National Science Foundation - Where Discoveries Begin

An aerial view of Long Island shows its low-lying shores, vulnerable to sea-level rise effects.

This map shows projected sea-level rise; the bar at the bottom is in centimeters.

Rats in Baltimore, and likely other urban areas, are loyal to their neighborhoods.

Artist's rendition of the Alaska Region Research Vessel.

The Alaska Region Research Vessel will be 242 feet in length.

Norway and other rats leave behind tell-tale signs of their passage.

In Baltimore, scientists have found, rats--and the diseases they carry--remain close to home.

Crossing the Great Basin, the surface offers no clues to the lithospheric drip below.

The Great Basin is a desert region of parallel mountain ranges separated by valleys.

New seismic images of Earth's mantle beneath the Great Basin show a "lithospheric drip."

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Jessica Hellmann explains the need to balance the risks of action and inaction.

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Jessica Hellmann explains the criteria for choosing candidates for managed relocation.

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Jessica Hellmann distinguishes between managed relocation and invasive species.

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Jessica Hellmann explains the justification for managed relocation.

A tortoise on the edge of Athens, Greece.

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This video depicts the spreading pattern of a Bluetooth mobile phone virus.

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This time-lapse image depicts the spread of a MMS (multimedia messaging system) mobile phone virus.

The researchers' finding appear in the May 22, 2009, issue of Science magazine.

This image shows the different mechanisms of virus transmission between mobile phones.

JILA's strontium optical atomic clock is now the world's most accurate clock based on neutral atoms.

A weather station monitors conditions at Jellyfish Lake.

One jellyfish "portrait" among millions, in the turquoise-blue waters of Jellyfish Lake.

A view of Jellyfish Lake, with golden jellyfish following the sun across a wind-rippled surface.

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World renowned physicists discuss the science of antimatter and the excitement of particle physics.

MPS 2008 - 2009 Distinguished Lecture Series Speakers

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NSB's Vannevar Bush Award Recipient Mildred Dresselhaus of MIT.