illustration of Black Death

We fear them like the plague

July 23, 2024

After a human case of bubonic plague was recently confirmed in Pueblo County, CU Boulder scholar Thora Brylowe explores why it and all plagues inspire such terror.

President Joe Biden greets Vice President Kamala Harris as he arrives to deliver his State of the Union address, Tuesday, February 7, 2023, on the House floor of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

With Biden out and Harris in, here’s what to expect

July 23, 2024

Colorado Law professor Doug Spencer gives his take on Biden's decision to exit the race, the impacts on the president's legacy and the work ahead for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Smoke Stacks Against Blue Sky

Converting captured carbon to fuel: Study assesses what’s practical and what’s not

July 22, 2024

A new analysis sheds light on major shortfalls of a recently proposed approach to capture CO2 from air and directly convert it to fuel using electricity. The authors also provide a new, more sustainable, alternative.

a redpoll finch

The redpoll finch saga: How two bird species just became one

July 18, 2024

The American Ornithological Society reclassified two previously distinct species of finch as one, based on genetic research by CU Boulder scientists. The move knocks one name off birders’ “life list” and raises questions about what a species really is.

Man lifts drone with fixed wings out of the trunk of an SUV while other scientists work in background, and storm clouds brew above

Blockbuster science: Storm-chasing drone appears in ‘Twisters’

July 17, 2024

For years, CU Boulder engineers have helped to fly drones into the tumult of supercell thunderstorms across the United States' Tornado Alley. Now, their work will make an appearance in the summer blockbuster "Twisters."

Woman types on computer keyboard while a man looks at the monitor

Ancient viruses fuel modern-day cancers

July 17, 2024

Tens of millions of years ago, ancient viruses infected our primate ancestors, leaving flecks of DNA that made their way into the human genome. A new study suggests these “endogenous retroviruses” may not be as harmless as once believed.

Donald Trump with an extended arm and agents surrounding him, stands on a stage, American flag draped from above, stands with streams of blood across his face.

Seeing what develops from an instantly iconic photo

July 16, 2024

Assistant Professor Ross Taylor discusses an Associated Press photo, taken by Evan Vucci, in the moments after Donald Trump was shot—and what about its composition makes the image stand out.

A person in a purple Rockies T-shirt sits in a stadium, one arm crossed and the other extended to scratch her head.

Loving the losing baseball team

July 16, 2024

With the baseball season well underway, CU Boulder history professor Martin Babicz offers thoughts on why some fans remain loyal to baseball’s perennial losers.

Nathan Elexander Moore

Dystopian ‘fissures of disaster’ intensify our own world

July 15, 2024

In a newly published story collection, The Rupture Files, Assistant Professor Nathan Alexander Moore explores identity and community in dystopian worlds.

Insect with orange head and black and brown wings sits on a leaf

Searching for Colorado’s little-known fireflies

July 12, 2024

CU Boulder graduate student Owen Martin grew up in Colorado but had never seen a firefly in the state until three years ago. Now, he and his advisor Orit Peleg are trying to raise awareness of the Rocky Mountain region's glowing and "wonderous" insects.

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