National Science Foundation

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Arecibo Radio Telescope Can't Be Saved
Famed Telescope
Can't Be Saved
Nov 20, 2020 1:00 AM CST

Famed Telescope Can't Be Saved

Cables are failing at astronomy landmark in Puerto Rico

(Newser) - The iconic radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory is being taken out of commission. Cables hold up a 900-ton equipment platform over the telescope's huge reflector dish, and those cables have begun to fail. One broke this month, after an auxiliary cable had slipped out of its socket in...

2 Workers Die in Unexplained Accident at US Antarctic Station

They were found unconscious in generator building

(Newser) - Tragedy in Antarctica: Two technicians are dead after an unexplained accident at an American research station, the National Science Foundation says. The NSF says the two men had been working on a fire-suppression system for a McMurdo Station building that houses a generator for a radio transmitter, Reuters reports. They...

Report Demolishes Myths About US Immigrants

Crime, divorce rates lower in immigrant communities than native-born ones

(Newser) - Donald Trump may want to build a wall to keep immigrants out, but the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine suggests he might be unnecessarily fearful. "The Integration of Immigrants Into American Society" report notes that not only is the current generation of immigrants assimilating just as well...

Obama Orders Supercomputer 30 Times Faster Than All Others

President signs executive order calling for astonishingly fast exascale machine

(Newser) - If something called the National Strategic Computing Initiative sounds like a big deal, that's because it is. The White House yesterday announced an executive order from President Obama describing the NSCI plan, a joint effort of the Department of Energy, Defense Department, and the National Science Foundation, Motherboard reports....

Bee Scientist Finds $140K Email—in His Spam Folder
Bee Scientist Finds $140K Email—in His Spam Folder
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 5, 2015 11:36 AM CDT

Bee Scientist Finds $140K Email—in His Spam Folder

The National Science Foundation award for Charlie C. Nicholson was actually real

(Newser) - Maybe you should open up that next "Lucky Winner!" email you get and not automatically dump it in the trash. Because for University of Vermont researcher Charlie C. Nicholson, his spam folder turned out to hold more than the usual dream-job and porn messages. On Tuesday, the National...

1 in 4 Americans Don't Know Earth Circles Sun
1 in 4 Americans Don't
Know Earth Circles Sun
survey says
Feb 15, 2014 6:31 AM CST

1 in 4 Americans Don't Know Earth Circles Sun

Survey suggests science teachers have some work to do

(Newser) - To put the brightest possible spin on this story is to say that three-quarters of Americans are fully aware that the Earth revolves around the sun. The downside, of course, is that means 1 in 4 are in the dark about what Discovery calls "probably the most basic question...

Obama Announces $100M Brain-Mapping Project

Set to devote $100M to initiative

(Newser) - President Obama today unveiled a major federal project to map out the human brain , discovering "how millions of brain cells interact," in the words of a White House scientist. Obama is directing $100 million toward the program, which has been compared to the Human Genome Project and could...

After Stroke, South Pole Worker Is Denied Evacuation

US officials say it's too risky to fly out Renee-Nicole Douceur

(Newser) - A compelling story out of the US South Pole station: Manager Renee-Nicole Douceur says she has suffered a stroke and needs to be evacuated for proper treatment, but the National Science Foundation says it won't be safe enough to send in a plane for at least a few more...

Shrimp on Treadmill Study Not So Wacky: Irritated Researcher

Lawmakers mocking research are playing politics, scientists say

(Newser) - "Shrimp on a treadmill" has become a byphrase for wasteful government spending. But the scientist behind the study says lawmakers are distorting the facts. The treadmill test—singled out by Sen. Tom Coburn in an attack on National Science Foundation funding —was designed to study shrimp's reaction...

'Wasteful' Shrimp on Treadmill Study Blasted

But scientists fire back at Senator's Coburn report

(Newser) - The National Science Foundation is being given too much money if it can afford to fund experiments that involve putting shrimp on treadmills or creating laundry-folding robots, grumbles Sen. Tom Coburn. The Oklahoma Republican has released a report criticizing the agency, which receives some $7 billion in federal funding a...

Schools Win; NASA Loses



Schools Win; 
 NASA Loses  
budget ANALYSIS
Feb 1, 2010 5:31 PM CST

Schools Win; NASA Loses

First look at proposed 2011 budget shows sharp break between haves and have-nots

(Newser) - President Obama delivered his proposed 2011 budget to Congress today, and the Washington Post drills down to find the winners and losers. Winners first:
  • K-12 education: The Department of Education's budget will increase by 6%, or $3 billion.
  • Research: The proposal pumps up the Energy Department's budget 7%, or $2
...

Scientists Discover Bigger, Faster Milky Way

Scientists revise image of our galaxy

(Newser) - A study of the Milky Way using radio telescopes scattered across the US paints a new and dramatically different picture of our galaxy, reports Space.com. Our spiral-shaped galaxy is not only spinning faster than previously thought, it has 50% greater mass, with two hitherto unknown spiral arms where many...

Science Smackdowns Aid Search for 'Bill Gates 2.0'

Popularity of math, science competitions shoots off the charts

(Newser) - With the days when the space program inspired American students to embrace science and math a distant memory, the US is counting on competition among schoolkids to return the country as a whole to a leading role, the Christian Science Monitor reports. High-level science fairs and math bowls are potential...

Let Facebook Ring from the Ivory Tower

Academics unleash study of social networking craze

(Newser) - Move over, preening teenagers: byte-thirsty academics are now frequenting social networking hangouts like Facebook and MySpace. Hoping to snatch a dissertation out of the latest digital craze, plus a side of fame, they’ll all have to line up behind danah boyd (small caps intended), a Berkeley PhD candidate who’...

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