This week's research roundup looks at the history-making collision of two neutron stars, the trajectory of faculty productivity and a study on the genetic diversity of cannabis in an attempt to shed light on largely unexplored biological questions.
When stars collide: CU Boulder professor explains this week's dense discovery
This week’s history-making news that a team of international scientists had discovered the first-ever evidence of the collision of two neutron stars rocked well beyond the science world. Neutron stars, the collapsed cores of once-large stars, are thought to be so dense that a teaspoon of one would weigh more than Mount Everest.
Does faculty productivity really decline with age? New study says no
For 60 years, studies of everyone from psychologists to mathematicians have shown the same remarkably similar academic research trajectory: Scientists publish prolifically in the first decade of their career, followed by a decline in productivity. But a new CU Boulder study found that stereotype to be “remarkably inaccurate.”
Mapping the genetics of cannabis
Tomatoes. Sunflowers. Influenza. Humans. Over the past three decades, DNA sequencing has allowed scientists to compile robust genetic profiles of organisms large and small, but cannabis has remained a high-profile exception. Daniela Vergara studies the genetic diversity of multiple cannabis varieties in an attempt to shed light on largely unexplored biological questions.