KGNU - How On Earth

The history of astronomy has many stories of trying to understand our universe, and those stories are connected by a common thread: looking at the sky, whether with our eyes or with increasingly powerful telescopes. The newest entry in this telescopic journey is the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory. Located in Chile, this observatory has … Continue reading "The Vera Rubin Observatory"

A Common Sugar Substitute Increases Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke. (starts 11:00) CU-Boulder Integrative Physiologist Chris DeSouza explains his recent study that shows why the commonly used artificial sweetener, Erythritol, may be increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. 50 Years of Open Space! (Starts 1:00) Boulder County Parks and Open Space staff members … Continue reading "50 Years of Open Space!//Heart Attack and Stroke Risk from Common Sugar Substittue"

On this week’s show Beth speaks with computational biologist Justine Debelius about the role of the microbiome. We first discussed a study she was involved in recently that identified how changes in colon cancer tumors can affect survival. Then, she described a large collaborative project she is currently working on to identify factors influencing the … Continue reading "The Tumor Microbiome Can Affect Cancer Survival"

Tackling Climate Change and Science Cutbacks (start time: 7:03) In this week’s show we discuss the ongoing barrage of executive orders by the Trump administration; and the impacts of defunding of federal agencies, scientific research and scientists focusing on climate change and the environment. We also explore how the legal and political landscape, including pushback … Continue reading "Climate Science, Cutbacks, Litigation"

Teens are in Crisis – Some people warn that Cell Phones are to blame. But Colorado Native and Pulitzer prize winner Matt Richtel says our tech can be a useful tool, IF we better understand the purpose of adolescence, That’s the focus of Richtel’s brand new book – How We Grow Up: Understanding Adolescence … Continue reading "How We Grow Up: Understanding Adolescence by Matt Richtel"

Merlin Bird ID App (starts 1:00) Boulder Naturalists Steve Jones and Ruth Carol Cushman explore the benefits of the Merlin smartphone app, along with its sometimes hilarious mistakes. Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (Start 5:48) Crew Leader Eric DeFonso explains how the Conservancy’s Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions Program provides detailed data about … Continue reading "Bird Conservancy of the Rockies – Eric DeFonso"

In this week’s science show Beth talks with genome biologist Ed Chuong of CU Boulder’s innovation incubator, the Biofrontiers Institute. Ed takes us for a whirlwind tour of the evolutionary history of these viral invaders of our genome, and some examples of how they can simultaneously be friend and foe. Teaser, did you realize that … Continue reading "Viruses are Us!"

With graduation season upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is Part 2 of our annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists and engineers who recently received their Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in a STEM-related field. They talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what … Continue reading "2025 Graduation Special (part 2)"

We talk with scientists who report that a common weight loss/diabetes drug known as a GLP-1 receptor agonist (Wegovy, Ozempic for instance) is associated with an increased risk of blindness. The study was published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association Ophthalmology, about a form of blindness known as “wet” macular degeneration. … Continue reading "GLP-1 and Blindness"

On this week’s How on Earth, Beth talks with author and science journalist Liz Kalaugher, about her new book, The Elephant in the room:How to Stop Making Ourselves and Other Animals Sick. Think about it this way: When new diseases spread, news reports often focus on wildlife culprits–rodents, monkeys and mpox; bats and COVID-19; waterfowl … Continue reading "Animal Pandemics?"

Scientists speak out for science (start time: 1:00) The Trump administration has been on a dizzying streak of slashing federal funding for scientific research, and firing thousands of federal scientists. Among the casualties is the National Weather Service, which supplies critical data from air balloons and climate models to develop weather forecasts. Many cities and … Continue reading "Saving Weather Forecasting, Climate Science"

Birds: Risk and Resilience (start time: 5:55) What speaks of Spring more than the songs of American robins, yellow warblers, spotted towhees and other birds in the early morning? As we relish in these avians choruses, it’s also an important time to examine why bird populations in North America have, by and large, been plummeting … Continue reading "Birds at Risk"

This is an extended version of Shelley Schlender’s interview with Boulder Cardiologist Nelson Trujillo. For the broadcast version, go here.

This is Shelley Schlender’s extended interview of Larry Gold, founder of the GoldLab Symposium. For the broadcast version, go here.

With graduation season upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is Part 1 of our annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists and engineers who have or will soon receive their Masters or Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in a STEM-related field. They talk about their thesis research, their … Continue reading "2025 Graduation Special (part 1)"

Sweet in Tooth and Claw (start time: 0:59) Since the 1800s, science has been obsessed with the notion, stemming from Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selection, that only the “fittest” can survive and pass on their strong genes. As in, it’s a ruthless, violent world. And today, we humans find ourselves mired in a … Continue reading "Mutualism in Nature"

Federal cutbacks have led the National Institute of Standards and Technology to shut down a long-running, highly prized information center used by scientists around the world, for projects ranging from searching for exoplanets, to making better microchips, to detecting atomic missiles. Atomic Spectroscopy Database Manager Alexander Kramida explains the purpose of the Atomic Spectroscopy … Continue reading "De-funding NIST’s Atomic Spectroscopy Group"

Our guest today is Dr. Simone Marchi, Institute Scientist in the Solar System Science & Exploration Division at the Boulder office of Southwest Research Institute. Dr. Marchi is the Deputy Principal Investigator for NASA’s Lucy mission. Lucy will be the first space mission to explore a population of small bodies known as the Trojan asteroids, … Continue reading "The Lucy Mission"

Poisoning the Well (Starts 2:00) Boulder science writer Sharon Udasin discusses her new book, Poisoning the Well: How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America. The book chronicles how these chemicals have ended up in our soil , drinking water, our bloodstreams . . . including in Colorado. She also explains what we can do about these sometimes … Continue reading "Poisoning the Well: How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America. "

NEPA rollbacks, environmental impacts (start time: 6:25) Amidst a flurry of moves by the Trump administration to roll back environmental regulations, last month a White House agency proposed a rule to rescind a landmark law meant to protect wildlife, their habitat, and human communities from unchecked development, and to ensure that the public has a say … Continue reading "NEPA, Wildlife, Lands Under Threat"