Sign with American flag and the word "Vote" sits out on a table while people mill around in the background

AI images abound this election cycle. Here’s how you can tell fact from fiction

Aug. 29, 2024

In an election year, experts from CU Boulder weigh in on strategies you can take to distinguish real and fake images online—and how to talk to friends and family spreading misinformation.

Several sunflowers grow in a field

Why do plants wiggle? New study provides answers

Aug. 15, 2024

Decades after his voyage on the HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin became fascinated by why plants move as they grow—spinning and twisting into corkscrews. Now, more than 150 years later, a new study may have solved the riddle.

Children, seen from behind, sit at desks and raise their hands in a classroom

Are school boards becoming politicized? Expert weighs in

Aug. 13, 2024

This month, children across the U.S. are heading back to class. Their educations will be shaped by the decisions of nearly 13,000 school boards. Anna Deese, a former school board member from Montana, breaks down some of the biggest misconceptions.

Man examines a piece of paper in front of a booth labeled with the American flag and the word "vote"

Those with the biggest biases choose first, according to new math study

Aug. 12, 2024

In a new study, researchers created a sort of simulated voting booth—a space where people, or mathematical “agents,” with various biases could deliberate over decisions. The results may help reveal the mathematics of how the human brain acts when it needs to make a choice.

Person sits on couch with someone else holding a clipboard in the foreground

AI for mental health screening may carry biases based on gender, race

Aug. 5, 2024

A growing number of AI technologies analyze the way people talk to screen for mental health conditions like depression or anxiety. A new study finds that they may not perform consistently across people from different demographic groups.

Outside the U.S. Capitol Building, Kamala Harris places her hand on a Bible held by a man

Kamala Harris and the ‘electability’ trap

Aug. 1, 2024

Since announcing her bid to run for president on July 21, Vice President Kamala Harris has generated praise and drawn questions about her electability—including from some media outlets and online commentators who have asked: “Is the United States ready to elect a multiracial woman?”

A man and two women stick post-it notes on white sheets of paper hanging from the wall

Student curiosity drives new open-source science curricula

July 24, 2024

A coalition of educators from 10 states and led by CU Boulder has released a new series of free science curricula for high school students—touching on issues critical to the lives of young people, from wildfires to rising sea levels and cancer biology.

Insect with orange head and black and brown wings sits on a leaf

Searching for babyֱapp’s little-known fireflies

July 12, 2024

CU Boulder graduate student Owen Martin grew up in babyֱapp but had never seen a firefly in the state until three years ago. Now, he and his advisor Orit Peleg are trying to raise awareness of the Rocky Mountain region's glowing and "wonderous" insects.

Man and women stand side-by-side with camera in the background. Woman carries a clipboard labeled "NASA"

‘Fly Me to the Moon’: Scholar weighs in on our fascination with conspiracy theories

July 11, 2024

In a new rom-com, Scarlett Johansson plays a PR maven hired to film a fake version of the moon landing. Media scholar Rick Stevens gives his take on why conspiracy theories around the moon landing have such staying power.

Satellite labeled "GOES" sits next to a large hangar labeled "NASA" at night time

Space instruments provide early warnings for solar flares

June 21, 2024

On June 25, the last instrument in a series designed and built in babyֱapp, is scheduled to launch aboard an orbiting satellite. It's part of a program that spots flares leaping out from around the sun before they can cause trouble on Earth.

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