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Ever caught yourself daydreaming of your next vacation or an old memory? Do you wonder what your idle thoughts throughout the day actually mean? If so, scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder have a free smartphone app that might help shed more light on how and why the mind wanders.

The Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado Boulder has received a five-year $5.9 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to expand its youth violence prevention work in two Denver neighborhoods.

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, appointed in 2009 as the first Hispanic member on the bench of the nation’s highest court, spoke of self-worth and determination to a crowd of nearly 1,800 at CU Boulder’s Macky Auditorium on Sept. 2. 



Those bemused by political prattle on Facebook or the flag-waving frenzy at both major parties’ national conventions should withhold judgment about citizens who become politically extreme, according to new research by Jessica Keating, a PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. The study examined how even short discussions among like-minded people can radicalize individuals, often without them knowing their attitudes have changed.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, set for launch Sept. 8 and which involves CU Boulder researchers, is designed to snag a sample from the surface of a near-Earth asteroid for study. The spacecraft will fly more than 1 billion miles in two years before reporting for duty at the asteroid known as Bennu.

It turns out that not just social environments, but also genes inherited from our parents can play a role in how we perceive our own weight status, whether we feel heavy, light, or about right. And this genetic aspect is especially true for females, found a new first-of-its-kind study led by CU Boulder.

Capitalizing on its reputation as a top public university in space research, CU Boulder has launched a brand new Space Minor program for all undergraduate students. Students are invited to learn more at an event 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1, at the Fiske Planetarium. The event will feature astronaut Jim Voss - and pizza and drinks.

The Colorado Shakespeare Festival is branching out in its efforts to curb bullying among young people in Colorado schools. Beyond visiting schools with its "upstander" message, the festival - in partnership with the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, also based at CU Boulder - has created an educational video with an important message: you have the choice to make your world a safer place.

Three of the four honorees being inducted into the inaugural Colorado Space Heroes Hall of Fame are CU alumni. The recognition is bestowed upon leaders who've "contributed most significantly to the evolution, success and development of Colorado’s space economy as one of the most important in the nation and world."

While the earthquake that rumbled below Colorado’s eastern plains May 31, 2014, did no major damage, its occurrence surprised both Greeley residents and local seismologists. To some Greeley residents, the magnitude-3.2 earthquake felt like a large truck hitting the house.