EurekAlert! National Science Foundation - NSF Funded Research News

NSF Funded Research News

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 20-Oct-2026 20:16 ET (21-Oct-2026 00:16 GMT/UTC)

Molecular 'bypasses' improve grass plants’s synthesis of lignin and starch, laying the early groundwork for evolutionary success

University of Wisconsin-Madison
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Like a beltway that creates a more flexible traffic flow in a city, metabolic bypasses led to efficient and robust synthesis of both lignin and starch, chemical compounds that are critical for plants. These more efficient pathways could explain why grass plants are so successful in nature and agriculture.

Journal: Science
Funder: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Gatsby Charitable Foundation, Joint Genome Institute, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

SUNY Potsdam Faculty awarded National Science Foundation grant to study paleosalinity of ancient sedimentary rocks

SUNY Potsdam
Grant and Award Announcement

Two SUNY Potsdam geoscientists have been awarded a National Science Foundation grant to investigate the chemistry of ancient waters preserved in sedimentary rocks across Atlantic Canada, research that could shed new light on the evolution of life on land and the distribution of energy and mineral resources.

RNA droplets may have helped start life on Earth. A new study explains why they form

University at Buffalo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A tiny chemical difference helps make RNA better than DNA at condensing into liquid-like droplets under high temperatures and acidic conditions.

Journal: Nature Communications

FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researchers design magnetically levitated quantum bit

Florida State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and the Florida State University-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory have designed new quantum computing architecture that uses magnetic levitation to smooth over design flaws in the intricate bits necessary to run a quantum computer.

Journal: PRX Quantum
Funder: Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Florida State University Quantum Initiative Program

Researchers develop electronic skin for prosthetics to sense temperature and pressure

Washington State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An electronic skin with a sensing system that can detect pressure and temperature could someday be used to help amputees gain feeling in their prosthetics.

Journal: Cell Reports Physical Science

New holographic printer makes 3D shapes—voids and all—in one shot

University of Utah
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the University of Utah and The University of Texas at Austin have demonstrated a new method of 3D printing that avoids the leaky seams that come with the layer-by-layer process. Using a nanoscale “mask” that diffracts laser light into a holographic pattern of the desired shape, it fuses its print material solid in one shot much faster than other printing methods.

Journal: Science Advances
Funder: Robert A. Welch Foundation

Buildings that cool like African elephants

University of Pennsylvania
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Inspired by the cracked, water-retaining skin of African elephants, architect Dorit Aviv and materials scientist Shu Yang have designed a cement-based tile that captures and slowly evaporates water, lowering surface temperatures without air conditioning.

Journal: Advanced Materials

Plants could transform how we measure tidal marshes

Boston University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A BU study finds plant species predict emissions better than salinity.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

SUNY Poly joins $19.9 million National Science Foundation initiative to accelerate AI-driven materials discovery

SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Grant and Award Announcement

SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) is playing a key role in a new national research initiative led by Rice University, which has received a $19.9 million award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The project will use artificial intelligence, robotics, and cloud-based laboratories to accelerate the discovery and manufacturing of next-generation electronic and quantum materials.

Genetic ‘switches’ could program 3D-printed bone tissue for blood vessel growth

Penn State
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An interdisciplinary team of engineers and chemists at Penn State has laid the groundwork to 3D print spheroids — tiny clusters of living cells — capable of regenerating bone tissue in response to severe trauma or infections. The process layers the fundamental building blocks of an organ tissue, known as bioprinting, and can create cell clusters optimized to support bone tissue regeneration.

Journal: Chemical Engineering Journal

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