National Science Foundation, Molecular Gastronomy, and the Human Genome Project

Plus, volcanoes with "blue lava"

Good morning. It's Tuesday, May 12, and welcome to this week's Science & Technology newsletter. First time reading? Sign up here or click here to share with friends.

This past Sunday, the National Science Foundation celebrated its 76th birthday, about two weeks after the firing of the independent board overseeing the agency. With this in mind, this week we're taking a look at what the NSF is, what it does, and some of the major impacts it has had on scientific progress.

Then, we'll go from the lab to the kitchen as we explore molecular gastronomy in honor of the 15th international workshop of the discipline, which took place last week. Finally, we'll take a look at the Human Genome Project, which was back in the news after the death of J. Craig Venter, whose company, Celera Genomics, raced the HGP to complete the sequencing of the human genome.

Let us know what you think! Whether it's feedback on our email format, a comment on this week's topics, suggestions for future coverage, or something else, we're happy to hear from readers. You can get in touch by simply replying to this email.

—Marco Daniel Machado, 1440 Science & Technology Section Editor

Editor's note: We've collected science-backed resources on cooking and cooking technologies on our Molecular Gastronomy page, including tips on when to salt dishes, why cooked pasta should not be rinsed, and how to make fried chicken even crispier. If you have any links you'd like us to add, please email them in!

Funding American Science Research

What is the National Science Foundation?

The National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency that supports US science and engineering research and education. This is primarily accomplished by awarding thousands of grants each year, including roughly 25% of all federally supported basic research at American colleges and universities. As of 2025, about 353,000 people have received NSF funding, including 274 Nobel Prize winners.

Recognizing science's role in winning World War II and following Vannevar Bush's report on promoting science during peacetime, Congress established the agency in 1950 to advance scientific progress, public health, and national defense. Its first 28 grants—averaging about $14,500 each—included awards for the Institute of Cancer Research and marine organism biology. Funding continues to be appropriated to proposals that pass an evaluation process involving about 50,000 reviewers, with $9.29B allocated in FY2024.

NSF funding has seeded the development of Doppler radar, LASIK eye surgery, American Sign Language, organ matching systems for transplants, and numerous STEM education programs. It has also helped fund major infrastructure projects, including the internet and observatories in atmospheric, oceanic, and astronomical sciences.

Since its inception, the NSF has been overseen by the National Science Board, whose 24 presidentially appointed members are subject to political oversight.

Learn even more by exploring all our findings on the National Science Foundation here.

Here's a sample of what we found ...

> A former proposal reviewer discusses how the NSF decides what to fund. (Read)

> The NSF has funded businesses and startups now worth billions, including Google and Qualcomm. (Listen)

> See a historical mural depicting the NSF's impact over seven decades. (View)

> Explore an animated list of nine federally funded scientific breakthroughs. (Read)

Where Cooking Meets Science

Molecular gastronomy, 101

Molecular gastronomy is the use of science to prepare food. While humans have long engaged in broader food science to improve the taste, production, preservation, and storage of food, molecular gastronomy seeks to understand the chemistry and physics that explain why and how food behaves under different conditions, such as temperature and acidity. It then applies these understandings to modify the taste, texture, or appearance of food when cooking (explore sample recipes).

The discipline emerged after industrial food producers had spent decades developing technologies to manufacture food for longevity and convenience for soldiers in World War II, astronauts in the space race, and a growing working class. In places like the first international molecular gastronomy conference in 1992, chefs investigated potential applications of these technologies, such as freeze-drying, juice concentration, and gelling, in professional kitchens.

By the 2000s, Spanish restaurant El Bulli had become the epicenter of innovation in molecular gastronomy, with workshops held there exploring new uses for liquid nitrogen, flavored air, and other novel substances. Workshop attendees and restaurant alumni—the Bullinianos—helped popularize these applications in fine dining restaurants worldwide. Today, science and technology continue to be used to create new dishes and improve food flavor, including in at-home settings.

Learn even more by exploring all our findings on Molecular Gastronomy here.

Here's a sample of what we found ...

> Water baths can be used to cook meats to ultra-precise temperatures. (Watch)

> The Scoville scale used to measure spiciness on "Hot Ones" isn't intended for sauces. (Watch)

> How do air fryers work? (Watch)

> Watch Anthony Bourdain explore unexpected texture and flavor combinations during a meal at El Bulli. (Watch)

Mapping Genetic Blueprints

Human Genome Project, explained

The Human Genome Project was an international collaboration to map all the genetic information found in humans and several organisms of importance in biological research. The HGP was proposed in the mid-1980s as a joint initiative by the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Energy to identify the genetic cause of illnesses and the genetic effects of radiation and energy-related chemicals.

From 1990 to 2003, more than 2,000 scientists from universities and research facilities worldwide sequenced more than 3 billion base pairs of a genetic tapestry built from 20 individuals from Buffalo, New York. The composite genome was cut into fragments (learn how), which were sent to 20 sequencing centers across the US, the UK, China, France, Germany, and Japan. At these centers, the fragments were processed and combined on computers to reassemble the entire genome (watch explainer).

The HGP is credited with accelerating bioinformatics by forcing the development of genome browsers and databases and promoting faster, less expensive sequencing methods. It would end with the publication of a 92% complete human genome sequence, which was finalized using new technologies in 2022.

Learn even more by exploring all our findings on the Human Genome Project here.

Here's a sample of what we found ...

> About 70% of the Human Genome Project's reference genome came from one donor. (Listen)

> As of 2025, the Synthetic Human Genome Project aims to construct human DNA. (Read)

> View the history of DNA sequencing methods. (View)

> A student researcher who worked on the Human Genome Project shares their perspective. (Listen)

Science Spotlight

Like all great scientists, we love spending time researching the latest scientific breakthroughs, tech releases, engaging explainers, and the connections between science and society that are making headlines. Here's what we found this week.

> Recapping the work behind the winners of the 'Oscars of science'
Science Weekly | Madeleine Finlay and Ian Sample. Established in 2012, the Breakthrough Prize sees scientists, tech leaders, and celebrities alike come together to honor major advancements in fundamental physics, life sciences, and mathematics. This year's winners included gene therapies for a type of inherited blindness and sickle cell disease, the measurement of the muon's magnetic moment, and advancements in the mathematics of waves and nonlinear systems. (Listen)

> Space trash falls to Earth faster during periods of higher solar activity

Frontiers | Michiel Dijkstra. Historical measurements spanning 36 years have shown that solar emissions exert a drag force once solar activity reaches approximately 67% of its peak, causing space debris to lose altitude faster. This result may improve future space mission planning to avoid collisions. (Read | Learn about Space Trash)

> Drone radar finds buried glaciers on Earth and may do the same on Mars

University of Arizona | Kylianne Chadwick. Ground-penetrating radar mounted on drones has been shown to be capable of mapping the thickness of rocky debris covering glaciers on Earth. Such technology may help future astronauts locate accessible water locked beneath the Martian surface. (Read | Learn about Mars)

> By adding water, some minerals can quickly convert carbon dioxide into rocks

Vienna University of Technology | Giada Franceschi and Ulrike Diebold. The mineral wollastonite was shown to directly incorporate and transform gaseous CO₂ into carbonate rock in the presence of water on its surface. Scientists had previously thought that this carbon capture method required dissolved rocks and CO₂ to be dissolved into charged particles first. (Read | Learn about Greenhouse Gases)

> An AI tool that can think up millions of undiscovered molecules

University of Rovira i Virgili | Staff. CoCoGraph uses algorithms similar to those found in generative systems to list plausible molecules that comply with the laws of chemistry and could therefore be realistic possibilities. Determining which molecules are biochemically useful remains a challenge. (Read | Learn about Generative AI)

Best of the Week

We curate hundreds of resources into 1440 Topics each week. Here are some of our favorites from the world of science and technology.

Read:

> How icy darts and particles from space help supercharge storm clouds into producing lightning.

> A look at why some volcanoes seem to spew out blue lava.
> Mythos: Why Anthropic has restricted access to its latest AI model.
> If gas prices have you thinking about going electric, learn how long EV batteries last.

> Scientists have 3D-printed microscopic objects inside living human cells.

Listen:

> If you ever wanted to meet all of your nutritional needs with just 10 foods, here's the definitive list.
> The challenges of studying microplastics in labs full of microplastics.

Watch:

> Our DNA reveals that humanity's ancestors may have been on the verge of extinction 930,000 years ago.

> How do scientists define units and decide which units to use?

Explore:

> Make a flute, saxophone, trumpet, or violin recreation out of any piece of audio.

Thank you to our readers for inspiring us with their questions! Curious about something in science and technology? Tell us here.

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National Science Foundation, Molecular Gastronomy, and the Human Genome Project