Cartoon of brain

A blue note on antidepressants

March 1, 2010

Study finds that, for many, drugs work no better than placebos, but resulting firestorm may have obscured nuances Newsweek heralded the 鈥渄epressing news about antidepressants鈥 and suggested that drugs like Prozac are 鈥渂asically expensive Tic Tacs.鈥 CNN also headlined the 鈥渟tartling news鈥 and suggested that 鈥渁ntidepressants don鈥檛 work.鈥 Commentators in...

Mogul field at Riflesight Notch in Winter Park, Colorado. (Photo credit: David Bahr)

The magic motion of moguls

March 1, 2010

Gravity always wins, one might think. Avalanches roar and skiers plunge inexorably downhill. But moguls鈥攐r bumps, as they鈥檙e known by skiers鈥攎ove uphill. Just ask lead researcher David Bahr, a Regis University professor and former CU geological sciences PhD student; Tad Pfeffer, a professor of civil, environment, and architectural engineering at...

Members of a community in Brazil gather to vote as part of a participatory program. While these programs may improve empowerment and accountability, they might not provide the overwhelming gains in well-being that many organizations are promoting.

Participatory budgeting no 鈥榤agic bullet,鈥 study finds

March 1, 2010

Participatory governance is the darling of policymakers and world-organizations seeking to improve the well-being of the impoverished. The claim is that by increasing the citizens鈥 direct involvement with the decision-making process, the quality of their lives will improve. However, it may not bring about such dramatic changes and is no...

Illustration of the NASA Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, or GRACE. Image courtesy of NASA.

India鈥檚 big gulp raising sea level and concern

Dec. 1, 2009

Illustration of the NASA Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, or GRACE. Image courtesy of NASA. Northern India鈥檚 groundwater is being pumped onto farm fields faster than it can be replenished by monsoons, and the rate of loss is accelerating, a recent study co-authored by a University of Colorado researcher has...

Cartoon of man hugging giant tail titled "Social Media"

All the news that鈥檚 fit to Twitter

Dec. 1, 2009

Cartoon courtesy of Natural Hazards Observer - http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/o/ During major events and crises, social media鈥檚 importance is rising The alleged plot to 鈥渉ide the homeless鈥 during the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver foreshadowed Tweets and blog posts to come. A month before the convention, the blogosphere was atwitter because...

Flags of China and Taiwan

Posturing aside, Taiwan clasps hands with China

Dec. 1, 2009

Politicians may talk tough about rival nations, but business people鈥檚 actions may be a better barometer of international relations. That鈥檚 one conclusion of Steve Chan, a political science professor at the University of Colorado who says conventional political theories don鈥檛 explain why China has become Taiwan鈥檚 most important trading partner,...

Elissa Guralnick, a University of Colorado professor of English

As composer converses with poet, students are 鈥榓wesomed out鈥

Dec. 1, 2009

Harold Bloom, the noted literary critic, Yale professor and author of 鈥淭he Western Canon,鈥 has said that teaching Emily Dickinson鈥檚 poems leaves him with fierce headaches, 鈥渟ince the difficulties force me past my limits.鈥 How, then, are undergraduate students supposed to appreciate Dickinson? Elissa Guralnick, a University of Colorado professor...

A house is shown surrounded by coal fly ash after a retention pond near Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee overflowed.

Tons of sludge, tons of questions

Oct. 1, 2009

Just after midnight on Dec. 22, 2008, 5.4 million cubic yards of coal-fly ash overflowed a retention pond near the Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee. The event, which is still being sorted out, made for a perfect case study for Jill Litt's critical-thinking class.

A satellite image of the World Trade Center attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (Image courtesy: NASA)

If terrorists sow fear, they get a mixed harvest

Oct. 1, 2009

A satellite image of the World Trade Center attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (Image courtesy: NASA) Terrorism incites fear designed to coerce governments to act, according to definitions of 鈥渢errorism鈥 in U.S. law, in U.N. resolutions and elsewhere. But terrorism often prompts as much anger and retaliation as fear and...

art

Seeing the art at last

Oct. 1, 2009

Keeping an extensive collection of great art in storage is like having Stokowski conduct Beethoven in an empty concert hall. It鈥檚 a missed opportunity. Soon, the University of Colorado will have the space to connect its great art with people who savor it. The CU Art Museum has an impressive...

Pages