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NSF Funded Research News

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-Jun-2025 18:10 ET (22-Jun-2025 22:10 GMT/UTC)

30-Apr-2025

From structure to function: Tailoring wurtzite MgSiN₂ for next-generation electronics

Institute of Science Tokyo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Nitrides with a wurtzite structure are widely used in cutting-edge technologies, from blue light-emitting diodes to high-frequency noise filters in smartphones. Now, for the first time, scientists from Institute of Science Tokyo have successfully synthesized a wurtzite-structured MgSiN₂ thin film, an insulating nitride containing two elements. This material exhibits compatible optical and piezoelectric properties, paving the way for new energy conversion materials, ferroelectric memory, and next-generation electronic devices.

Journal: Advanced Electronic Materials
Funder: Japan Science and Technology Agency, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy

29-Apr-2025

Palatable versus poisonous: Eavesdropping bats must learn to identify which prey is safe to eat

Smithsonian
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) found that the fringe-lipped bat, known to eavesdrop on frog and toad mating calls to find its prey, learns to distinguish between palatable and unpalatable frogs and toads through experience. The findings, published April 29 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, provide the first evidence that eavesdropping predators fine-tune their hunting cues over the course of their development.

Journal: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B Biological Sciences
Funder: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. National Science Foundation

29-Apr-2025

Using “shallow shadows” to uncover quantum properties

University of California - San Diego
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Traditional methods of looking into quantum systems often require immense resources. Researchers from UC San Diego, IBM Quantum, Harvard and UC Berkeley have developed a new technique that allows scientists to extract essential information more efficiently and accurately.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Defense

29-Apr-2025

Synchrotron in a closet: Bringing powerful 3D X-ray microscopy to smaller labs

University of Michigan
Peer-Reviewed Publication

For the first time, researchers can study the microstructures inside metals, ceramics and rocks with X-rays in a standard laboratory without needing to travel to a particle accelerator, according to a study led by University of Michigan engineers.

Journal: Nature
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy

29-Apr-2025

Will the vegetables of the future be fortified using tiny needles?

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

MIT researchers showed they can inexpensively nanomanufacture silk microneedles to precisely fortify crops, monitor plant health, and detect soil toxins.

Journal: Nature Nanotechnology
Funder: U.S. Office of Naval Research, U.S. National Science Foundation, SMART, National Research Foundation of Singapore, Singapore Prime Minister’s Office

28-Apr-2025

Light-based data made clearer with new machine learning method

Rice University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Rice researchers have developed a new machine learning algorithm that excels at interpreting optical spectra, potentially enabling faster and more precise medical diagnoses and sample analysis.

Journal: ACS Nano
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation, NIH/National Institutes of Health, Welch Foundation

28-Apr-2025

New research on bird behavior suggests that evolution may repeat itself

Indiana University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The study found that bird species who nest in tree cavities have independently evolved heightened aggression across lineages, particularly in females.

Journal: Nature
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation

28-Apr-2025

Trouble hearing in noisy places and crowded spaces? Researchers say new BU-developed algorithm could help hearing aid users

Boston University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

BU researchers develop a brain-inspired algorithm that can help people with hearing loss pick out conversations in noisy, crowded spaces.

Journal: Communications Engineering
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health, U.S. National Science Foundation, Demant Foundation

28-Apr-2025

High-wire act: Soft robot can carry cargo up and down steep aerial wires

North Carolina State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have created a light-powered soft robot that can carry loads through the air along established tracks, similar to cable cars or aerial trams. The soft robot operates autonomously, can climb slopes at angles of up to 80 degrees, and can carry loads up to 12 times its weight.

Journal: Advanced Science
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation

28-Apr-2025

A vast molecular cloud, long invisible, is discovered near solar system

Rutgers University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An international team of scientists led by a Rutgers University-New Brunswick astrophysicist has discovered a potentially star-forming cloud that is one of the largest single structures in the sky and among the closest to the sun and Earth ever to be detected. The scientists have named the molecular hydrogen cloud “Eos,” after the Greek goddess of mythology who is the personification of dawn. Their discovery is outlined in a study published in Nature Astronomy.

Journal: Nature Astronomy
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation, NASA Headquarters, U.S. National Science Foundation, NASA Headquarters, Royal Society, Royal Society, National Research Foundation of Korea, National Research Foundation of Korea