Diet likely changed game for some hominids 3.5 million years ago, says CU-Boulder study

June 3, 2013

A new look at the diets of ancient African hominids shows a “game changer” occurred about 3.5 million years ago when some members added grasses or sedges to their menus, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder.

Water-rock reaction may provide enough hydrogen ‘food’ to sustain life in cool parts of the ocean’s crust or on Mars

May 30, 2013

A chemical reaction between iron-containing minerals and water may produce enough hydrogen “food” to sustain microbial communities living in pores and cracks within the enormous volume of rock below the ocean floor and parts of the continents, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder. The findings, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, also hint at the possibility that hydrogen-dependent life could have existed where iron-rich igneous rocks on Mars were once in contact with water.

5 CU-Boulder students patent medical device through partnership with CU Cancer Center researcher

May 29, 2013

Five University of Colorado Boulder students have partnered with a researcher at the University of Colorado Cancer Center to file a patent for a medical device that lets researchers quickly, easily and inexpensively isolate a patient’s cancer cells for genetic tests that allow doctors to target the disease.

CU-Boulder organizing effort to establish unmanned aircraft test site in Colorado

May 24, 2013

A state application organized by the University of Colorado Boulder has been submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration for the development of one of six unmanned aircraft systems test sites slated to be established across the United States .

CU-Boulder physics prof Ivan Smalyukh receives Early Career Award from DOE

May 23, 2013

University of Colorado Boulder faculty member Ivan Smalyukh is among 61 scientists to receive a 2013 Early Career Award from the U.S. Department of Energy . Smalyukh, an assistant professor of physics and a founding fellow of the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute , or RASEI, has been awarded $750,000 over five years. RASEI is a joint venture between CU-Boulder and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

CU-Boulder students partner with middle school to teach financial literacy

May 22, 2013

As the school year wraps up, students at Summit Charter Middle School in Boulder will debrief on how their $25,000 stock portfolio performed. The middle school students invested money under supervision as part of a course created and taught by accounting and finance students from the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business .

CU-Boulder helps tap crowds to digitize museum records of bugs and plants

May 21, 2013

Inside the natural history museums of the world are billions of animal and plant specimens from birds, fish and beetles to flowers, mushrooms and grasses, all stacked, stored and preserved in jars and collection drawers. The rich and diverse collections could be critical to understanding how the Earth’s biodiversity is changing in the face of a growing human footprint — if only the information were easily accessible.

Northern hemisphere losing last dry snow region, says CU study

May 20, 2013

Last July, something unprecedented in the 34-year satellite record happened: 98 percent of the Greenland Ice Sheet’s surface melted, compared to roughly 50 percent during an average summer. Snow that usually stays frozen and dry turned wet with melt water. Research led by the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences now shows last summer’s extreme melt could soon be the new normal.

Google and CU-Boulder partner to offer innovative computer teacher education workshop July 10-12

May 16, 2013

Google Inc. and the University of Colorado Boulder computer science department are partnering to inspire high school and middle school teachers looking for motivating, engaging and fun ways to prepare students for college and career success during an activities-packed workshop July 10-12.

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