CU-Boulder researchers confirm leaks from Front Range oil and gas operations

May 7, 2014

During two days of intensive airborne measurements, oil and gas operations in Colorado’s Front Range leaked nearly three times as much methane, a greenhouse gas, as predicted based on inventory estimates, and seven times as much benzene, a regulated air toxic. Emissions of other chemicals that contribute to summertime ozone pollution were about twice as high as estimates, according to the new paper, accepted for publication in the American Geophysical Union ’s Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres .

GPS Network

CU-Boulder, Mesa County team up to make snow-depth data free to water managers, farmers, public

May 7, 2014

A University of Colorado Boulder professor who developed a clever method to measure snow depth using GPS signals is collaborating with Western Slope officials to make the data freely available to a variety of users on a daily basis.

Researcher taking a photo

International team maps nearly 200,000 glaciers in quest of sea-level rise estimates

May 6, 2014

An international team led by glaciologists from the University of Colorado Boulder and Trent University in Ontario, Canada has completed the first mapping of virtually all of the world’s glaciers -- including their locations and sizes -- allowing for calculations of their volumes and ongoing contributions to global sea rise as the world warms.

Novel antioxidant makes old arteries seem young again, CU-Boulder study finds

May 5, 2014

An antioxidant that targets specific cell structures—mitochondria—may be able to reverse some of the negative effects of aging on arteries, reducing the risk of heart disease, according to a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder. When the research team gave old mice—the equivalent of 70- to 80-year-old humans—water containing an antioxidant known as MitoQ for four weeks, their arteries functioned as well as the arteries of mice with an equivalent human age of just 25 to 35 years.

CU-Boulder launches new crowdfunding platform to support student, faculty and staff projects

May 2, 2014

The University of Colorado Boulder today launched CU-Boulder Crowdfunding, an online pilot platform to help drive the ideas generated by students, faculty and staff. Crowdfunding is the practice of sourcing small contributions from a large number of people to provide funding for a particular project or campaign, usually via the Internet.

CU Boulder logo

Five CU-Boulder students offered Fulbright awards for 2014-15

May 1, 2014

Five University of Colorado Boulder graduate students or alumni have been offered Fulbright grants to pursue teaching, research and graduate studies abroad during the 2014-15 academic year. One doctoral student’s proposed topic of study in Thailand is the use of ultraviolet light and LED (light-emitting diode) technology to remove pathogens from reusable wastewater. Another doctoral student plans to study media practices and products in Australia that shape a particular Aboriginal identity.

Candidate probiotics

Sample of a frog’s slimy skin predicts susceptibility to disease, says CU-Boulder researcher

April 30, 2014

A simple sample of the protective mucus layer that coats a frog’s skin can now be analyzed to determine how susceptible the frog is to disease, thanks to a technique developed by a researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder. The same method can be used to determine what kind of probiotic skin wash might be most effective at bolstering the frog’s defenses without actually exposing the frog to disease, according to a journal article published today in the journal PLOS ONE.

Neanderthals were not inferior to modern humans, says CU-Boulder study

April 30, 2014

If you think Neanderthals were stupid and primitive, it’s time to think again. The widely held notion that Neanderthals were dimwitted and that their inferior intelligence allowed them to be driven to extinction by the much brighter ancestors of modern humans is not supported by scientific evidence, according to a researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Atmospheric River

CU-Boulder researchers find common factors behind Greenland melt episodes in 2012, 1889

April 24, 2014

In 2012, temperatures at the summit of Greenland rose above freezing for the first time since 1889, raising questions about what led to the unusual melt episode. Now, a new analysis led by the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder shows that some of the same weather and climate factors were at play in both 1889 and 2012: heat waves thousands of miles upwind in North America, higher-than-average ocean surface temperatures south of Greenland and atmospheric rivers of warm, moist air that streamed toward Greenland’s west coast.

Leslie Leinwand

CU-Boulder biologist Leslie Leinwand elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

April 23, 2014

University of Colorado Boulder biologist Leslie Leinwand has been selected as a member of the 2014 class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which honors the leading “thinkers and doers” from each generation, including scientists, scholars, writers and artists.

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