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Researchers around the world can compare notes on one of the most powerful tools available for imaging human brain function, the fMRI, thanks to support from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The project, called OpenfMRI, allows scientists to share their data easily and securely in a standardized format. The advantages are clear to Stanford neuroscientist Vinod Menon, who researches brain development and is using OpenfMRI to validate his research. Menon says as more studies are added to OpenfMRI, it becomes a powerful tool for diagnosing and treating neurological disorders. Part of the National Science Foundation Series “Science Nation.”
(Source: DCMP)
The arctic ground squirrel has developed highly specialized adaptations to extreme environments. This species maintains circadian rhythms throughout the arctic summer, despite the almost ceaseless daylight during this period. The squirrels’ body clocks have evolved to work just fine without the help of the day/night cycle. With support from the National Science Foundation, physiological ecologist Cory Williams of the University of Alaska, Anchorage, and a team of researchers traveled to the Toolik Field Station in northern Alaska to study the arctic ground squirrel on its home turf. Part of the National Science Foundation Series “Science Nation.”
The science of sight has entered a new era. Scientists are starting to understand how a few rare individuals can see better or see faster. Meet a woman who can see a hundred more colors than the average human being, and a heavyweight boxer who undergoes sophisticated training to increase the speed of his visual reflexes and acuity. As silicon and carbon meld and point the way to a bionic future, researchers discuss how technology is starting to replace or enhance vision for those who have lost it. Viewers witness the moment when a husband and father, equipped with an experimental retinal implant, sees his wife and child for the first time. Part of the “Human + The Future of Our Senses” series.
Throughout North America, the species known as the dark-eyed junco exhibits striking differences in feather color, body size, and behavior from place to place. These variations among subspecies have caught the attention of biologists interested in diversification, evolution, and speciation. This segment features footage from junco habitats across the continent as researchers try to decode the riddle of the Junco’s evolutionary history. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Chapter 3).
Harvard University, electrical engineers Rob Wood and Gu-Yeon Wei, and computer scientist Radhika Nagpal created the “RoboBee,” a miniature flying robot, inspired by the biology of a bee and the insect’s hive behavior. With support from the National Science Foundation and a program called Expeditions in Computing, Wood put together a diverse team of collaborators to get the RoboBee project off the ground. Ultimately, the researchers hope to build a colony in which the RoboBees interact, using their hive as a refueling station. They say RoboBees have the potential to be useful in a number of ways, including search and rescue missions, traffic monitoring, and weather mapping. Part of the National Science Foundation Series "Science Nation."
Part of "Show Me Science" series. Are animals intelligent? Bees communicate with each other. Monkeys use rocks and sticks to help them get food. Is this instinctual or is it evidence of thought? Some scientists believe that one measure of intelligence is self-awareness, and that an animal's reaction to its own image in a mirror can tell us whether or not it is self-aware. Looks at fish, birds, monkeys, and primates and their reactions to themselves in a mirror. Researchers look for signs of self-recognition as they observe, record, and interpret the reactions of these animals. Includes suggestions for careers in this field of study.
Proteins are the workhorses of cells. With support from the National Science Foundation, University of Arkansas biochemist James Hinton has been researching their structure and function for decades. Back in the 1990’s, he had a vision to study these huge protein structures in 3D and now, in cooperation with a company called Virtalis, his vision has become a reality. The new system allows researchers to enlarge the visual of a protein to room-size, so they can examine it from all angles, to better understand its structure and function. The new 3D visuals are also helping Hinton realize his other vision to better engage students in his discoveries and science in general.
We often hear about insects and other animals passing on diseases to humans, so-called zoonotic diseases, such as rabies, cholera, and West Nile virus. Now, for the first time, researchers are examining a disease that humans are spreading to an animal, specifically Elkhorn coral off the Florida Keys. With support from the National Science Foundation, Rollins College biologist Kathryn Sutherland is tracing this emerging infectious disease phenomenon, known as “reverse zoonosis.” Elkhorn coral was once the most common coral in the Caribbean, but it's now a threatened species due to population losses from White pox disease. Sutherland believes undertreated sewage, possibly from leaking septic tanks or illegal cruise ship discharge, could be the source of this disease.
Vanderbilt University researchers say they're working to unleash an insect repellent on mosquitoes that’s more powerful than DEET. The discovery could one day be effective in reducing the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria. It's based on a mosquito's sense of smell. With support from the National Science Foundation, Vanderbilt University biologist Laurence Zwiebel researched which mosquito genes are linked to odor reception. He discovered a separate odor sensor on a mosquito's antennae. According to Zwiebel, mosquitoes use odor sensors to sniff out humans and other tasty animals to bite. The new insect repellent compound takes advantage of his discovery by overwhelming the mosquito’s odor sensors to the point that they can't smell anything else and get scared away.
In this episode, citizens and scientists partner to gather data on many environmental concerns around the world. A group of citizen scientists track air and water pollution at fracking sites in Wyoming and 5 other states. They use simple but science-based techniques developed by the “Bucket Brigade.” Volunteers from Trout Unlimited monitor water quality regularly, generating baseline data that will prove invaluable in the event of future pollution events. Community members connected with professional researchers explore Flint’s drinking water crisis and help other cities test their water quality. In China, citizens use government data and a unique mobile app to report environmental crimes. Part of "The Crowd and the Cloud" series.
Teachers often say to students, “Put your thinking caps on,” and one day, students might just do that for real. Vanderbilt University psychologist Geoffrey Woodman says that’s because scientists are being equipped with more and more tools they can use to better understand the brain, and now, they can even eavesdrop on individual neurons. Initial support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) allowed Woodman and his team at the Vanderbilt University Visual Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory to study memory and perception. Then, the researchers tested their theory that electrical stimulation of the medial frontal cortex can boost learning and improve decision-making. Part of the National Science Foundation Series “Science Nation.”
Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is one of the best places on Earth to study processes within basaltic volcanoes. Its high eruption frequency, easy access to lavas, and distinct geologic setting far from plate boundaries or continents allow researchers to address fundamental problems related to active volcanoes. Another constant at Kilauea, besides the flowing lava, has been University of Hawaii geologist Mike Garcia. With support from the National Science Foundation, Garcia has been leading studies of Kilauea for a generation, adding to the extensive knowledge base on this volcano. Two of the primary goals are to determine what has triggered Kilauea’s effusive, explosive cycles over the last 2200 years and when long eruptions, such as the current one, will stop. Part of the National Science Foundation Series “Science Nation.”
Features different systems of measurement and their value to science in five separate segments. Stardust Elements: Looks at the life cycles of stars and explains how the death of a star seeds the universe with all the elements of the periodic table. End of Dinosaurs: Debates several scientific theories about why and how dinosaurs became extinct. Earthly Thermometers: Demonstrates how the Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Kelvin scales measure the same thing in different ways and why we need precise measurements of temperature. Frozen in Time: Pieces together the past of a 5,300-year-old man whose body was preserved in ice in the Italian Alps. Hurricanes Take the Heat: Follows researchers who study how hurricanes form and try to predict where the next one will strike.
Since the last ice age, plants in the Alaskan Arctic have been taking carbon out of the atmosphere and locking it away in the soil. But now, the permafrost is starting to thaw. That means all those microbes are about to find themselves at an all-you-can-eat carbon buffet. With support from the National Science Foundation, ecologist Matthew Wallenstein and a team from Colorado State University have come to the Toolik Field Station, deep inside the Arctic Circle, to drill soil cores for study. The researchers are trying to find out more about how microbes in the soil are cycling carbon from the Earth to the atmosphere. Part of the National Science Foundation Series “Science Nation.”
David Stahle travels to ancient forests around the world, collecting tree rings to learn more about major climate and historical events dating back hundreds and thousands of years. With help from the National Science Foundation, he uses dendrochronology, or tree-ring dating, to get a snapshot of climate change over time. Stahle runs the Tree-ring Lab at the University of Arkansas, where he and fellow tree-ring researchers are learning that a trend of global warming began in the 1800s and continues today, brought about by changes in tropical sea surface temperatures of no more than a few tenths of a degree Celsius. Today Stahle is working with hydrologists and government planners in California and throughout Mexico to plan for drought and climate change events.
The cochlear implant is widely considered to be the most successful neural prosthetic on the market. The implant, which helps individuals who are deaf perceive sound, translates auditory information into electrical signals that go directly to the brain, bypassing cells that don't serve this function as they should because they are damaged. Led by engineer Pamela Bhatti at the Georgia Institute of Technology, a team of researchers at both Georgia Tech and the Georgia Regents University created a new type of interface between the device and the brain that could dramatically improve the sound quality of the next generation of implants.
Some bandages are embedded with medicine to treat wounds, but researchers at Harvard University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have something much more sophisticated in mind for the future of chronic wound care. With support from the National Science Foundation, engineer Ali Khademhosseini and a multidisciplinary team are bringing together advances in sensors, biomaterials, tissue engineering, microsystems technology, and microelectronics to create “smart bandages” for wounds that require ongoing care. The devices, known collectively as flexible bioelectronics, will do much more than deliver medicine. They will be able to monitor all the vital signs of the healing process and make adjustments when needed, as well as communicate the information to health professionals who are off-site.
It’s widely believed that the younger one is, the easier it will be for one to learn a new language, and new research is finding that holds true for sign language as well. University of California, San Diego (UCSD), psychologist Rain Bosworth says that by five months old, babies are universal language sponges, attracted to language in their environment, and this includes sign language. With support from the National Science Foundation, Bosworth and her colleagues at the Infant Vision Lab (IVL) have been putting that theory to the test, investigating how deafness affects perception and cognition in babies, and the impact of early exposure to sign language. The team includes Karen Dobkins, director of IVL, So-One Hwang, of UCSD’s Center for Research in Language, and student researchers Adam Stone of Gallaudet University and Hector Borges of UCSD. Part of the National Science Foundation Series “Science Nation.”
Researchers at the state-of-the-art Structural Engineering and Materials Laboratory at the Georgia Institute of Technology are using a full-scale model building to test new ways to protect structures from earthquakes and potentially save lives. The three-story concrete building is based on designs common through much of the 20th century. It has been subjected to round after round of simulated temblors to test if materials such as carbon fiber or new shape-memory alloys can be used to reinforce the structure so it would remain standing in moderate to strong earthquakes. With support from the National Science Foundation, structural engineer Reginald DesRoches and his team have developed a series of retrofits of varying cost and intrusiveness to give building owners in quake-prone areas a range of choices for hardening their property.
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Resources to teach younger students about animals
A collection containing 58 resources, curated by DIAGRAM Center
