Investing for the 21st Century

President Asks Almost $4 Billion for NSF's Fiscal Year 2000 Budget
The National Science Foundation (NSF) on February 1 outlined a record budget request for fiscal year 2000 amounting to nearly $4 billion. The request includes a major focus on funding for bold, cutting-edge research efforts, both as the lead agency in the Administration's Information Technology for the Twenty-first Century (IT²) initiative, and for exploring the role of biocomplexity in the environment (BE). "The President's budget for NSF represents a solid investment in the nation's research and education enterprise. It will assist the nation in efforts to compete effectively in today's global marketplace while also adding to our understanding of the complex world in which we exist," Rita Colwell, NSF director, said.    More...

NSF'S Highest Honor For New Faculty Fosters Integration of Research and Education
The National Science Foundation (NSF) honored 338 outstanding new science and engineering faculty members nationwide in fiscal year 1998 with Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) awards totaling approximately $80 million. CAREER awards support exceptionally promising college and university junior faculty who are committed to the integration of research and education. Wishing to nurture professorial career development, NSF places a high value on the synthesis of research and education as integral to stimulating the discovery and learning process. The 1998 awardees were selected from among more than 1,600 applicants.    More...

Large Gene Study Questions Cambrian Explosion Theory
The ancestors of major groups of animal species began populating Earth more than 600 million years earlier than indicated by their fossil remains, according to the largest study ever on the subject using gene sequences. The recently completed study at Penn State University, funded in part by NSF, suggests that animals have been evolving steadily into different species for at least 1200 million years. This suggestion challenges a popular theory known as the Cambrian Explosion that proposes the sudden appearance of most major animal groups, known as phyla, 530 million years ago. A paper describing the research was published in the January 22, 1999, issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London (Series B) by Penn State scientists Daniel Y.-C. Wang, Sudhir Kumar, and S. Blair Hedges.    More...

"...In the Nest..."
One of the potential outcomes of having several mates is the spread of disease. But is there an evolutionary benefit to exchanging possibly harmful bacteria within a population? In birds, multiple partners may be a good thing. NSF-funded University of Kentucky biologist David Westneat is studying the effects of sexually transmitted bacteria in populations of red-winged blackbirds. Westneat's study is among the first to examine the consequences of bacteria on mating patterns of wild songbirds.    More...

Photo courtesy of David Westneat, University of Kentucky