A yellow marine organism seen underwater

How did the division of labor emerge in animals and humans? Little-known organisms hold clues

Nov. 12, 2024

You've probably seen bryozoans at the beach without even knowing it—some look like floating balls of mucus, while others resemble a bit of crust growing over docks and other hard surfaces. According to a new study, these strange organisms may reveal how colony-forming animals evolved a system for divvying up jobs millions of years ago.

View of mountain reflected in a lake with sandy beaches

Was ‘Snowball Earth’ a global event? New study delivers the best proof yet

Nov. 11, 2024

A series of rocks hiding around Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ's Rocky Mountains hold clues to a frigid period in Earth's past when glaciers several miles thick may have covered the entire planet.

Interior of prison corridor

How prisons fall short in protecting the incarcerated from climate disasters

Nov. 7, 2024

A new Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder study paints a grim picture of how blistering heat, wildfire smoke and other extreme weather events impact Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ’s jail and prison population.

REplacing lead pipes event

The end of lead pipes: An engineer’s take on the historic national effort to eliminate them

Oct. 29, 2024

Utilities face a 10-year deadline to replace lead water pipes under a new Environmental Protection Agency rule. Assistant Professor Julie Korak discusses why it’s necessary and how it will be carried out.

Tridacna gigas

Giant clam declared critically endangered after Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder assessment

Oct. 28, 2024

Once abundant, the massive, colorful clam is now locally extinct in many regions, with a critical drop in population due to overfishing and climate change.

A bee pollinates a purple flower with more flowers in the background

How you can help Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ’s bees from the comfort of your home

Oct. 28, 2024

A new community science project aims to help the Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Museum of Natural History digitize its collection of bees, some of which were collected in Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ as far back as the 1870s.

On a grassy lawn, a man speaks at a podium with several others sitting in chairs beside in. In the background, a metal tower reaches up more than 20 feet

Spinout LongPath Technologies to expand methane detection with $162M DOE loan

Oct. 25, 2024

At an event on campus, engineers showed off a laser-based technology that can take a whiff of the air around oil and gas operations, then spot leaking greenhouse gasses in real time.

wildfire

Fire speed, not size, drives threat to people, infrastructure

Oct. 24, 2024

Fast-growing fires were responsible for nearly 90% of fire-related damages despite being relatively rare in the United States between 2001–20, according to a new Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder-led study.

Illustration of a furred animal sitting on a tree root with a swamp in the background

Paleontologists discover Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ ‘swamp dweller’ that lived alongside dinosaurs

Oct. 23, 2024

The new mammal lived in Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ 70 to 75 million years ago—a time when a vast inland sea covered large portions of the state, and animals like sharks, turtles and giant crocodiles abounded.

The Pantanal

Microbes, not fossil fuels, drove methane growth between 2020–22

Oct. 21, 2024

Microorganisms growing in landfills, on agricultural land and in wetlands are contributing to skyrocketing levels of atmospheric methane, a potent greenhouse gas, according to new Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder research.

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