A biodegradable "artificial muscle" made with material stamped with an image of a carrot

Grad student helps design ‘artificial muscles’ you can toss in the compost bin

April 20, 2023

Mechanical engineering student Ellen Rumley was part of a robotics club in high school, but she could never get over the clunkiness of rigid, metal machines. Now, she's designing soft robotic actuators that work like animal muscles. They're also completely biodegradable.

Abel Campos, majoring in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, examines a fossil in the Invertebrate Paleontology department at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History. (Photo by Casey A. Cass/University of Colorado)

Chili peppers more deeply rooted in Colorado than previously thought

April 20, 2023

Recently identified chili pepper fossils from Boulder and Denver museums challenge 50 million years of global evolutionary history. Now, that’s some spicy science!

Surface of Earth as seen from space

New NASA grant to support quantum sensors in space

March 16, 2023

In a new, multi-university project, researchers from CU Boulder will help to design incredibly-sensitive quantum sensors that can detect changes in Earth's climate from space.

Hisham Ali

Building a one-of-a-kind plasma wind tunnel to advance hypersonics

March 1, 2023

Hisham Ali is pushing the limits of plasma physics and hypersonics in his lab on campus to advance a nationally important area of science and engineering: magnetohydrodynamics.

Brian DeDecker

New ‘magic beans’ produce ingredients for cancer treatments, vaccines and more

March 1, 2023

Tens of thousands of sharks are killed each year to harvest a key ingredient for vaccines, while old growth trees are slashed to obtain chemotherapy ingredients. Soybean farmer-turned molecular biologist Brian DeDecker has a better idea.

Elephant bird egg

Ancient eggshells unlock discovery of extinct elephant bird lineage

Feb. 28, 2023

1,200 years ago on the isolated island of Madagascar, giant flightless elephant birds roamed the landscape. Research using ancient eggshell fragments reveals new clues about their genetic diversity.

Robot with the letters "CUU" on its chest on the CU Boulder campus

5 burning questions about ChatGPT, answered by humans

Feb. 20, 2023

Artificial intelligence has reached an "inflection point," according to technology experts from CU Boulder. New tools like ChatGPT, which rolled out late last year, are poised to transform offices, high school classrooms and more—in potentially good and bad ways.

The wreckage of a collapsed building in Turkey

What caused the tragic earthquake in Turkey and Syria, and is California next?

Feb. 14, 2023

A geologist and an engineer discuss what made the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria so devastating, how the region shares similar geology with California and how lessons learned can help the world prepare for the next big one.

Female red squirrel forages for food

Squirrels roll the dice on their offspring

Feb. 1, 2023

A collaborative study, including CU Boulder associate professor Andrew McAdam, investigates how the risks and rewards of red squirrel reproduction are a microcosm of evolutionary patterns.

Kai Larsen

To better understand ChatGPT, expert puts it to work

Jan. 26, 2023

What happens when an expert on natural language processing asks a chatbot to write a children's book in the style of Dr. Seuss? Professor Kai Larsen put the question to the test.

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