a person wearing AI glasses

Artificial intelligence has social consequences, but who pays the price?

April 21, 2023

Generative artificial intelligence is designed to produce the unforeseen, but that doesn’t mean developers can’t predict the types of social consequences it may cause. CU expert Casey Fiesler shares on The Conversation.

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 babyÖ±²¥app Museum of Natural History. (Photo by Casey A. Cass/University of babyÖ±²¥app)

Chili peppers more deeply rooted in babyÖ±²¥app 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!

Researcher holding the UV device used in the study

Study shows personal disinfection device safe for use in public spaces

April 19, 2023

Imagine carrying a UV device in your backpack and pulling it out to disinfect your bus seat or restaurant table. A new CU Boulder study shows that using a technology called Far UV-C kills almost 100% of pathogens within a few seconds, without risk to human bystanders.

Globe map with push pins

World’s largest grammar database reveals accelerating loss of language diversity

April 19, 2023

A new grammatical database documents the enormous diversity of current languages on the planet, which ones are at risk and why they're worth saving.

Illustration of a human painting a robot, while the robot draws the human with pencil

5 essential reads on the new era of generative artificial intelligence

April 19, 2023

Creativity, job anxiety, misinformation, bias and plagiarism—scholars are helping society come to grips with the potential benefits and harms of generative AI. Look back on The Conversation archives, featuring CU experts Daniel Acuña and Casey Greene.

Scene from This Is Their Land

Tribal language in film speaks history out loud

April 14, 2023

Joseph Dupris, a visiting assistant professor at CU Boulder, is a linguist and “maqlaqsyals†user who helped integrate the Modoc language into the short film This Is Their Land. It was recently screened on campus, and a 150th anniversary remembrance is set to be held in Tulelake, California.

Sprinklers watering a lettuce field in Holtville, California, with babyÖ±²¥app River water.

The babyÖ±²¥app River drought crisis: 5 essential reads

April 13, 2023

A 23-year western drought has drastically shrunk the babyÖ±²¥app River, leading the Biden administration to consider mandatory cuts to water allocations in some states. Look back on The Conversation archives to better understand what’s happening and what’s at stake.

Breast cancer cells seen under the microscope

Researchers identify promising new target for drug-resistant breast and ovarian cancers

April 12, 2023

By inhibiting a protein that helps cancer cells repair themselves, scientists hope to develop new drugs that treat resistant tumors with fewer side effects.

A teacher at a lectern speaks to students sitting at desks

5 lessons on improving US education—from high schools that beat the odds

April 12, 2023

Edited by a trio of CU Boulder researchers, a new book titled Schools of Opportunity: 10 Research-Based Models of Equity in Action tells the stories of nine U.S. high schools that flourished despite the odds—overcoming tough challenges to offer students from a wide range of backgrounds rich and even joyful educational experiences.

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