A new book chronicles the scientific discoveries of NASA's Kepler and K2 missions. It also asks some big questions: "Are we alone? What is our place in the Universe?"
By developing better computer simulations, researchers have determined that the scattering of stars from their orbits by the gravity of massive clumps within galaxies leads to a common look in galaxy disks -- bright centers fading away to dark edges.
Extreme rain events that occur on nine days a year drive around a third of all nitrogen yields on farmland in the Mississippi River basin, according to a new study. The research could inform how and when farmers apply nitrogen fertilizer to their fields and has environmental implications for the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico.
Students who are quizzed over class material at least once a week tend to perform better on midterm and final exams compared to students who did not take quizzes, according to a new meta-analysis. The researchers found immediate feedback from instructors also seemed to positively impact student performance.
A rapid response grant from the National Science Foundation will allow an Iowa State University research team to study how landlord decision-making has contributed to rental housing instability during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A new study found patterns in how soil organic matter forms across a wide range of climate types. Understanding how soils break down or preserve organic matter is important because organic matter plays a central role in the kind of services soils can provide, such as whether they make good agricultural soils or if they can sequester carbon to slow climate change.
Researchers at Iowa State University and their partners will create a system that converts wastes generated by military expeditionary forces into food.
A new project will help farmers use innovative technology to share data in an effort to improve production. The effort, recently funded by a federal grant, will start out as a small pilot project and gradually expand to hundreds of farmers.
Iowa State's rural smart shrinkage project has received a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to build upon its pilot study examining whether there were towns in Iowa that have lost population but perception of quality of life has remained stable or improved.
A recently published study presents evidence that the migration success of monarchs hasn’t declined in recent years and thus cannot explain the steep decline in the monarch population over the last few decades. The study drew on data collected on 1.4 million monarch butterflies that were tagged in the United States Midwest from 1998 to 2015 and emphasizes the need for new monarch habitat.
Bill Gallus, an Iowa State storm expert (and chaser), was as surprised as anybody by the Aug. 10 derecho that blew across Iowa and the Midwest. He expects researchers will take a good look at why the violent, straight-line winds didn't show up in forecasts.
Iowa State's Martin Thuo and his research group have developed technology to make metallic replicas of soft, natural surfaces such as rose petals. The team's metallic surfaces retained properties of the originals, including a rose petal's sticky, yet water-repelling textures.
A new study shows how two responses in separate locations inside plant cells work in concert to help corn plants respond to heat stress. The research was made possible by the Enviratron, an innovative plant sciences facility at Iowa State University that utilizes a robotic rover and highly controlled growth chambers.
A new study upends the widely held belief that a medication used to treat lymphatic filariasis doesn’t directly target the parasites that cause the disease. The research shows the medication, diethylcarbamazine, temporarily paralyzes the parasites.
There is greater awareness today of structural racism in the U.S., but Americans are still split on the impact it has on the voting rights of underrepresented groups, according to a new book that examines the history of hostility toward Latinos and how it influences attitudes about voting rights.
An Iowa State University scientists contributed to a global effort to assemble the genome of the tuatara, a rare reptile species native to New Zealand. The tuatara genome sheds light on the genomic structure of a huge range of species, including humans.
Engineers are developing a no-touch, mail-in, fast-scan diagnostic sensing system that could be used to quickly test for COVID-19 or other outbreaks. The system would also produce a real-time outbreak map with demographic details.
Anti-Asian hate crimes during health crises are unfortunately not new, according to a new academic paper examining the history of this phenomenon. The research team, including an Iowa State University criminal justice researcher, looked at how anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic have furthered the historical “othering” of Asian Americans and reproduced inequalities.
Iowa State and University of Texas engineers have developed computational models of replacement heart valves to examine the performance of biological tissues built into the valves. They found thinner tissues create problematic flutter.
A "zero bias" or tendency for individuals to select targeted retirement funds ending in zero can affect the amount people contribute to retirement savings and leads to an investment portfolio with an incompatible level of risk, according to new research.
Researchers are studying how the collapse of microbubbles within the skull can damage brain cells. Their research could lead to the design of better helmets.
A $10 million federal grant will power a multi-institutional consortium aiming to create new value chains on U.S. farms. The consortium will innovate methods for farmers to make more efficient use of resources with an emphasis on the generation of renewable natural gas, improved rural economic outcomes and protection of the environment.
New research suggests that reported unemployment rates underestimate actual employment losses due to COVID-19. Furthermore, the study found young adults, people with less education, individuals with lower family income, Hispanics and Blacks are most adversely impacted by pandemic job losses.
Residents in 70 rural Iowa communities soon will receive surveys that will help to inform state and federal officials as they orchestrate the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey, orchestrated by researchers at Iowa State University and the University of Iowa, will cover topics ranging from the availability of health care services to the reliability of high-speed internet to the economic stresses placed on a community by the pandemic.
An Iowa State University researcher will use a U.S. Department of Energy grant to study tropical cyclones, including global storm numbers and regional storm intensity and rainfall.
The Iowa State University Department of Agronomy is the first North American entity to join the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) Initiative. The computer modeling tools predict crop production in light of climate, genotype, soil and management factors.
America’s youth have historically been excluded from using public spaces how they want, in addition to being left out of design discussions. Including them in this process will have long-term societal benefits, according to an Iowa State University researcher.
The Iowa State University Police Department wants to serve as an example for other law enforcement agencies to see how acknowledging and working to change problems within the profession can turn into positive change in their communities. The department’s Engagement and Inclusion Officer Team is being recognized for its work in this area.
Researchers are using high-resolution printing technology and the unique properties of graphene to make low-cost biosensors to monitor food safety and livestock health.
Researchers at Iowa State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are combining their expertise in electronics, computing and crops to develop a cyber-physical system that will monitor fields at almost single-plant resolution.
Chemists are developing a paper-strip urine test to detect the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The tests are based on electrokinetics, using electric fields to manipulate charged particles.
Iowa State engineers are doing wind-tunnel tests and computer simulations to understand and predict how the cables that carry power or support bridges will react to high winds.
A newly published study of flies found that protecting liver function also preserves heart health. The research could lead to new therapeutic approaches in human health and illuminate the role of understudied organelles known as peroxisomes.
Scientists at Iowa State University are poised to take a significant step forward in human health by transferring a human immune system into pigs. The research was recently awarded a nearly $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop the technology over the next four years. The research could pave the way to new treatments for a wide range of health problems, from cancer to severe burns.
A new study unearthed patterns in datasets collected on rice plants across Asia that allowed researchers to develop a matrix to predict the traits of rice plants depending on their genetics and environment. The approach could lead to better predictability in crop production.
Moving more and sitting less was a challenge for many, even before states started issuing stay-at-home orders. Despite disruptions to our work and exercise routines, new research shows that making subtle changes at home may improve our mental health.
Iowa State's Jigang Wang continues to explore using light waves to accelerate supercurrents to access the unique and potentially useful properties of the quantum world.
A new grant from the National Institutes of Health will allow Iowa State University scientists to continue to develop gene editing technologies to model human disease in zebrafish. The research aims to build new tools to determine which genes have therapeutic potential to treat human genetic diseases that affect the cardiovascular, immune and nervous systems.
Playing video games is not a problem for most teens, but those who develop symptoms of Gaming Disorder are more anxious, aggressive, depressed and shy, according to a new longitudinal study. Those symptoms increase as teens become adults.
A supply chain expert expects some hiccups as states start to reopen and supply chains slowly rebound from the coronavirus pandemic. Scott Grawe says the uncertainty that led to shortages of toilet paper and cleaning supplies at the start of this pandemic will continue to disrupt supply chains.
Iowa State engineers have developed a next-generation solar cell that takes advantage of the promising elctro-optical properties of perovskite materials.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has renewed support for the Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence, adding five years and up to $20 million of support.
Paul Canfield of Iowa State and the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He's a condensed matter physicist who designs and discovers materials and properties.
New research shows that a visitor’s garden designed and built by Iowa State University students and incarcerated individuals at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women is helping to strengthen connections between the women and their children.
Iowa State University researchers are developing a portable, inexpensive technology that could allow people to test for the presence of a virus or antibodies without having to go to a medical facility. The technology is still about a year away, but it could come in handy in the event of a resurgence of the coronavirus or for future pandemics.
A team of Iowa State University researchers has developed a mathematical model that reveals critical characteristics about COVID-19—such as how contagious the virus is and how rapidly it spreads through populations.
A newly published study sheds light on how insecticides commonly applied to crops affect monarch caterpillars. Conservation efforts to protect monarch butterfly populations depend on planting milkweed on agricultural land, but doing so may put caterpillars in close proximity to harmful insecticides.