Content about North America

Modern farming practices are often blamed for the rise in greenhouse gas emissions. A new big data analysis indicates change in land use might be as much to blame. With an eye to best practices, researchers see solutions to mitigate these contributors to climate change.

Novel algorithms and high-performance computational techniques have simplified and accelerated genome assembly. Scientists from Berkeley Lab have used the Edison supercomputer to reduce a months-long process to mere minutes.

Researchers at Virginia Tech have modeled and mapped grape production across an area spanning 19 states along the eastern US. Supercomputers helped crunch the numbers and stomp the grapes in an effort to speed wine development in the region. What these scientists have learned could aid farmers across the world and protect crops as our climate changes.

Knowing how much matter the universe contains calls for the most precise cosmological cartography. Using maps garnered from DECam imagery and Argonne National Laboratory data processing, astrophysicists are confirming galaxy distribution follows dark matter distribution. 

The search for intelligent life in the universe continues. Astronomers are using DiRAC and Piz Daint supercomputers to learn how stellar winds change radio signals emitted from exoplanets so radio telescopes know how to listen.

Brookhaven National Laboratory is preparing for a new wave of discoveries. PHENIX is in its final runs, but superPHENIX waits in the wings.

Upgrading its PHENIX detector and Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for BNL and high-energy physics.

Supercomputer simulations help Hubble see farther into the universe and reveal a startling fact: It’s not as crowded as once thought. Don’t worry though, you’re still not alone.

Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory are modeling huge ocean eddies to track their ability to move particles – including carbon dioxide – into the deep. This work will help prioritize a global response to climate change.

Digital humanists look into the past to tell us about our present. Armed with supercomputing and artificial intelligence, they read big data archives for patterns and meanings otherwise hidden to the human reader. Douglas Duhaime is combing these repositories to trace the reuse of ideas; what he’s discovering will help catch thieves and maybe rewrite history – again.

The Merlin smartphone app has the solution to your bird watching mysteries. Now, Merlin Bird Photo ID takes it one step farther, identifying birds from uploaded photos. Crowd sourcing and artificial intelligence come together to answer a frequently asked question: What bird is that?