Biological Sciences

As part of the effort to reduce childhood lead poisoning, scientists at RTI International, under contract with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have developed a new field method for measuring the amount of lead in paint that is faster and less expensive than current methods.
| 2 min read

When the first warm rays of springtime sunshine trigger a burst of new plant growth, its almost as if someone flicked a switch to turn on the greenery and unleash a floral profusion of color. Opening a window into this process, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energys (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, have deciphered the structure of a molecular switch much like the one plants use to sense light.
| 3 min read

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and principal investigator Glenn Monastersky have been awarded a four-year $2.45 million grant from the New York Stem Cell Science Program (NYSTEM) of the Empire State Stem Cell Board.
| 2 min read

You might think bacteria that invade trees are there to cause certain destruction. But like the helpful bacteria that live within our guts, some microbes help plants thrive. To find out what makes these microbe-plant interactions tick, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energys (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory decoded the genome of a plant-dwelling microbe theyd previously shown could increase plant growth by 40 percent.
| 3 min read

To support basic research that will build a foundation for generating sustainable, science-based solutions to agricultural problems in developing countries, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded 15 grants in the inaugural year of the Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development (BREAD) program.
| 3 min read

The NIH recently published its annual report on funding levels for various research, condition, and disease categories. Since the NIH is a government institution, it should come as no surprise that the biggest changes came in areas that have been the subject of fierce political debate, the most volatile area of which being stem cell research.
| 4 min read









