Top research stories of the week: Sept. 22 edition
This week's top research features a study suggesting some herbivorous dinosaurs ate crustaceans, a trial exploring the measurable health benefits of community gardening and an expert who is studying the inside of America's prisons to gain insight on gang life.
Big herbivorous dinosaurs ate crustaceans as side dish
A surprising CU Boulder study led by Associate Professor Karen Chin shows giant, plant-eating dinosaurs roaming present-day Utah snacked on crustaceans, a behavior that may have been tied to reproductive activities. The evidence comes from fossilized feces samples known as coprolites.
Can gardening prevent cancer? CU study seeks to find out
Ask someone who gardens what they love most about it, and the answer is almost always the same: it makes them feel better. But why? Professor Jill Litt has launched one of the first-ever randomized controlled trials to explore the measurable health benefits of community gardening.
Expert goes behind bars to study gang life
Assistant Professor David Pyrooz has interviewed hundreds of gang members, searching for insight into how some manage to avoid or escape what he calls "the snare" of gang life, while others succumb to it. His research comes at a time when 33,000 violent gangs with 1.4 million members are active in the U.S.