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March 20, 2000

For more information on these science news and feature story tips, please contact the public information officer at the end of each item at (703) 292-8070. Editor: Peter West

Industry and Universities Benefit Most from Federal R&D; Spending

More than three-quarters of the estimated federal dollars designated for research and development (R&D;) in fiscal year 2000 will go to industry, academic and other non-federal sectors, according to a 1999 National Science Foundation (NSF) survey of federal agencies.

Industry will receive almost 42 percent ($32.2 billion) of federal R&D; funds, while nearly 20 percent ($15.3 billion) will go to universities and colleges, according to the survey from NSF’s Division of Science Resources Studies.

Of the federal R&D; dollars going to industry in FY 2000, the survey showed that 75 percent ($24.3 billion) comes from the Department of Defense (DoD).

The Department of Health and Human Services is the largest single source of federal funds going to university and college R&D;, providing 60 percent ($9.2 billion) of the total. NSF provides 15 percent ($2.3 billion) of federal R&D; to universities and colleges, and DoD provides 9 percent ($1.4 billion). [Charles S. Drum]

For more information, see: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/databrf/db00309.htm

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Acid-Loving Microbe Key to Mine Pollution

Archeons, newly discovered microbes that eat iron and thrive in acid-drenched conditions, are the chief suspects in the environmental damage caused by metal-ore mining, according to a team of NSF-funded scientists affiliated with the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

They report the discovery in an old mine of an archaeon that thrives when metal sulfide ores are exposed to air and water, conditions that mimic hot battery acid.

The field work was conducted at the Iron Mountain Mine in Redding, Calif. The research was supported by NSF's cross-disciplinary Life in Extreme Environments (LExEn) program.

The microbe, say the scientists, is present in such abundance that it is believed to be a mediator of the process of acidic mine drainage, the primary environmental problem associated with the extraction of metal ores. The microbe transforms the sulfide found in metal ores into sulfuric acid, the chemical that contaminates mining sites and often drains into nearby rivers, streams and groundwater.

"We think this new archaeon might be one of the more important players in catalyzing these reactions," says Katrina Edwards, a geomicrobiologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass. Edwards and Jillian Banfield, a geologist at the University of Wisconsin, say the discovery of the new microbe is important because it explains how the conversion of sulfide to sulfuric acid near mines is greatly accelerated. [Cheryl Dybas]

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Can Robots Make Solar Energy More Cost Effective?

As the cost of fossil fuels rises steadily, new types of computer-operated robotics, such as intelligent learning robots, and robots making robots, could potentially reduce the cost of manufacturing solar power systems dramatically. Solar systems provide clean, renewable energy but are currently too expensive to be widely used as an alternative fuel.

University and private-sector researchers will meet to explore whether radical breakthroughs in robotic labor would bring down the cost of producing solar energy systems. A workshop will take place April 5-7 at NSF headquarters in Arlington, Va. where scientists will consider high-risk, exploratory research that could yield enormous economic returns in terms of long-range energy supplies and solutions to global warming.

The workshop, co-sponsored by NASA, will examine the use of robotics in both earth- and space-based applications of solar energy. [Amber Jones]

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-NSF-

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