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NSF Funded Research News

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-Feb-2025 10:09 ET (22-Feb-2025 15:09 GMT/UTC)

Study reveals Arabia's rainfall was five times more extreme 400 years ago

University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study reconstructing extreme rainfall in Arabia has uncovered that rainfall in the region was five times more extreme just 400 years ago, highlighting the need for preparedness amid growing urbanization.

Journal: Science Advances
Funder: NEOM, U.S. National Science Foundation

New microscope can image, at once, the full 3D orientation & position of molecules in cells

Marine Biological Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A hybrid microscope, born at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), for the first time allows scientists to simultaneously image the full 3D orientation and position of an ensemble of molecules, such as labeled proteins inside cells. The research is published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The microscope combines polarized fluorescence technology, a valuable tool for measuring the orientation of molecules, with a dual-view light sheet microscope (diSPIM), which excels at imaging along the depth (axial) axis of a sample.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: NIH/National Institute of Biomedical Imaging & Bioengineering, Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Chicago, NIH/National Institutes of Health, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences, U.S. National Science Foundation, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Zhejiang University

The rising tide of sand mining: a growing threat to marine life

Michigan State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In One Earth, scientists outline the urgency to better identify the significant damage sand extraction across the world heaps upon marine biodiversity.

Journal: One Earth
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation

Co-prescribed stimulants, opioids linked to higher opioid doses

Ohio State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The combination of prescribed central nervous system stimulants, such as drugs that relieve ADHD symptoms, with prescribed opioid medications is associated with a pattern of escalating opioid intake, a new study has found.

Journal: The Lancet Regional Health - Americas
Funder: NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, U.S. National Science Foundation

Hurricane-proofed downtown skyscrapers unexpectedly vulnerable to ‘bouncing’ winds

Frontiers
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In May 2024, a type of windstorm called derecho caused considerable damage to the facades of Houston’s tall buildings, which had been designed to withstand stronger, hurricane-strength winds. In contrast, hurricane Beryl in July 2024 caused only minimal damage to the same buildings. Researchers analyzed the damage from this derecho and used wind-tunnel modeling to simulate its unique wind loading effects on miniature tall buildings. They concluded that besides interference between groups of tall buildings, the unique characteristics of local events like derechos worsened the structural damage. This finding has implications for the design of future tall buildings and urban planning.

Journal: Frontiers in Built Environment
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. National Science Foundation

Butterfly wings inspire new imaging technique for cancer diagnosis

University of California - San Diego
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Using the microscopic structures found on the wings of the Morpho butterfly, researchers have developed a simple and inexpensive way to analyze cancer biopsy samples that could make cancer diagnosis faster, more accurate and more accessible worldwide.

Journal: Advanced Materials
Funder: NIH/National Cancer Institute, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, American Association of University Women, U.S. National Science Foundation

New solution to help therapy ‘dropouts’

Northwestern University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Seeking mental health help is a significant step, but that first intake session can often feel more like paperwork than progress, and a significant proportion of people “drop out” or never return for a second visit, previous research has shown.

In a new, first-of-its-kind review, Northwestern University investigators confirmed that single-session interventions (SSIs) can significantly improve mental health outcomes in both youth and adults. Common in other countries but not the U.S., an SSI is a structured program intentionally designed to provide meaningful support, guidance or treatment in just one meeting, recognizing that many patients may not return for a follow-up appointment.

Journal: Annual Review of Clinical Psychology
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health, NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, Upswing Fund for Adolescent Mental Health, U.S. National Science Foundation, Health Research and Services Administration, Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Hopelab Foundation, Child Mind Institute, Alongside, Kooth and the Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation

How mosquitos hear may inspire new ways to detect natural disasters

Purdue University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

One of nature’s most disliked creatures may very well unlock a breakthrough in disaster response. A multidisciplinary Purdue University research team is recreating mosquito antennae to better study their sensitivity to vibrations.

Journal: Acta Biomaterialia
Funder: Air Force Office of Scientific Research, U.S. National Science Foundation

Turning robotic ensembles into smart materials that mimic life

Technische Universität Dresden
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life (PoL) at the Dresden University of Technology and at the University of California, Santa Barbara (USCB), have engineered groups of robots that behave as smart materials with tunable shape and strength, mimicking living systems.

Journal: Science
Funder: German Research Foundation DFG, U.S. National Science Foundation

Digging into a decades-old hepatitis B mystery suggests a new potential treatment

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In their effort to answer a decades-old biological question about how the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is able to establish infection of liver cells, research led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), Weill Cornell Medicine, and The Rockefeller University identified a vulnerability that opens the door to new treatments.

Journal: Cell
Funder: NIH/National Cancer Institute, NIH/National Institutes of Health, U.S. National Science Foundation

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