http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/The latest science and technology stories from Princeton University.en-usPrinceton University The potential cancellation of the NASA Kepler satellite mission would mark the end of an unparalleled source of information about planets and planetary systems outside of Earth's solar system, known as exoplanets, according to Princeton University astrophysicist Gáspár Bakos, who studies exoplanets and has discovered more than 40.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/90/70E83/index.xml?section=sciencescienceMorgan Kelly, Office of Communications2013-05-20T13:31-05:00 Princeton University senior Sofia Quinodoz took on two theses that pertain to an unseen and not fully understood action that is nonetheless felt by those it afflicts, be it in the form of an infection or the void of a loved one suddenly erased.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/84/75C93/index.xml?section=sciencescienceMorgan Kelly, Office of Communications2013-05-20T12:00-05:00 Using 3-D printing tools, scientists at Princeton University have created a functional ear that can "hear" radio frequencies far beyond the range of normal human capability.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/80/19M40/index.xml?section=sciencescienceJohn Sullivan, Office of Engineering Communications2013-05-08T13:30-05:00 Researchers based at Princeton University, the California Institute of Technology and Ashima Research suggest that Mars' roughly 3.5-mile high Mount Sharp most likely emerged as strong winds carried dust and sand into Gale Crater where the mound sits. If correct, the research could dilute expectations that the mound is the remnant of a massive lake, which would have important implications for understanding Mars' past habitability.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/75/92A05/index.xml?section=sciencescienceMorgan Kelly, Office of Communications2013-05-06T12:00-05:00 Princeton University President Shirley M. Tilghman has been elected by the American Society for Cell Biology to serve as the society's president in 2015. A member of the society since 1991, Tilghman received the Women in Cell Biology Senior Award in 2000. She will take office as president for a term of one year in January 2015.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/76/14G25/index.xml?section=sciencescienceStaff2013-05-03T16:59-05:00 Three Princeton University faculty members are among the 84 newly elected members of the National Academy of Sciences. They are Manjul Bhargava, the Brandon Fradd, Class of 1983, Professor of Mathematics; Susan Fiske, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology, and professor of psychology and public affairs; and Juan Maldacena, a visiting lecturer with the rank of professor in physics.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/74/21K49/index.xml?section=sciencescienceStaff2013-05-01T11:38-05:00 A multi-institutional study including researchers from Princeton University's Physical Sciences-Oncology Center found that cancer cells that can break out of a tumor and invade other organs are more aggressive and nimble than nonmalignant cells.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/69/93E64/index.xml?section=sciencescienceCatherine Zandonella, Office of the Dean for Research2013-04-26T13:00-05:00 Eight Princeton faculty members have been named fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. They are among 198 leaders in scholarship, business, science, the arts and public affairs elected this year in recognition of their contributions to their specific fields.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/69/07E29/index.xml?section=sciencesciencethe Office of Communications2013-04-25T12:44-05:00 Two Princeton University research projects — a new tool for visualizing drug therapy in the brain and a method for aiding the search for planets outside our solar system — have been selected to receive grants from Princeton's Eric and Wendy Schmidt Transformative Technology Fund.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/67/31K32/index.xml?section=sciencescienceCatherine Zandonella, Office of the Dean for Research2013-04-24T11:30-05:00 Scientists at Princeton University and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) are developing a unique process to verify that nuclear weapons to be dismantled or removed from deployment contain true warheads. The system would do so without measuring classified information that could lead to nuclear proliferation if the data were to be leaked.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/67/35Q61/index.xml?section=sciencescienceJohn Greenwald, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory2013-04-23T13:15-05:00 Princeton University neuroscientists are poised to play a leading role in revolutionizing our understanding of the human brain as outlined in President Barack Obama's BRAIN Initiative.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/62/91C75/index.xml?section=sciencescienceCatherine Zandonella, Office of the Dean for Research2013-04-18T14:45-05:00 Princeton University researchers have found that bad decisions might be the fault of faulty information, rather than errors in the brain's decision-making process.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/56/16S65/index.xml?section=sciencescienceCatherine Zandonella, Office of the Dean for Research2013-04-15T12:30-05:00 Princeton University researchers found that the brain breaks experiences into the "events," or related groups that help us mentally organize the day's many situations, using subconscious mental categories it creates. These categories are based on how the considers people, objects and actions are related in terms of how they tend to — or tend not to — pop up near one another at specific times.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/56/09E19/index.xml?section=sciencescienceMorgan Kelly, Office of Communications2013-04-10T12:08-05:00 Most term papers are evaluated by one or two people, but Carlee Joe-Wong's will be checked by hundreds. The paper, completed in 2010 as part of a junior-year independent project at Princeton University, has evolved into a research project involving wireless operators like AT&T and 1,000 participating wireless customers with mobile data plans. Along the way, it has also led to the development of a popular free app.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/44/93M74/index.xml?section=sciencescienceJohn Sullivan, Office of Engineering Communications2013-04-01T09:30-05:00 Alexander Polyakov, Princeton University's Joseph Henry Professor of Physics, was honored with the 2013 Fundamental Physics Prize for his lasting work in field and string theory. The $3 million prize was presented during a March 20 ceremony in Geneva by the Fundamental Physics Foundation.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/39/63C02/index.xml?section=sciencescienceStaff2013-03-22T11:30-05:00 As public health officials sound the alarm about the global spread of drug-resistant bacteria, researchers are working to develop more effective antibiotics to counter this dangerous trend. Now, results from a team including a Princeton University scientist offer a possible solution that uses the bacteria's own byproducts to destroy them.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/38/05A57/index.xml?section=sciencescienceJohn Sullivan, Office of Engineering Communications2013-03-21T12:10-05:00 The presence of endangered cats and primates in swamp forests might be seriously overlooked. Princeton research concludes that swamp forests beg further exploration as places where endangered species have preserved their numbers — and where humans could potentially preserve them into the future.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/20/75E65/index.xml?section=sciencescienceMorgan Kelly, Office of Communications2013-02-28T14:00-05:00 Princeton University researchers developed a model that can help determine the future range of nearly any disease-causing parasite under climate change, even if little is known about the organism. Their method calculates how the projected temperature change for an area would alter the creature's metabolism and life cycle.http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/12/94E59/index.xml?section=sciencescienceMorgan Kelly, Office of Communications2013-02-25T09:00-05:00 Despite years of research, the genetic factors behind many human diseases and characteristics remain unknown, and has been called the "missing heritability" problem. A new study by Princeton University researchers, however, suggests that heritability in humans may be hidden due only to the limitations of modern research tools, but could be discovered if scientists know where (and how) to look.  http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S36/13/86G93/index.xml?section=sciencescienceCatherine Zandonella, Office of the Dean for Research2013-02-22T09:00-05:00 Princeton University researchers report in the journal Science that collective intelligence is vital to certain animals' ability to evaluate and respond to their environment. The results should prompt a close examination of how endangered group or herd animals are preserved and managed because wild animals that depend on collective intelligence for migration, breeding and locating essential resources could be imperiled by any activity that diminishes or divides the group, such as overhunting and habitat loss.  http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S35/96/58O16/index.xml?section=sciencescienceMorgan Kelly, Office of Communications2013-01-31T15:30-05:00