Solar and wind power plants are unpredictable sources of electricity. That makes integrating them to the power grid a challenge for grid operators. With the help of a U.S. Department of Energy grant, Iowa State engineers are working to create a modern grid that's smart and flexible enough to efficiently distribute renewables.
The High Altitude Balloon Experiments in Technology course at Iowa State University conducts balloon launches each semester to gather data at the highest reaches of Earth’s atmosphere.
An Iowa State University research team built a shortened form of the gene that causes a deadly childhood disease, which will make searching for potential treatments quicker and more effective. It’s the first-ever super minigene, a concept that could be used to make easier-to-study versions of genes linked to other illnesses.
The Iowa Department of Transportation is supporting Iowa State engineers as they work to develop, test and prove the concept of a snowplow navigation system. The system is designed to help snowplow drivers maintain their position in a lane. A second phase of the project will help snowplow drivers avoid collisions with snow-covered cars or debris in the roadway.
A team of Iowa State University researchers developed protocols for growing organoids that mimic a turtle liver, the first organoids developed for a turtle and only the second for any reptile. The discovery will aid deeper study of turtle genetics, including the cause of traits with potential medical applications for humans such as the ability to survive weeks without oxygen.
The U.S. Department of Energy is supporting an Iowa State-led project to build the first “microgrid” in rural Iowa. The project will create a utility-scale microgrid in Montezuma to provide reliable, resilient and affordable electricity. The new system will feature power generation from solar panels, a battery storage system and two chargers for electric vehicles.
Kun Luo is combining his experience in materials experimentation and theoretical simulations to explain the atomic mechanisms that create special properties in high-performance materials.
To meet the rising demand for renewable diesel fuel, the U.S. soybean market is rapidly changing. A group of Iowa State University students recently spent a week studying soybean supply chains in person, a trip that stretched from Midwestern processing plants to Pacific Northwest ports.
As part of a panel of 32 physicists, Iowa State's Amanda Weinstein helped set the priorities for the country's particle physics research agenda.
A pair of Iowa State University geneticists are among the first research teams in the world to construct DNA nanoparticles that can express their own built-in genetic instructions.
Efforts to breed more adaptable crops benefit from testing locations with wide ranges of weather, according to a study co-authored by an Iowa State University expert on phenotypic plasticity, the disparate ways plants respond in different environments.
A newly published study provides guidance for building accurate mathematical models for gene regulatory networks. The project, which includes an online database, was supported by undergraduate researchers at Iowa State.
Approximately one in three deaths in the U.S. is caused by cardiovascular disease, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
When college students are given a writing assignment, they usually get feedback on the final product, not the process.
Researchers at Iowa State want to know whether different types and doses of exercise can improve mental health, either on their own or integrated into treatment plans. Two concurrent research projects funded by the National Institute of Mental Health will help fill in the gaps.
A microbial sensor that helps identify and fight bacterial infections also plays a key role in the embryonic development of blood stem cells, valuable new insight in the effort to create patient-derived blood stem cells that could eliminate the need for bone marrow transplants.
Many bacteria have proteins that give them the ability to sense light, including some types that can't photosynthesize light into energy. Iowa State University researchers have discovered some bacteria that grow on plants and in soil use that light-sensing capacity to anticipate and prepare for an imminent and potentially deadly loss of water.
Nicole Hashemi and her students have been working for years to develop a "placenta-on-a-chip" that models how medicines, nutrients and other substances are passed from mother to fetus. A new, three-year, $350,000 National Science Foundation Mid-Career Advancement grant will allow Hashemi’s group to advance the project and explore commercialization.
New research suggests people are more likely to volunteer for festivals and support rural community development if they have a strong sense of psychological ownership.
Iowa State received the top Innovation and Economic Prosperity University Award from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. The university also ranked first in Iowa in The Princeton Review’s 2024 annual survey of undergraduate schools for entrepreneurship studies.
Iowa State's new major in biomedical engineering quickly attracted 50 students, who are now learning the basics of the medical and engineering worlds. The new program is designed, in part, to meet the interests of students and employers while increasing the synergy between Iowa State's research strengths and academic programs.
A positive attitude about physical activity may be related to lower anxiety about aging. Researchers who analyzed results from a multi-state survey say gender, age, marital status and income affect perspectives on exercise and aging but that reframing messages about both can lead to healthy behaviors.
A research facility in Ethiopia now bears the name of Curtis Youngs, recognizing the Iowa State University animal science professor’s pivotal contributions to ongoing programs to enhance dairy cattle genetics in the region. The overarching aim is to increase food security in Africa’s top livestock-producing nation by boosting milk production.
Iowa State researchers are developing mathematical models to simulate soybean aphid population dynamics over a growing season with a wide array of stressors, including droughts and floods. The project received a USDA grant earlier this year and is in collaboration with entomologists at Ohio State University.
Researchers from Iowa State University and the University of California, Santa Barbara will work together to fundamentally change the capabilities of light-based 3D printing.
Despite incentives to use just the right amount of nitrogen fertilizer on corn fields, official recommendations are broad and ideal rates vary widely. A state-funded Iowa State University research project is collecting data from trials across Iowa – mostly from fields of participating volunteer farmers – to build models that offer far more granular guidance.
A research team has won a four-year, $14 million grant to design a national testing facility that will simulate tornadoes and other windstorms. Experiments will measure the loads that windstorms exert on structures and help researchers engineer building improvements that can reduce damage and save lives.
If forensic experts have access to a suspect’s gun, they can compare the microscopic markings from discarded shell casings with those found at a crime scene. Finding and reporting a mismatch can help free the innocent, just as a match can incriminate the guilty. But new research reveals mismatches are more likely than matches to be reported as “inconclusive” in cartridge-case comparisons.
An Iowa State University professor is creating art out of data produced by tree saplings and the environment using sound, light and artificial intelligence. It’s an experimental approach to science and technology that inspires an alternate awareness of the environment in its audience.
Over the last decade, a growing number of companies and organizations have included messages about diversity and inclusion as part of their employee recruitment efforts.
New research shows entrepreneurs in Mexico become a greater target of crime as their businesses grow and become more profitable. The study also found entrepreneurs typically respond to crime in one of three ways: Truncating business growth, relocating or shutting down their operation.
New research shows crowdsourcing contests for marketing content are associated with high returns — but also high risks.
Many Ukrainian farmers are raising hogs for the first time, converting cheap grain into needed meat. An Iowa State University swine health expert is helping Ukrainian farmers safely navigate the war-driven pivot to pork with a series of online workshops.
With wireless infrastructure installed in and around Ames, Iowa, the $16 million ARA Wireless Living Lab for Smart and Connected Rural Communities is moving to a public testing phase. The progress will be celebrated with technical presentations and field trips during a launch event Sept. 6-8 on the Iowa State University campus.
Using "experiential" descriptions and more photos on Zillow can boost offers and sale prices, especially for homes valued significantly higher or lower than the neighborhood average, according to a new study.
The NFL adopted the Rooney Rule 20 years ago as part of an effort to address racial disparity in top coaching positions. But new research suggests the gap will persist unless it’s closed with lower-level coaching staff.
Chemists are building nanospheres that act as super enzymes to break down the plant fibers in biomass such as crop residues. The new catalysts could make biomass a practical source of sugars that can be converted into fuels and chemicals.
Midwest researchers are working together to develop and promote a new green fertilizer that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The $4 million project is supported by a National Science Foundation program designed to build scientific infrastructure and capabilities across the country.
A new study finds unsupervised, online exams can provide a valid and reliable assessment of student learning, but instructors should be aware of potential weak spots.
Iowa State's Electric Power Research Center is helping industry study ways to add renewables to the power grid as the country makes plans to electrify the economy.
Iowa State University researchers found college students who tried to cut their social media use to 30 minutes per day scored significantly lower for anxiety, depression, loneliness and fear of missing out at the end of the two-week experiment and when compared to the control group.
A new paper explores how the Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company pushed stereotypes and claimed authority on Indigenous culture in the 1800s to sell products. It also highlights several ironies. As “Indian remedies” became mainstream, the U.S. government rolled out policies to restrict Indigenous healing and spiritual practices, which are often intertwined.
Service members deployed to conflict zones may be at greater risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder if they were abused in childhood. This, along with other findings from a new study, help clarify how adverse experiences early in life can make people more vulnerable to trauma later on.
After pioneering a system to improve swine health by collecting and publicizing pathogen testing results from large public veterinary laboratories across the Midwest, a team led by faculty from Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine is planning to bore even deeper to glean more insight from the vast data set.
A new collection of essays from a dozen Iowa State University faculty underscores how all of us can play a role in cultivating a more peaceful world. The authors demonstrate this by drawing from their own disciplines – agriculture, architecture, business, education, engineering, history, music, nutrition and food systems and philosophy.
Co-authors of a new paper argue that negative emotions – if leveraged in the right way – can help teams adapt. They make their case by dissecting scenes from three blockbuster movies, each of which represent a different type of team and threat.
Iowa State University engineers are developing advanced tools for cell manufacturing that could improve the cost and availability of therapeutic cells capable of fighting diseases such as cancers, heart disease, lupus and other autoimmune diseases.
New research suggests investigative law enforcement officers have a harder time focusing on their work and managing their emotions on days when they're more fatigued. They also face greater difficulty establishing rapport with interviewees.
The National Science Foundation's program to build research capacity across the country has awarded a $20 million grant to support Iowa researchers working to make the state a leader in advanced biomanufacturing. The researchers will use microbes to produce plastics for 3D printing, fibers for flexible and rigid materials and proteins for medical diagnostics and therapeutics.
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