News

The National Science Foundation recently announced the recipients of the coveted 2015 Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP) awards . These prestigious awards have been given since 1952 to graduate students who show a demonstrated potential for significant achievements in science and engineering. Chris Smith, a first-year student from the BioFrontiers Institute’s...

If you believe the common adage that you are only using ten percent of your brain, while the other ninety percent remains untapped potential, you are about to be surprised. It’s true that about ten percent of your nervous system is made up of hard-working neurons, diligently delivering messages back...

Searle Scholars Award winner is cracking the code on bacterial voltage Electric voltage powers life – Our brains use electrical transients to process every thought; every heartbeat arises from voltage changes in heart cells. Despite its importance, voltage changes in bacteria were never really studied because the cells were just...

BioFrontiers’ Hubert Yin is unlocking the power of toll-like receptors Hubert Yin has been thinking about one type of cell receptor since he joined the BioFrontiers Institute, and it is a receptor worthy of that kind of time. Yin, an Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is focusing much of...

I recently attended the 2014 Association for Computing Machinery Conference on Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, and Health Informatics (ACM BCB) with fellow IQ Biology student Joey Azofeifa and our advisor Robin Dowell. The conference had many interesting talks, ranging from theory-heavy explanations of algorithm improvements to very applied talks on using...

Among cancers, scientists have spent their entire research careers looking for cellular similarities that may lead to a single cure for many cancers –– the rare chance to have a single answer to a multifaceted problem. In 1997, scientists discovered a gene that they believed was the key to cellular...

Just a few weeks ago, we boarded a plane destined for Boston and the 2014 World iGEM Jamboree . Once we arrived, we were racing to the hotel to put some finishing touches onto our power point presentation. Our team was selected as one of the first teams to present...

In just a few days, members from our team will be boarding a plane to Boston. When we arrive, we are participating in an annual synthetic biology competition against both foreign and domestic teams at an international conference, held by the International Genetically Engineered Machines Foundation (iGEM). There we will...

CU-Boulder Student Team Wins Silver at Premiere Biology Competition The International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) event is the top synthetic biology competition in the world and the CU-Boulder team wanted to make an impact at this year’s competition in Boston. Last year’s 2013 Buffs iGEM team was successful, winning a...

BioFrontiers Institute's IQ Biology program wins National Science Foundation Grant The BioFrontiers Institute’s Interdisciplinary Quantitative Biology Certificate Ph.D. ( IQ Biology ) program recently was awarded a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program. These funds will be spent over the...