°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û2023¿ª½±¼Ç¼

America’s once-abundant tallgrass prairies—which have all but disappeared—were home to dozens of species of grasses that could grow to the height of a man, hundreds of species of flowers, and herds of roaming bison. For the first time, a research team led by the °ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û2023¿ª½±¼Ç¼ has gotten a peek at another vitally important but rarely considered community that also once called the tallgrass prairie home: the diverse assortment of microbes that thrived in the dark, rich soils beneath the grass.

°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û2023¿ª½±¼Ç¼ Distinguished Professor James Hynes of the chemistry and biochemistry department has been named a fellow of the American Chemical Society, one of 96 scientists honored in 2013. ACS Fellows are honored for their outstanding contributions in scientific research, education and public service.

Seven °ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û2023¿ª½±¼Ç¼ faculty and staff have received Fulbright grants to pursue research, teaching and training abroad during the 2013-14 academic year. One of their proposed projects involves research in India on the use of the tanbura -- a long-necked stringed instrument -- as an aid for developing musical perception and intonation. Another involves research and lecturing in the United Kingdom on the representation of violence in contemporary Irish and American fiction.

A new national report highlighting the success of 100 university spinoff companies tracing their roots to federally funded research includes two companies that sprang from cutting-edge research at the °ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û2023¿ª½±¼Ç¼.

A NASA spacecraft that will examine the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail is undergoing final preparations for a scheduled 1:28 p.m. EST Monday, Nov. 18 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission, or MAVEN, led by the °ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û2023¿ª½±¼Ç¼ will examine specific processes on Mars that led to the loss of much of its atmosphere. Data and analysis could tell planetary scientists the history of climate change on the red planet and provide further information on planetary habitability.

The heat is on, at least in the Arctic. Average summer temperatures in the Eastern Canadian Arctic during the last 100 years are higher now than during any century in the past 44,000 years and perhaps as long ago as 120,000 years, says a new °ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û2023¿ª½±¼Ç¼ study.

The heat is on, at least in the Arctic. Average summer temperatures in the Eastern Canadian Arctic during the last 100 years are higher now than during any century in the past 44,000 years and perhaps as long ago as 120,000 years, says a new °ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û2023¿ª½±¼Ç¼ study.

When this year’s iGEM team at the °ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û2023¿ª½±¼Ç¼ began meeting early this year, they wanted to take what they knew about biology, and use it to build something entirely new. iGEM, or International Genetically Engineered Machine, is the top synthetic biology competition in the world and after a foundation-building first year, the CU-Boulder team wanted to make an impact in 2013.

Researchers at the °ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û2023¿ª½±¼Ç¼ have successfully added a fourth dimension to their printing technology, opening up exciting possibilities for the creation and use of adaptive, composite materials in manufacturing, packaging and biomedical applications.

A California walking stick insect that has evolved to produce individuals with two distinct appearances—an all-green form that camouflages well with broader leaves and a form with a white stripe running down its back that blends better with needle-like leaves—can markedly affect its broader ecological community when the appearance of the bug is mismatched with the plant it’s living on. The new findings, based on research carried out at the °ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û2023¿ª½±¼Ç¼, illustrate the ability of rapid evolution to cause a cascade of ecological impacts.