Smoke rising from an active fire in the Northwest Territories

‘Zombie fires’ occurring more frequently;impactsremain uncertain

July 17, 2023

Overwintering fires are becoming increasingly common in boreal forests. Smoldering through the winter and reigniting in the early spring, these “zombie fires” contribute to an earlier and longer fire season. Read more from INSTAAR expert Merritt Turetsky and others on The Conversation.

Two people at a point-of-sale system. (Clay Banks/Unsplash)

‘The pill’ will soon be available over the counter. The impacts could be sweeping

July 13, 2023

Federal regulators approved the first over-the-counter oral contraceptive. CU Boulder’s Amanda Stevenson says the impacts could be sweeping. But she cautions that real threats to contraceptive access in the U.S. still exist.

A blooming agave plant on the CU Boulder campus.

Campus agave plants showcase once-in-a-lifetime blooms

July 13, 2023

Thirty years after the late linguistics professor Allan Taylor planted two rare agave plants outside a CU Boulder greenhouse, his legacy is sporting a once-in-a lifetime burst of color.

People walking toward a snow-covered mountain through a dry river bed of rocks.

FieldSafe offers scientists basic frameworks for safety in the field

July 12, 2023

Researchers are taking steps to strengthen safety by expanding FieldSafe, an online training program designed to help scientists navigate harassment, risk management and communication challenges they may encounter during field work.

Traffic at an intersection.

In the wake of COVID-19, traffic congestion dropped but crash severity soared

July 12, 2023

Studying speed, traffic and crash data on California highways during the initial COVID-19 response, CU Boulder researchers found that the frequency of severe crashes increased due to lower congestion and higher speeds.

A woman's face, analyzed by facial recognition software

Why new facial-recognition airport screenings are raising concerns

July 11, 2023

At least 25 U.S. airports now use facial recognition software to determine you are who you say you are, but some fear the artificial intelligence systems will exacerbate discrimination. Morgan Klaus Scheuerman, an AI ethicist, explains why people are concerned.

A graphic show a Threads and Twitter logo.

Threads surging, but mass migration from Twitter likely to remain an uphill battle

July 10, 2023

Twitter’s move on July 1 to limit the number of tweets users can see in a day was the latest in a series of decisions that has spurred millions of users to sign up with alternative microblogging platforms. Read more from CU Boulder’s Casey Fiesler on The Conversation.

A laptop computer and a typewriter sit back to back

Experts eager to study ethics of artificial intelligence, journalism

July 7, 2023

How does artificial intelligence shape the news we see online? Researchers in the College of Media, Communication and Information are ready to examine the ethics and fairness of recommender systems in journalism, thanks to a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

young string musicians arrive on the CU Boulder campus

CU Boulder hosts national music program to advance diversity in classical music

July 7, 2023

This summer, young string musicians from across the country came together at CU Boulder­’s College of Music­ to hone their craft and advance a culturally diverse future of music at the Sphinx Performance Academy summer camp.

Woman works at large piece of scientific equipment

Weeks later, potentially harmful chemicals lingered in homes affected by Marshall Fire

July 6, 2023

In the wake of the devastating Marshall Fire, a team of chemists and engineers from CU Boulder undertook a first-of-its-kind study to explore homes that survived the blaze. Their results reveal the potential health hazards that wildfires can leave behind in buildings.

Pages