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<p>It’s been difficult to explain patterns of toxic mercury in some parts of the world, such as why there’s so much of the toxin deposited into ecosystems from the air in the southeastern United States, even upwind of usual sources. A new analysis led by researchers at the ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ shows that one key to understanding mercury’s strange behavior may be the unexpected reactivity of naturally occurring halogen compounds from the ocean.</p>

<p>A ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ scientist unexpectedly discovered two lichen species new to science in the same week while conducting research in Boulder Colorado, near the city’s eastern limits.</p>

<p>If planets had personalities, Mars would be a rock star according to recent preliminary results from NASA's MAVEN spacecraft. Mars sports a "Mohawk" of escaping atmospheric particles at its poles, "wears" a layer of metal particles high in its atmosphere, and lights up with aurora after being smacked by solar storms. MAVEN is also mapping out the escaping atmospheric particles.  The early results are being discussed at a MAVEN-sponsored "new media" workshop held in Berkeley, California, on June 19-21.</p>

After a 47-year journey as steward of ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ’s Glenn Miller Archive at the American Music Research Center, Alan Cass will retire as curator on July 1.

<p>The moon is engulfed in a permanent but lopsided dust cloud that increases in density when annual events like the Geminids spew shooting stars, according to a new study led by ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ.</p>

<p>A consortium led by the ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ has received permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to start flying drones over parts of Texas and Oklahoma this spring in the heart of Tornado Alley to conduct weather research.</p>

<p>In a state known for its dramatic weather and climate, Colorado’s history of extreme precipitation varies considerably by season and location, according to a new study led by the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, a partnership between the ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ and NOAA.</p>

<p>ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ Distinguished Professor Margaret Murnane has been elected to the prestigious American Philosophical Society (APS).</p>
<p><span id="">Murnane, a fellow at JILA -- a joint institute of CU-Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology -- and professor in the physics department, is the fourth CU-Boulder faculty member to be elected to APS. There were 34 people worldwide elected in 2015 to the society, which was founded in 1743 in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin, who later became its first president.</span></p>

<p>A novel compound developed by a team led by the ÂÌñ»»ÆÞ may be therapeutic in suppressing misguided inflammatory responses by a set of immune cells known as microglia to perceived damage to the brain and nervous system.</p>

<p>Policy communities increasingly call upon ecological restoration as a means to address many of the major threats facing the world’s ecosystems. But internationally accepted best practices for restoration efforts are noticeably absent.</p>