Ariel Lavery

2 days ago | kunc.org | Brad Turner |Ariel Lavery

Back in April, a commercial flight carrying 159 people had a major scare as it took off from Denver International Airport: The United Airlines flight struck an animal, which crippled one of the plane’s engines and forced the crew to make an emergency landing. As it turns out, the threat to aircraft from birds, rabbits and other animals is something DIA officials work hard to manage.

3 days ago | kunc.org | Ariel Lavery |Brad Turner

The vast space around earth is getting a little crowded. There are nearly 10,000 satellites in Earth’s low orbit, the space just outside our planet’s atmosphere. And space companies plan to launch tens of thousands more in coming years. That could led to problems like interruptions to communications from satellites that monitor the weather. Or we could see satellites crashing into one another. So how do we make rules to prevent those kinds of accidents? And how much regulation of space is too much?

1 week ago | kunc.org | Ariel Lavery |Erin O'Toole |Brad Turner

More than three decades ago Colorado was known as the Hate State. In 1992 Colorado voters passed Amendment 2, which banned anti-discrimination laws meant to protect gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. But the Amendment never went into effect because there was immediate backlash. It was challenged again and again for being unconstitutional, bringing it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

1 week ago | kunc.org | Ariel Lavery |Erin O'Toole |Brad Turner

Hattie McDaniel was the first African American to win an Oscar. The actor won for her role as Mammy in the film “Gone with the Wind.”And McDaniel spent much of her childhood in Colorado: A plaque marks her family’s former home in Fort Collins. Growing up, she attended public schools in Denver. McDaniel was in her 40s when she won the best supporting actress Oscar. And she used her platform to become a champion for civil rights. Today, in honor of Juneteenth, we’re exploring Hattie McDaniel’s story.

1 week ago | kunc.org | Ariel Lavery |Erin O'Toole |Brad Turner

A vaccine against weight gain may be a reality soon, thanks to new research from the University of Colorado Boulder. The study focuses on a strain of bacteria that prevents obesity by reducing inflammation. Chris Lowry is a professor of integrative physiology and CU and led the research. His study found that he could prevent mice from becoming overweight, even when raised on the equivalent of an all-McDonald’s diet.