University of Colorado professor and researcher Jennifer Balch talks about the human impact on wildfires.

Humans Start More Wildfires Than You May Think (Podcast)

Katie Gach talks about what grief policing is and how to make social media platforms a more compassionate place for grieving individuals.

What Is Grief Policing? (Podcast)

Camping in the Colorado mountains is a great way to get away from the hustle and bustle of modern life, but it might be more than just a serene campsite that helps us relax. According to a new CU Boulder study, camping, even for a short weekend, can help reset our internal clocks, resulting in better sleep, says Professor Ken Wright, director of CU Boulder's Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory.

Sleep Camping Study Podcast - Ken Wright

Bright-light before bedtime disrupts preschoolers sleep patterns, study suggests

Exposing preschoolers to bright light before bedtime is not a good idea, according to a new CU Boulder study. It almost completely shuts down their production of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin, keeping it suppressed for at least 50 minutes after light's out, says lead author Lameese Akacem with the Sleep and Development Laboratory.

Beware - Bight-light before bedtime disrupts preschoolers sleep patterns

You've heard the commercials.
'Eat this yogurt!' 
It's full of probiotics. They're super good for you… more specifically, your gut.
But have you heard of prebiotics? Turns out they might be good for you, too.
Robert Thompson works at the Stress Physiology Laboratory in the Department of Integrative Physiology at CU Boulder. 
Thompson's been studying these lesser-known dietary building blocks.
Listen as Thompson describes what prebiotics are and what the study found.

Prebiotics are good for you (Podcast)

It’s that silly hoax-filled day again when friends and family try to make fools out of each other. That’s right - April Fools’ Day - a day when even lousy pranks seem to be funny. 
And there’s a reason for that, says Peter McGraw, an associate professor in marketing and psychology at CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. It’s something he calls “benign violations.”

CU Boulder's Peter McGraw on why April Fools’ Day humor - and even not-so-funny humor – works

New CU Boulder research suggests when a sleeping infant hears a sound, the brain reshapes itself

According to a new CU Boulder study, infants as young as one-month-old show that during sleep their brain is processing information about its environment and performing computations about that information, paving the way to developing pathways for learning, says Phillip Gilley, lead author of the study.

Infant Sleep & Learning Study

You might have heard of the experiment in which children can have one marshmallow now, or wait a few minutes and have two. It’s been used as a test of self-control, and it’s been believed that you either have it or you don’t. But now researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have discovered that social factors can influence children’s self-control. 
Sabine Doebel is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at CU Boulder. In her experiment, some children were told they were part of a group that waited for the second marshmallow. Others were told their group didn’t wait and just went for the one marshmallow. The outcomes were different.

Marshmallow Test and Self-Control

Children raised in a rural environment, surrounded by animals and bacteria-laden dust, grow up to have more stress-resilient immune systems and might be at lower risk of mental illness than pet-free city dwellers, according to new research. The study adds to mounting evidence supporting the "hygiene hypothesis," which theorizes that overly sterile environments can breed health problems, says co-author Christopher Lowry, a professor of integrative physiology at CU Boulder.

Chris Lowry on how growing up with pets may boost mental health.

Pulling an all-nighter just once can disrupt levels and expression patterns of more than 100 critical proteins in the blood, including those that influence blood sugar, energy metabolism, and immune function, according to new CU Boulder study that asked male participants to live like they worked the night shift for a few days. Researcher Christopher Depner, lead author of the study, says disrupting sleep patterns can very rapidly alter our normal physiology in a way that can be detrimental to our health.

CU Boulder's Christopher Depner on how sleep disruption swiftly alters key blood proteins.

CU Boulder Art & Art History Professor George Rivera will hold an art exhibit from June 22 to Dec. 22,  at South Korea's DMZ Museum roughly three miles south of the North Korean border. The exhibit will feature 117 pieces of art, including 23 from current CU Boulder students, specifically created to reflect the tensions of the DMZ and history of border conflict on the Korean peninsula.
 The Korean trip is just Rivera’s latest in an extended stint of globe-hopping as ambassador for his art collective, Artnauts, started by Rivera in 1996. Rivera hopes the art starts a dialogue for social change.

CU Boulder Art & Art History Professor George Rivera talks about Artnauts

Robert Andrus talks about how hotter and drier summers paired with below-average snowpack winters is harming several tree species in the Colorado Front Range.

How Climate Warming is Affecting Certain Tree Species

University of Colorado art and art history professor George Rivera is traveling to South Korea to show artwork created by the Artnauts in the demilitarized zone of the countyr.

The Artnauts- Connecting People Through Art

Climate Policy Polarization

University of Colorado graduate Rachael Kaspar talks about a new discovery about bee behavior. Older bees can influence younger bees to fan their wings to cool the hive.

Honeybees Demonstrate Social Influencer Behavior

Barn swallows can eat hundreds of mosquitoes a day, but their numbers are declining. A collaboration between art and science at CU Boulder provides a new bird condo with move-in-ready nesting space.

Photo Courtesy of:
By JJ Cadiz, Cajay, from Wikimedia Commons

Barn Swallows and Art

The emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria is becoming increasingly problematic for medical providers and dangerous for people who need medical treatment.
Research to find a way to counter this threat is underway at CU Boulder where Corrie Detweiler and her team are looking to find alternative ways to confront the problem.

Understanding Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria

At 50, Night of the Living Dead is still digging up social commentary.

50-year-old Night of the Living Dead: Where Modern Zombies Got Their Big Break

The heckling is real, the riots just acknowledged, and they are part of an innovative teaching method called Reacting to the Past, which was initiated at Barnard College in New York.  Michaele Ferguson, an associate professor of political science at the University of Colorado Boulder, usually teaches at least one class a semester involving these games, which require students to play characters from the past.

CU Boulder PoliSci Prof. talks about her "Reacting to the Past" class.

Christina Ladem, a Ph.D. candidate in the political science department at the University of Colorado Boulder, talks about why more women are running for political office, especially following the 2016 presidential election.

More Women Are Running For Political Office- Here's Why

Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder Nathan Schneider talks about co-operatives, their importance in a digital age, and his new book titled Everything for Everyone.

Nathan Schneider discusses co ops in a digital world

As onshore and offshore wind energy farms have proliferated globally in recent years, new research led by CU Boulder highlights a previously underexplored consequence: a wake effect from upwind wind farms that can reduce the energy production of their downwind neighbors, says CU Boulder economist and co-author of the study, Danial Kaffine.

Daniel Kaffine talks about how coordinated development could help wind farms be better neighbors

State forest managers recently announced that 2.9 million Coloradans, roughly half the state’s population, live in wildfire prone areas putting them at risk of the type of megafires that recently scorched California communities, says Michael Kodas, deputy director of CU Boulder’s Center for Environmental Journalism and author of Megafire. He says a combination of past firefighting practices, a warming climate and increasing urban development is driving this fiery epidemic.

Michael Kodas on learning to live with wildfires

Sandra Ristovska, assistant professor in media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, talks about the deep connection between visual imagery and human rights displayed in her new book.

Visual Imagery and Human Rights

Rare lunar eclipse to entertain millions on Sunday night

On Sunday night people from North America to Europe, Africa and the Central Pacific will be treated to a rare spectacle - a combination of a “super moon,”  a ”blood moon” and a “wolf moon.”
Paul Hayne, an assistant professor of astrophysical and planetary sciences at CU Boulder,  explains what is so unique about this rare celestial event.

CU Boulder Prof. Paul Hayne on Super Blood Wolf Moon

Welcome to Brainwaves - A new podcast exploring big ideas ... produced at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Brainwaves ... What is love?

With 19 candidates already in the running, and former Vice President Joe Biden expected to officially enter the race Wednesday, the 2020 Democratic nominating contest is shaping up to be one of the most crowded in history. CU Boulder Political Science Professor Kenneth Bickers offers insight into the pros and cons of having such a large field of candidates running for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Kenneth Bickers on the crowded race for the 2020 presidential Democratic Party nomination.

Today on lab rats we talk to "single, stay-away-from-home mom” Nancy Norton, winner of the 2018 Boston Comedy Fest and and Jessi Rivin, doctoral student in organizational behavior and information systems at CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business about how women are perceived in comedy and using comedy in the work place.

Women in Comedy

We are joined by Pavo Goldstein to talk about the science behind holding hands with a spouse and how it can help relieve negative effects from child birth.

Science behind Holding Hands

Night Shifts and Diabetes

Heart break a feeling we have all felt, but how does it work? Today we visit this idea and dig deep with leone Koban and talk about using the placebo effect to help with heart break.

Placebo Effect

Just breathe, seem obvious? Today we talk with Daniel Craig about the benefits of breathing.

Blood Pressure and Breathing

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