters surrounding Antarctica, a shake table test on the world's largest shake table and finally the discovery of the earliest European fort found in the foothills of North Carolina.

WIRELESS NETWORK STORY: CALLING FOR HELP MAY SOON GET A LITTLE BIT EASIER FOR THE ELDERLY. ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HAVE DEVELOPED A NETWORK OF WIRELESS SENSORS THAT CAN DETECT A PERSON FALLING. THIS MONITORING TECHNOLOGY COULD BE LINKED TO A SERVICE THAT WOULD CALL 911 OR CAREGIVER. THE SYSTEM USES A TWO-LEVEL ARRAY OF RADIO-FREQUENCY SENSORS, SIMILAR TO THOSE USED IN HOME WIRELESS NETWORKS. PLACED AROUND THE PERIMETER OF A ROOM AT TWO HEIGHTS THAT CORRESPOND TO SOMEONE STANDING OR LYING DOWN, THE ARRAYS COMMUNICATE WITH ONE ANOTHER. ANYONE STANDING OR FALLING INSIDE THE NETWORK ALTERS THE PATH OF SIGNALS SENT BETWEEN THE PAIRS OF SENSORS. THE NSF-FUNDED TEAM CONDUCTED EXPERIMENTS TO MEASURE THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT ELAPSES WHEN A PERSON FALLS, SITS OR LIES ON THE FLOOR. THEY WERE THEN ABLE TO DETERMINE A TIME THRESHOLD FOR DETECTING DANGEROUS FALLS. THIS INFORMATION ALLOWS THE SYSTEM TO NOT ONLY ACCURATELY IDENTIFY THAT A PERSON HAS FALLEN AND WHERE, BUT ALSO WHETHER IT IS LIFE THREATENING...ALL WITHOUT THE NEED FOR A BODY WORN MONITOR. ICE-SHELF MELT STORY: DEEP BENEATH ANTARCTICA’S FASTEST MOVING GLACIER, LIES CLUES TO FUTURE GLOBAL SEA-LEVEL RISE. AN NSF-FUNDED RESEARCH TEAM HAS FOR THE FIRST TIME PRODUCED DETAILED, DIRECT MEASUREMENTS OF HOW RELATIVELY WARM SEA WATER IS MELTING PINE ISLAND GLACIER FROM BELOW. THE TEAM MAPPED THE UNDERSIDE OF THE 31-MILE LONG GLACIER BY BOTH INSTALLING INSTRUMENTS DIRECTLY INTO THE ICE AND BY AIRBORNE RADAR. SCIENTISTS HAVE LONG KNOWN THAT PINE ISLAND GLACIER WAS MELTING FROM BELOW, BUT THIS TEAM FEELS THESE NEW MODELS WILL BE CRITICAL IN MAKING MORE ACCURATE PREDICTIONS OF FUTURE CHANGES IN THE ICE SHELF, WHICH HOLDS BACK ICE FLOW FROM THE INTERIOR OF THE CONTINENT. ICE ENTERING THE SOUTHERN OCEAN BECOMES A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO GLOBAL SEA-LEVEL RISE AS IT MELTS. UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISMS OF ICE-SHELF MELT WILL HELP SCIENTISTS UNDERSTAND IF, AND HOW THE MELT MIGHT INCREASE IN THE FUTURE. SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS: A RECENT NSF STUDY REVEALS THAT THE EMPLOYMENT OF SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS ARE CONCENTRATED IN A SMALL NUMBER OF U.S. STATES. CALIFORNIA, NEW YORK, AND TEXAS TOGETHER ACCOUNT FOR MORE THAN ONE-FOURTH OF ALL OF THE S&E EMPLOYMENT. FLORIDA, VIRGINIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ILLINOIS, MASSACHUSETTS, AND OHIO ALSO MAKE UP A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF S&E EMPLOYMENT. IT IS CONSIDERED THAT THE SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS BRING A VAST RANGE OF EXPERTISE CRITICAL IN SHAPING REGIONAL INNOVATION. LARGEST VOLCANO: AN INTERNATIONAL TEAM OF SCIENTISTS HAVE UNCOVERED THE LARGEST KNOWN SINGLE VOLCANO ON EARTH. LOCATED IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN, ONE-THOUSAND MILES EAST OF JAPAN, THE VOLCANO, DUBBED TAMU MASSIF, IS APPROXIMATELY THE SIZE OF NEW MEXICO. SIMILAR IN SIZE TO GIANT VOLCANOES ON MARS, TAMU MASSIF IS AMONG THE LARGEST IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM. IODP CORE SAMPLES RETRIEVED FROM A 2009 EXPEDITION ABOARD THE JOIDES RESOLUTION RESEARCH SHIP SHOWED THAT THE VOLCANO IS BUILT FROM VERY THINK LAVA FLOWS. SEISMIC REFLECTION DATA GATHERED LATER FROM EXPEDITIONS ABOARD NSF’S R/V MARCUS G. LANGSETH REVEALED LAVA FLOWS FROM THE CENTER DIPPING HUNDREDS OF MILES DOWN THE SIDES.TEAM LEADER WILL SAGER SAYS THAT TAMU MASSIF IS ABOUT 145 MILLION YEARS OLD AND ITS TOP LIES 6,500 FEET BELOW THE OCEAN SURFACE. SAGER HOPES THIS VOLCANO WILL GIVE SCIENTISTS CLUES TO HOW MASSIVE VOLCANOES FORM.

This week’s episode explores silicon chip technology that could possibly extend cell phone battery life, babies and higher math ability, a drone helping farmers better manage their crops, and finally how more than 83,000 volunteer citizen scientists helped an international research team catalog over 300,000 nearby galaxies.

In this week’s episode we dig up the “King of Gore,” the oldest discovered Tyrannosaurid dinosaur yet. We also learn how ordinary foam can help protect athletes from concussions and how a tongue-controlled wheelchair could give people with paralysis more independence. Check it out! Provided by the National Science Foundation

In this week’s episode we learn how our smart phone can be used to check our cholesterol and that great white sharks actually live longer than previously thought! Check it out! Provided by the National Science Foundation

In this week’s episode we learn about new materials with self-healing properties that could also remove paint from walls. And we explore Greenland’s fastest moving glacier and how it affects sea level rise. Check it out!