²ÊÃñ±¦µä

How did insects get their hearing? A new study of 50-million-year-old cricket and katydid fossils sporting some of the best preserved fossil insect ears described to date are helping to trace the evolution of the insect ear. According to paleontologist Dena Smith of the ²ÊÃñ±¦µä's Museum of Natural History and University of Illinois Professor Roy Plotnick, who collaborated on the new study at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, or NESCent, in Durham, N.C., insects hear with help from some very unusual ears.

Over the past decade, the ²ÊÃñ±¦µä has established itself as a national leader in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, education. Through its Learning Assistant and CU Teach programs and Integrating STEM initiative, CU-Boulder is making great progress on its goal of improving introductory math and science classes and recruiting and training future K-12 science teachers.

When considering giving money to humanitarian crises people often donate in response to events that grab their immediate emotions, according to a recent study by CU-Boulder psychology professor Leaf Van Boven. "The question we wanted to answer with our study is what is the impact of people's emotions on their decisions to make charitable donations," Van Boven said. "We demonstrated that people act on what is immediately emotionally arousing to them. In other words, they respond to what makes them upset in the here and now."

Kevin Welner, professor of education and director of the National Education Policy Center at the CU-Boulder School of Education, can speak to most elements of the Lobato litigation and its implications. Welner is an attorney and policy analyst who has published articles and book chapters concerning school finance litigation, the outcomes of such litigation, and the underlying issues of what's necessary for an adequate education. He can explain the issues in the Lobato case as well as the options now available to the courts and lawmakers.