Latest news with #UniversityofColoradoBoulder
Newsweek
a day ago
- Science
- Newsweek
'Unintended Consequences' Put Forever Chemical in US Air for First Time
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Scientists have made the first documented airborne detection of a toxic chemical pollutant known as Medium Chain Chlorinated Paraffins (MCCPs) in the Western Hemisphere. The findings, published in ACS Environmental Au, came during a month-long field campaign in Oklahoma by researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder, who used a high-resolution chemical ionization mass spectrometer designed to study how aerosol particles form in the atmosphere. While the team expected to observe known compounds, the instruments instead registered isotopic patterns that led to the identification of MCCPs—pollutants previously detected in Asia and Antarctica, but never before in North American air. File image: PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, used in a range of applications. File image: PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, used in a range of applications. Photo by Tunatura / Getty Images "When we first realized that we had measured MCCPs, we were intrigued and cautious," Ellie Browne, CU Boulder chemistry professor, CIRES Fellow, and co-author of the study, told Newsweek in an email. "Since we had not planned on measuring these compounds, we first had to learn about them and also make sure that our measurements were of high-quality," Browne said. "Once we determined that we indeed were detecting these compounds in the atmosphere, we recognized the importance of these measurements and were excited to contribute to the understanding of how these compounds move through the environment and ultimately impact peoples' lives." Why It Matters MCCPs are used in metalworking, PVC plastics and textiles. "MCCP emissions occur across the entire lifecycle of those products including manufacture, use and disposal," Browne said. Like their chemical cousins—short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs), which are already regulated—they resist degradation and can travel long distances in the environment. Because SCCPs have been phased out under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Stockholm Convention regulations, MCCPs have become more common. Browne said MCCPs have previously been difficult to find in tests, even though researchers expected them to be present in North America. "We always have these unintended consequences of regulation, where you regulate something and then there's still a need for the products that those were in," Browne said in a university release, "So they get replaced by something." What To Know Researchers suspect the MCCPs they found originated from biosolid fertilizers—waste byproducts from sewage treatment—applied to nearby farmland. "While one exposure might not be harmful, because these chemicals can travel long distances and last a long-time in the environment and in living organisms, repeated and continued exposure becomes worrisome," Browne told Newsweek. "Measurements such as ours are critical for evaluating and predicting how these chemicals move through and build-up in the environment. They also inform when and how people are exposed to them. This knowledge is then used to protect people and the environment." While their presence was unexpected, MCCPs share structural traits with PFAS, or "forever chemicals", now banned in Oklahoma's biosolid fertilizers due to persistence and health risks. What's Next The team wants to continue studying how MCCPs end up in the atmosphere and where they are most prevalent, although future studies depend on funding, according to Browne. "Understanding how our health is impacted by the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat requires measuring what compounds are present in air, water and food," she told Newsweek. "Our measurements enhance the understanding of how MCCPs move through the environment and how we may be exposed to these compounds, however, more measurements and investigations are required to understand the problem. "We are excited to see how our measurements contribute to awareness of and investigation into MCCPs. It is important to remember that keeping our communities healthy requires investment in science funding so that studies such as this one can continue."
Axios
3 days ago
- Climate
- Axios
CU's storm chasers are studying hailstorms
University of Colorado Boulder's Eric Frew is eager to get a drone in the air. It's June in the Plains, and that means hailstorm season. Why it matters: Hail causes billions of dollars in damage every year and leads to higher insurance rates nationwide. Yet, we know little about how it forms, says Frew. What he's saying: "We need better scientific understanding to make better forecast models, to build better homes, and all the things that you can do with a better understanding of this," he tells us hours before he leaves for western Nebraska. State of play: Frew and his small team of students are part of the largest hail study in decades, dubbed ICECHIP. It involves roughly 70 private and public researchers, and includes scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder. Zoom in: The CU team is spending six weeks through the end of June looking for storm clouds on the Front Range and across the Great Plains. Frew — the director of the Center for Autonomous Air Mobility and Sensing — is tasked with using a drone to map the hailstorm damage from above. "Our team is actually going right behind the storm to try to image … the full extent of where it fell. And you need all of that information together to really understand what's going on with this hail," he says. The intrigue: The drone they are using is the inspiration for the one featured in the blockbuster movie "Twisters." "I want to stress they got the design from us, not the other way around," Frew says with a laugh. Yes, but: No tornado chasing for this team. Frew says hail can cause more damage and is often hard to detect. "It's not quite as crazy as what the movies look like," he allows. "Although … I worry more about the damage hail can do than a tornado, because you can see the tornado a little bit more easily."
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Here's how to generate a truly random number with quantum physics
Very little in this life is truly random. A coin flip is influenced by the flipper's force, its surrounding airflow, and gravity. Similar variables dictate rolling a pair of dice or shuffling a deck of cards, while even classical computing's cryptographic algorithms are theoretically susceptible to outside influence or bias. 'True randomness is something that nothing in the universe can predict in advance,' explained Krister Shalm, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). So how does someone achieve true randomness? For that, you need to peer into the quantum realm. The task once required years of study and access to vast research facilities, but thanks to an ingenious new project from Shalm and his colleagues, now anyone can access a 'factory for random numbers.' And it's free to use. Designed by NIST in collaboration with the University of Colorado Boulder, the Colorado University Randomness Beacon (CURBy) is a first-of-its-kind system that relies on headspinning quantum mechanics concepts to offer truly random number generation. More specifically, CURBy's foundation rests on a task known as the Bell test. Named after the famed physicist John Stewart Bell, the test measures pairs of entangled photons with properties that remain correlated even after separating across huge distances. While the outcome is always random when measuring a single particle, a pair's properties are more correlated than classical physics dictates. This allows experts to verify the randomness at a quantum level. Albert Einstein previously described this 'quantum nonlocality' as 'spooky action as a distance,' and he wasn't a fan of the idea. Unfortunately for him, NIST proved its existence back in 2015. Three years later, they developed methodologies to use Bell tests in order to construct the world's first true randomness generators. These initial random results necessitated months of refinement and only ran for a few hours in total. Even then, the physicists and engineers only generated 512 bits of true randomness. Since then, researchers expanded and automated their experiment, thus offering random numbers whenever needed.'We really wanted to take that experiment out of the lab and turn it into a useful public service,' said Shalm. Their finalized protocol served up randomness 7,454 times over its first 40 days of existence. Researchers then recorded 7,434 cases of randomness—a success rate of 99.7 percent. But how do you actually generate true randomness? For that, you need a system that relies on a bespoke nonlinear crystal to generate entangled photon pairs. The particles then speed away in an optical fiber to separate laboratories at opposite ends of a hallway at NIST. Once they reach the two labs, researchers measure their subsequent polarizations. This relay race is then repeated a headspinning 250,000 times per second. All that data needs to be processed, so NIST sends off its millions of quantum coin flips to a specially designed computer program built by engineers at UC Boulder. The program then translates the measurements into 512 random bits of binary code that can then be parsed by anyone. But utilizing CURBy is much simpler than the dizzying quantum computations required to generate true randomness. All a user needs to do is head to its website and key in the list of items you want shuffled. CURBy then will rearrange the entries based on any given day's quantumly determined randomness. The outcome is decades in the making, and would have certainly given Einstein something to think about. 'I am at all events convinced that [the Creator] does not play dice,' he famously wrote to Max Born in 1926 regarding the concepts of quantum theory. 'If God does play dice with the universe, then you can turn that into the best random number generator that the universe allows,' Shalm said.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Skinsuits, superspikes and a sticky headband: how Faith Kipyegon hopes to run sub-four minute mile
Eight seconds. It's barely enough time for most people to tie their shoelaces. But when you are Faith Kipyegon, and you're trying to become the first woman to shatter the four-minute mile barrier, those eight seconds constitute a chasm. But now we know how the 31-year-old Kenyan, who set the mile world record of 4 mins 7.64 secs in 2023, intends to close the gap and emulate Sir Roger Bannister's historic feat. Advertisement Related: Olympic champion Gabby Thomas followed and heckled by gambler at Grand Slam Track meet On Thursday her sponsor Nike revealed that when Kipyegon makes her sub-four attempt in Paris on 26 June, she will be wearing a special aerodynamic skinsuit with '3D-printed aeronodes', along with new super spikes, which are even lighter and more propulsive. The skinsuit, which would not currently be permitted in official World Athletics races, draws on similar technology used by British Cycling and British Skeleton when they dominated the Summer and Winter Olympics between 2008 and 2018. Crucially, the aeronodes are able to create a 'turbulence' effect designed to reduce the amount of wind resistance acting on the body when Kipyegon runs. Advertisement 'The magic with the aeronodes on the suit and leg sleeves is that it creates a controlled turbulence area,' said Lisa Gibson of Nike's Innovation lab. 'It splits the air in front of Faith and creates smaller eddies behind her to reduce drag.' Reducing resistance is clearly a key factor in the attempt. A recent scientific paper by Prof Rodger Kram, a physiologist at the University of Colorado Boulder, suggested that Kipyegon could run a sub-four minute mile by using pacemakers deployed in front and behind her to reduce drag. The mother of one will also be wearing a headband designed to further reduce drag, as well as the latest prototype of Nike super spikes, the Victory Elite FK, which have 3mm more foam and are lighter than the track spikes she wore when winning Olympic 1500m gold last year. And while most experts remain sceptical that Kipyegon can do it, despite the added technological assistance, the scientist behind her attempt says that confidence is building. Advertisement Brett Kirby, who worked with Eliud Kipchoge to help the Kenyan break the two-hour barrier in the marathon, said he understood the scepticism. However he said he was convinced that Kipyegon could go much quicker. 'I'm a scientist and it's all about thinking critically,' said Kirby, the senior principal scientist at Nike's sport research lab. 'So when I first heard the idea, I was like, 'man, I don't know. It sounds really hard to get those eight seconds.' But when we stepped back and looked at Faith in 2023, and things like her pacing – which may have initially looked optimal – we realised that there was more there.' 'When you start to add on these other pieces of the puzzle, and put them together to make that matrix, then things start to get really exciting,' he added. 'You start to get more inspired. You say, 'Wow, OK, these pieces come together like a really nice system, from the apparel side, the footwear side, the location side, and maybe some tweaks in preparation'. And before you know it, you have this matrix that comes together.' 'And you put all the pieces together, and it slowly builds more and more confidence as we get closer.' Advertisement Not everyone in Kipyegon's team is as cautious. Simon Bairu, her sports marketing partner, believes it is only a matter of time before she makes history. 'When she breaks four, she won't just set a record,' he said. 'She'll change what every girl watching thinks is possible. I don't think she can do it – I know she will.' Nike's experts would not be drawn on just how much of a performance boost Kipyegon might expect from their new technology. However Carrie Dimoff, of Nike's Innovation Footwear department, said that Kipyegon's new spikes had shown greater energy return in testing. Dimhoff also confirmed that while the new spikes had not yet been submitted to World Athletics for approval, as they had been making ongoing adjustments to them, they did conform to the rules. 'The height of the shoe does not actually get any higher,' she added. 'We've just diverted some of the height from other materials into that energetic air sole design to give Faith more efficient push off and more energy return with every stride.'
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists Found an Unexpected Toxin Floating in the Oklahoma Sky
Similar to 'forever chemical' PFAS, medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs)—often found in textiles and PVC products—are toxins that can take a long time to breakdown in the environment and negatively impact human health. Scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder have now, in a first for North American, detected these toxins in the air while researching aerosol formation. These airborne MCCPs particles likely entered the atmosphere through biosolids—a fertilizer developed from treated wastewater. One of the downsides of modern life is the proliferation of chemicals in the natural environment. Arguably the most well-known of these chemical culprits are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are used for stuff like non-stick surfaces on frying pans. They are also known as 'forever chemicals' for their tendency to linger in the environment. But this environmental scourge is only one of many similar substances. Of the others, one of the most concerning is a type of toxin known as medium-chain chlorinated paraffins, or MCCPs. Like PFAS, these chemicals take a longtime to break down, and have been shown to be the driver behind health issues like liver and kidney toxicity, thyroid malfunction, and certain neurological issues. MCCPs have been detected in the atmosphere on other continents (including Asia and even Antarctica) but a new study from the University of Colorado Boulder claims that North America has now joined that unlucky list. In setting out to detect how aerosols form and grow in an agricultural region of Oklahoma, the team of scientists behind this recent study stumbled across trace amounts of MCCPs in the atmosphere. They detected these particles using a technique known as nitrate ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry, and the results were published last week in the journal ACS Environmental AU. MCCPs start their lives within things like metalworking fluids, textiles, and PVC, which is why they can often find themselves in wastewater. That's a problem, because a fertilizer known as biosolids (which is made from treated sewar sludge) is often spread across agricultural crops. 'When sewage sludges are spread across the fields, those toxic compounds could be released into the air,' Daniel Katz, lead author of the study, said in a press statement. 'We can't show directly that that's happening, but we think it's a reasonable way that they could be winding up in the air. Sewage sludge fertilizers have been shown to release similar compounds.' The creation of this synthetic chemical was in large part due to the regulation of its toxic cousin, Short Chain Chlorinated Paraffins (SCCPs), which have been regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Stockholm Convention (an international body formed in 2001 to protect human health against persistent organic pollutants). Earlier this year, the Stockholm Convention also marked MCCPs for global elimination. Who knows if this will spawn the creation of another toxic chemical, but this regulatory game of whack-a-mole is similar in the truly Sisyphean task of trying to eliminate PFAS from the environment. 'We always have these unintended consequences of regulation, where you regulate something, and then there's still a need for the products that those were in,' Ellie Browne, a co-author of the study, said in a press statement. 'So they get replaced by something.' Luckily, there is some good news. The Oklahoma Senate passed a bill earlier this year eliminating biosolids as a fertilizer, and a newly established environmental group called The Coalition for Sludge-Free Land aims to make the ban a national one (the EPA currently regulates, but doesn't ban, the substance). Now that MCCPs have been found in the atmosphere, the UC Boulder team hopes that future efforts will be able to discern their airborne impact. 'We identified them, but we still don't know exactly what they do when they are in the atmosphere, and they need to be investigated further,' Katz said in a press statement. 'I think it's important that we continue to have governmental agencies that are capable of evaluating the science and regulating these chemicals as necessary for public health and safety.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
