an illustration of possible future transit vehicles, habitats, and power systems on Mars

Designing lighter, stronger vehicles for space exploration

March 15, 2017

NASA has named CU Boulder as a partner in a first-of-its-kind $15 million research institute developing superstrong, lightweight materials for use in space exploration vehicles.

"smart" threads that change color based on certain stimuli

When unstable technology is a good thing

March 13, 2017

Life is messy, and mostly we use technology to keep it tidy. But is there a place for technology that embraces messiness and unpredictability? Yes, and it's in the ATLAS Institute.

Duke University, University of Virginina basketball players Jan. 2012

The odds of picking a perfect NCAA bracket, explained by a mathematician

March 10, 2017

The odds of filling out a perfect NCAA men’s basketball tournament are beyond impossible, according to applied mathematics professor Mark Ablowitz.

Aerospace summit

Groundbreaking space missions, student success focus of Aerospace Summit

March 10, 2017

Alumni, industry execs and other space buffs celebrated the state’s growing prominence in aerospace—from probing the Bennu asteroid to an array of industry partnerships—at the second annual CU Boulder Aerospace Summit earlier this week.

Image of swimmers standing in water.

Lactate—long the athlete's bane—could be a key driver of cancer

March 9, 2017

Research suggests lactate, a metabolic byproduct that can interfere with sports performance, plays a role in cancer formation. And while people who regularly exercise tend to be able to clear lactate, others with a sedentary lifestyle, combined with excess sugar intake, may have a harder time.

a wind turbine

Engineers set to create membranes for next-generation battery technologies

March 8, 2017

A $3 million Department of Energy grant will help CU Boulder researchers create better membranes for use in efficient cost-effective battery components for large-scale energy storage.

Boston marathon runners.

Break the two-hour marathon record? It could be done

March 3, 2017

Using mathematical calculations, a new study bears the recipe for how marathoners could break the world record among males, shaving about four and a half minutes off the fastest time.

NIST/JILA biophysicist Tom Perkins, also a CU Boulder babyÖ±²¥app member, used this atomic force microscope to measure protein folding in more detail than ever before.

Unwinding the mysteries of protein folding

March 2, 2017

CU Boulder and JILA researcher Tom Perkins has spent the last seven years trying to understand how and why proteins fold and unfold.

Co-working space shows people sitting at their desks.

If 'sitting is the new smoking,' can desk workers snuff out risk?

March 1, 2017

A CU Boulder research team has found marked health benefits from electric-assist commuter bikes and "passive-cycling." Now the team is studying an under-the-desk cycle that shows similar promise.

an oil well in babyÖ±²¥app

Older oil and gas wells at higher risk of causing groundwater contamination

March 1, 2017

Older vertical oil and gas wells are more likely to cause groundwater contamination than newer wells, new CU Boulder research shows.

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