Posts Tagged ‘University of Colorado at Boulder’
Science & Technology - Nov 24, 2009 17:29 - 4 Comments
Massive cocoons cradled earliest black holes
COLORADO (US)—The first large black holes in the universe likely formed and grew deep inside gigantic, starlike cocoons that smothered their powerful x-ray radiation and prevented surrounding gases from being blown away. (more…)
Science & Technology - Nov 10, 2009 18:03 - 0 Comments
Space Station to host hatching butterflies
U. COLORADO (US)—When NASA’s space shuttle Atlantis launches for the International Space Station on Nov. 16 it will carry a butterfly experiment that will be monitored by thousands of K-12 students across the nation. The public, too, can view images and keep tabs on the project at http://bioedonline.org and www.monarchwatch.org/space. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Nov 6, 2009 12:37 - 3 Comments
Humans host melting pot of ‘personal’ bacteria
U. COLORADO (US)—People carry “personalized” communities of bacteria around that vary widely from our foreheads and feet to our noses and navels, says chemistry professor Rob Knight. He’s part of a research team that has developed the first atlas of bacterial diversity across the human body. (more…)
Science & Technology - Nov 5, 2009 14:21 - 3 Comments
Runners gain no advantage from prosthetic legs
U. COLORADO (US)—Amputees who use running-specific prosthetic legs have no performance advantage over counterparts who use their biological legs, according to a recent study. (more…)
Science & Technology - Oct 21, 2009 17:05 - 3 Comments
Playing hide and seek with exoplanets
U. COLORADO (US)—A precise “laser ruler” is being developed to look for Earth-like planets around other stars. The device will measure tiny changes in infrared light caused by the gravitational wobble of small, cool stars as they are tugged back and forth by their rocky planets. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Oct 20, 2009 11:32 - 0 Comments
Arctic cores signal ‘unique’ climate shift
U. COLORADO (US)—An analysis of sediment cores indicates that biological and chemical changes occurring at a remote Arctic lake are unprecedented over the past 200,000 years and likely are the result of human-caused climate change. (more…)
Society & Culture - Oct 15, 2009 16:26 - 0 Comments
Images capture details of ancient tablets
U. CHICAGO (US)—High-quality scans of ancient documents discovered in Iran are shedding new light on Imperial Aramaic, the dialect used for international communication and record-keeping in many parts of the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires, including parts of the administration at the imperial court of Persepolis. (more…)
Society & Culture - Oct 12, 2009 16:17 - 5 Comments
Impulse control comes late for teens
UC IRVINE (US)—Teens may not be able to fully control impulses and resist peer pressure until they reach their early 20s, according to a new study of adolescent judgment and decision-making. The findings suggest teens may lack the emotional maturity to be held as responsible as an adult for a violent crime. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Oct 7, 2009 10:52 - 5 Comments
Arctic sea ice’s downward trend continues
U. COLORADO (US)—Despite a slight recovery in 2009—from record-setting low years in 2007 and 2008—the summer Arctic sea ice extent remains significantly below previous years, continuing a trend toward ice-free Arctic summers. (more…)
Science & Technology - Sep 29, 2009 11:52 - 0 Comments
Messenger makes final Mercury flyby
U. COLORADO (US)—NASA’s Messenger spacecraft will zip by Mercury for the third and final time today, September 29, cruising within 142 miles of the planet’s surface at more than 100,000 mph. Messenger will take high-resolution color images of the surface terrain before making a clever gravity-assist maneuver that will steer it into orbit around the rocky planet beginning in March 2011. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Sep 21, 2009 15:58 - 0 Comments
Human activity threatens world’s river deltas
An image of the Pearl River Delta in China taken by NASA’s space shuttle Endeavour during the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission in 2000. The areas below sea level are shown in purple. (Courtesy: NASA/CSDMS/University of Colorado)
Best of 2009 - Sep 17, 2009 4:00 - 11 Comments
BEST OF 2009: Are you sick and clean?
U. COLORADO (US)—Millions of Americans are getting a dousing of pathogenic bacteria along with their daily showers, a new study finds. Researchers have discovered that water spurting from showerheads can distribute pathogen-filled droplets that suspend themselves in the air and can easily be inhaled into the deepest parts of the lungs. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Sep 14, 2009 14:20 - 0 Comments
Arctic heat bucks long-term trend
Since the Earth is still moving away from the sun—it’s about 0.6 million miles farther during the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice than it was in 1 B.C.—it appears greenhouse gases began “overriding” the natural cooling of Earth in the middle of the last century, explains study coauthor Gifford Miller of CU-Boulder’s Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research. “We expect the Arctic will continue to warm in the coming decades, increasing land-based ice loss and triggering global increases in sea-level rise.”
Society & Culture - Sep 11, 2009 11:40 - 3 Comments
Putting social media to work in a crisis
“When situations are dire, and the magnitude of an emergency affects a region, we know that people are quite resourceful at doing what they can to survive and to help others,” says computer scientist Leysia Palen. “Today this means turning to online sources to collate information from many places to try to make the best decisions possible.”
Earth & Environment - Sep 1, 2009 6:00 - 0 Comments
Icy mile leads to climate future
The international North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling, or NEEM, project begun in 2009 to retrieve deep ice cores from the Earth’s Eemian warm period 120,000 years ago. Atmospheric gases trapped in the ancient ice are expected to help scientists better assess the risks of abrupt climate change as Earth warms in the future. (Courtesy: NEEM Ice Core Drilling Project)
Society & Culture - Jul 31, 2009 13:30 - 0 Comments
Southwest’s ‘high society’ led pampered life
Chimney Rock is one of scores of Chaco outliers in the Southwest and perhaps its most dramatic, seated at 7,600 feet in altitude above the San Juan Basin.
Earth & Environment - Jul 24, 2009 14:43 - 0 Comments
Noisy nests not for the birds
“Understanding how birds respond to noise, especially birds with critical links to ecosystems, are crucial in maintaining biodiversity in growing areas of landscapes disturbed by urban clamor,” says lead author Clinton Francis. (Western Tanager pictured above. Courtesy: Clinton Francis)
Earth & Environment - Jul 21, 2009 12:32 - 0 Comments
Out West, hotter temps shrink water supply
Lake Powell in Utah is one of several massive Colorado River reservoirs that could be severely depleted in the coming decades as a result of warming temperatures in the West, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. (Courtesy: Bureau of Reclamation)
