The balance of predator and prey once seemed so complex that only a supercomputer could predict the outcome. Ecologists at Cornell University and North Carolina State University have developed a simpler mathematical model with which many seemingly complex problems in population dynamics can run on a desktop computer.
Journalists are invited to attend the next open session of the National Science Board on Thursday, December 14, 2000 at the National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Room 1235, Arlington, Va. This 361st meeting of the NSB coincides with its 50th anniversary.
Carnegie Mellon University and NASA will hold a news conference to announce details of a new High Dependability Computing Consortium, whose mission is to eliminate failures in computing systems critical to society.
A fungus from Asia is capable of decimating North Carolina Fraser fir plantations -- and threatening the long-term health of the state's $100M annual Christmas tree industry. A team of researchers at NC State University is working to prevent that from happening.
A detailed look at one of nature's smallest motors is providing scientists with new insights on how some viruses package their genetic material and reveals a new type of biological motor system. (Nature, 12-7-00)
One of nature's smallest motors helps viruses package their genetic material, according to research described in the December 7 issue of the scientific journal Nature.
Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for the first time have identified the three dimensional crystal structure of two cellular proteins that when bound together play a key role in triggering the spread of cancer cells. (Nature, 12-7-00)
A computational chemist at the University of Georgia has found an entirely new bonding arrangement for carbon molecules, a discovery that could open new ideas about lifeÃs most basic element. (Science, 12-6-00)
Biologists at Cornell University and University of California at Santa Cruz say highly competitive mating strategies follow rules of the "Rock Paper Scissors" game, allowing different strategies to coexist -- in lizard societies if not among humans. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 12-5-00)
Wood Dust produced in furniture and cabinet manufacture, and common talc are among the substances being considered for listing in the next federal Report on Carcinogens.
Princeton computer scientists have discovered a trait of Web browser design that allows Web sites to cull private information about the recent browsing histories of visitors.
1-NSF Director Honored by Explorer's Club; 2-Team Finds Ancient X-Rays from the Farthest Quasar; 3-Photosynthesis Widespread in Ocean Bacteria.
New Mars Global Surveyor images reveal sedimentary rock layers on the Red Planet that may have formed underwater in the distant martian past.
NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite blasted off last week with a payload of new instruments that could revolutionize remote sensing. The work of the new satellite is regarded as so important it's actually required by law.
Small flaps mounted in jet-engine inlet ducts may allow supersonic aircraft to fly faster and farther at less cost, say researchers at the University of Illinois.
For the first time, scientists have been able to show that by rotating a nanostructure they can control its ability to conduct electrical current to another material, just as you can control the flow of electricity to lights by turning a dimmer switch. (Science, 12-1-00)
The Johns Hopkins University, supported by a $10 million "seed" gift, is establishing a research center to tackle the complex technological, legal, ethical and public policy challenges of keeping information private and computer systems secure in an increasingly electronic world.
Humans have a penchant for travel ñ driving, sailing and flying in search of new places to live. So do microbes, say researchers at the University of Illinois who have been studying microbial transport at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park.
A new product, the EcoFire Super-Grate greatly reduces the pollution from wood burning, while increasing radiant heat. Recommended by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for reducing particulate and gaseous pollutants.
Either count the fish or count on many more decades of debate about what's helping and what's hurting Pacific Northwest salmon. A just-issued report on the best ways to monitor PNW salmon conservation efforts has implications for conservation plans across the nation.
CIIT - an institute long respected for environmental health research is changing its name to reflect a new research agenda and a new funding approach.
Something in the heavens is growing brighter and it will soon become one of the most eye-catching stars in the night sky. No it's not a supernova. It's the International Space Station!
Cornell University is consuming a lot less energy and helping regional electric power plants release fewer pollutants into the air thanks to the university's innovative lake source cooling (LSC) installation.
Life in space is a daring adventure, but somebody still has to cook dinner and take out the trash.
Oysters on the half shell lose their glamour if they've got campylobacter or salmonella lurking in their tissues. These bacterial pathogens are leading causes of food-borne illness around the world and are a particular concern in raw or lightly cooked shellfish.
Acres of crops fail to reach yield potential every year, and a Purdue University plant pathologist says the reason often can be traced to the same source that robs humans of optimal performance: a poor diet.
Autophagy, the process of self-digestion of cell components through the action of enzymes within a cell, plays a vital role in cell maintenance and development, but in recent years has also been linked to a growing number of human diseases, including neurodegenerative conditions, cardiovascular disease and breast cancer. (Science, 12-1-00)
Probing the microscopic life found in the submerged recesses of an abandoned Wisconsin lead and zinc mine, scientists have found compelling evidence that microorganisms play a key role in the formation of mineral deposits. The finding not only sheds light on biology's role in the formation of some metal ores, but could help jump-start new remediation efforts for contaminated mining sites. (Science, 12-1-00)
Lunar meteorite ages present new, strong evidence for the "lunar cataclysm," a 20-to-2000 million-year episode of intense bombardment of the moon and the Earth at 3.9 billion years ago-when the first evidence of life appeared on Earth. (Science, 12-1-00)
Water turns to two-dimensional glass and shrinks under extreme pressure, temperature and confinement, researchers discover. (Nature, 11-30-00)
Thanks to the lowly fruit fly and a team of scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and at Washington University in St. Louis, one genetic circuit that governs sexual dimorphism - the diagnostic differences between the sexes - has been found and characterized. (Nature, 11-30-00)
In a study that compares the chemical contents of aquatic plants and the nutritional needs of terrestrial and aquatic herbivores, researchers found that terrestrial plants are the natural equivalent of junk food -- plant-feeding insects are provided with a diet so poor in nutrients that it impairs growth. (Nature, 11-30-00)
Argentine penguins are turning up off the coast of Brazil in record numbers, and a University of Washington scientist believes it is because unusually prolonged cold water has kept their food supply - primarily sardines, anchovies and squid - farther north much longer than usual.
The next time a distant supernova glitters in the night sky, scientists may be able to solve a mystery about subatomic particles. Researchers have devised a way to use the speed of material streaming outward from a supernova to measure the mass of the neutrino. (Physical Review Letters)
Australian winemakers are known worldwide for the high quality of their wines and the lack of contaminants in them. Adelaide University researchers are ensuring that the reputation of Australian wines remains high with a project to develop techniques of vineyard weeding that dispense with herbicides and pesticides.
Americans have not altered their food consumption habits in the face of recent, highly publicized reports that taco shells were found to contain unapproved bioengineered corn, according to a new survey by North Carolina State University sociologist Dr. Tom Hoban.
A synthetic chemical may be what it takes to put cats at ease in unfamiliar territory. Researchers at Ohio State found that when hospitalized, stressed cats were exposed to a synthetic form of a feline facial pheromone, they ate more and seemed more comfortable. (J. of the American Veterinary Medical Association)
International controversy over genetically modified crops threatens future advancements in biotechnology, said Washington State University plant pathologist R. James Cook.
Wherever humans go microbes will surely follow, and the Space Station is no exception. In this article, NASA scientists discuss how astronauts on the ISS will keep potentially bothersome microorganisms under control.
The fastest integrated circuits in the world today--made of niobium--are unique for their technology as well as for their speed.
The loss of the submarine Kursk and the TV tower fire are the tip of the iceberg in a country with little money for vital needs, let alone maintenance and repair.
Researchers stuff more and more bits into each square centimeter of space on a magnetic disk, keeping it king of mass storage data.
Researchers from the Whitehead Institute and the University of Hawaii provide the first molecular evidence for the egg's ability to reprogram an adult cell back to its embryonic state showing X-inactivation in clones is similar to normal development. (Science, 11-24-00)
Yersinia pestis---the bacterium that causes bubonic plague kills quietly and efficiently by first slipping inside immune system sentinel cells and cutting off the communication lines they need to call for help. (Science, 11-24-00)
Earlier this month one of the most intense solar radiation storms in decades temporarily blinded NASA's Stardust spacecraft, which is heading for a rendezvous with comet Wild-2.
The art of predicting Leonid meteors officially became a science this weekend as sky watchers around the globe enjoyed three predicted episodes of shooting stars.
Some of America's most important facilities -- an investment of over $300 billion -- have fallen into grave disrepair, according to a U of A researcher.
A University of Arkansas researcher has received over $1.3M to study particles and polymers, the first to determine the role of particulate matter in harmful pollution, the second to better understand the properties of polymers -- commonly found in cars, clothes and other household goods.
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