National Science Foundation - Where Discoveries Begin

The faster an animal grows, the more currency of energy it must expend.

Gemini Observatory discovery image using the Altair adaptive optics system on Gemini North.

Artist's conception of the multiple planet system, initially discovered with Gemini North optics.

The research appears in the November 14, 2008 issue of Science magazine.

A recently-discovered jellyfish has been found at newly discovered vents in the Pacific Ocean.

Aboard the research vessel Kilo Moana, scientists sample the South Pacific Ocean for microbes.

An under-microscope view shows clusters of cyanobacteria collected in the Pacific Ocean.

Two cyanobacteria fluoresce brightly inside a diatom seen under a microscope.

One of the most costly and destructive agricultural pests is moth larva.

Clues found in nanoparticles may help produce environmentally clean energy.

Brazilian free-tailed bats emerge from Frio Cave in south-central Texas.

Machupuchare in the Himalaya in central Nepal is a mountain influenced by variation in monsoons.

Asian monsoons, Northern Hemisphere temperatures and alpine glacier data are compared.

Unusually aggressive youth show increased brain activity when seeing others in pain.

Surprise: Researchers expected almost no empathetic reaction from bullies seeing others in pain.

Ecologists and oceanographers are attempting to predict future climate based on that of the past.

In the coming decades, millions of people will leave their home countries and settle elsewhere.

The researchers' findings are published in the Nov. 7, 2008, issue of Science.

Fungi known as endophytes live harmlessly in plant hosts.

Cultures of the fungus Gliocladium roseum produce hydrocarbons.

The temporary ice runway at Australia's Davis Station (at left).

The route taken by the medevac flight.

The approach to Davis Station (at right).

James Griffith, coordinator of Jonathan Arnold's lab, goes over data from the clock project.

Jonathan Arnold (left) and Heinz-Bernd Schuttler (right) discuss their work on biological clocks.

An LC-130 Hercules flies in February 2008.

A ski-equipped Hercules LC-130 refuels in Antarctica