NSF Science Now

Our oceans are home to more than 90% of all living creatures. With many hidden deep on the ocean floor, a submersible is the only way to reach them. Scientists in used the submersible, Alvin, to make amazing discoveries, including these ancient deep-sea coral reefs recently discovered within the Galápagos Marine Reserve. Recently upgraded, this 3-person submarine can dive to depths of 4 miles or 6500 meters, giving it access to 99% of the ocean floor, and scientists a front-row seat to some spectacular seafloor terrains and phenomena.

The tallest full-scale building ever built on an earthquake simulator was put to the test at UC San Diego: A 10-story building made of cross-laminated timber, known as the Tallwood project, is the tallest full-scale building ever to be constructed and tested on an earthquake simulator, or shake table.

The shake table simulated earthquake motions recorded during prior earthquakes covering a range of earthquake magnitudes on the Richter scale, from magnitude 4 to magnitude 8, including various iterations of the 6.7 magnitude Northridge earthquake which struck Los Angeles in 1994 .

Today's Artificial Intelligence models are smart but lack the commonsense knowledge humans use to detect what motivates others' actions. A new study by New York University researchers finds that infants use this commonsense psychology to understand intentions, goals, and preferences, essential for social interactions, allowing infants to think in ways even adults take for granted. Understanding how infants possess this knowledge could help build more powerful A.I. systems capable of performing complex tasks with human cognitive abilities.

Today we'll talk about fabricating a human heart, new ways to diagnose Alzheimer's, and check out how AI is saving forests. -This is NSF's "Science…Now."

In Episode 79-22, we explore using virtual reality for de-escalation training for police officers and investigate harmful heavy metals found in our oceans.

In this week's episode: Researchers analyzed the remains and DNA of early human remains dating back to 18,000 to 5,000 years ago. Also, engineers at Northwestern University have developed FaceBit, a lightweight sensor that attaches to any N95, cloth, or surgical mask. It can sense respiration rate, heart rate, mask wear time and even monitor for leaks in N95's.

In this week’s episode of NSF Science Now, we explore a 3D model of a mountain-sized rock that could be an earthquake lightning rod and watch a cheetah robot learn to adapt to changing environments, even setting a new speed record! Check it out on NSF Science Now.

Just when you thought your smartwatch could do it all, there’s more. Researchers at UCLA with funding from the National Science Foundation have designed a double-sided, thin adhesive film that attaches to the underside of a smartwatch. It analyzes the chemical makeup of droplets of sweat, tracking things like your glucose and lactate -- highly specific indicators of your health.  Giving you a real-time snapshot of how well your metabolism is working and what is happening inside your body.  While right now, the film only works with the team’s custom smartwatch and app to record data, they see the film someday being applied to popular models of smartwatches.

Penn engineers with funding from the National Science Foundation, have nanocardboard plates able to levitate when bright light is shone on them. This fleet of tiny aircraft could someday explore the skies of other worlds, including Mars. The thinner atmosphere there would give the flyers a boost, enabling them to carry payloads ten times as massive as they are, making them an efficient, light-weight alternative to the Mars helicopter.