Science & Technology

<p>A simple sample of the protective mucus layer that coats a frog’s skin can now be analyzed to determine how susceptible the frog is to disease, thanks to a technique developed by a researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder.<br /><br />
The same method can be used to determine what kind of probiotic skin wash might be most effective at bolstering the frog’s defenses without actually exposing the frog to disease, according to a journal article published today in the journal PLOS ONE.<br /><br /></p>

<p>If you think Neanderthals were stupid and primitive, it’s time to think again.</p>
<p>The widely held notion that Neanderthals were dimwitted and that their inferior intelligence allowed them to be driven to extinction by the much brighter ancestors of modern humans is not supported by scientific evidence, according to a researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder.</p>

<p>In 2012, temperatures at the summit of Greenland rose above freezing for the first time since 1889, raising questions about what led to the unusual melt episode. Now, <a href="http://cires.colorado.edu/news/press/2014/greenland.html">a new analysis led by the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences</a> at the University of Colorado Boulder shows that some of the same weather and climate factors were at play in both 1889 and 2012: heat waves thousands of miles upwind in North America, higher-than-average ocean surface temperatures south of Greenland and atmospheric rivers of warm, moist air that streamed toward Greenland’s west coast.</p>

<p>University of Colorado Boulder biologist Leslie Leinwand has been selected as a member of the 2014 class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which honors the leading “thinkers and doers” from each generation, including scientists, scholars, writers and artists.</p>

<p>The greater prevalence of asthma, allergies and other chronic inflammatory disorders among people of lower socioeconomic status might be due in part to their reduced exposure to the microbes that thrive in rural environments, according to a new scientific paper co-authored by a University of Colorado Boulder researcher.</p>

<p>Rounding out a full day of touring CU-Boulder facilities and meeting with faculty, staff and students, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden spoke to a packed house on the afternoon of April 18, 2014.</p>
<p>Bolden acknowledged the close association CU-Boulder has with the space program, calling the university a “pipeline for talent.”</p>

<p>A deployable fire hose stand designed for the Longmont Fire Department and a heat-resistant mask designed to protect firefighters and fire victims from poisonous fumes will be among more than 90 student inventions showcased at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Engineering Design Expo on Saturday, April 26.</p>
<p>The event, which is free and open to the public, will feature a wide range of student-built devices including adaptive technology for people with disabilities, Rube Goldberg machines and even hovercrafts.</p>

<p>Professor Robert S. Anderson of the University of Colorado Boulder’s geological sciences department and Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research has been awarded the 2014 Hazel Barnes Prize, the most distinguished award a faculty member can receive from the university.</p>

<p>The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research is pleased to announce that Professor Peter Molnar of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and the Department of Geological Sciences has been selected as the 2014 Distinguished Research Lecturer.</p>

<p>The Rocky Mountain Lighting Academy (RMLA) will offer a one-of-a-kind immersive educational opportunity for lighting professionals this summer at the University of Colorado Boulder.</p>
<p>The RMLA’s Summer Lighting Course is scheduled for June 23-27 on the CU-Boulder campus. The course will present the theory of lighting within a practical context, making it directly applicable to the needs of those working in engineering, product development and technical sales positions.</p>