Published: Jan. 30, 2020

Neanderthals diving听for seashells,听buildings that could one day heal their own cracks, a Rocky Mountain range equivalent in outer space鈥攈ere are the CU research highlights you need to know.听

Beach-combing Neanderthals dived for shells

Did Neanderthals wear swimsuits? Probably not. But a new study suggests听some of these ancient humans might have spent a lot of time at the beach. They may even have dived into the cool waters of the Mediterranean Sea to gather clam shells.

What we learned:

  • The findings come from Grotta dei Moscerini, a picturesque cave that sits just 10 feet above a beach in what is today the Latium region of central Italy.听
  • Neanderthals didn鈥檛 just collect shells that were lying out on the beach. They may have actually held their breath and went diving for the perfect shells to meet their needs.
  • The findings are yet more proof that Neanderthals were just as flexible and creative as their human relatives when it came to eking out a living鈥攁 strong contrast to their representation in popular culture as a crude cavemen who lived by hunting or scavenging mammoths.听

Building materials come alive with help from bacteria

Buildings that can heal their own cracks, absorb toxins from the air or even glow on command? They may not be so far off, a new study suggests.

What we learned:

  • CU Boulder researchers are developing new types of living building materials that incorporate bacteria and can absorb carbon dioxide from the air.听
  • Bricks made out of these materials are hardy and also show survival rates among bacteria that are much higher than in many other similar materials.
  • Such materials could, one day, heal their own cracks, suck up toxins from the air and even glow on command.

How the solar system got its 鈥楪reat Divide,鈥� and why it matters for life on Earth

Scientists have finally scaled the equivalent of the Rocky Mountain range in space.听

What we learned:

  • Researchers have long known that "terrestrial" bodies in our solar system, such as Earth and Mars, are made up of fundamentally different materials than the "jovians," such as Saturn and Jupiter.听
  • A new study suggests this divide may have been created from a听disk of gas and dust that surrounded our sun early in its history.听
  • Materials that managed to slip across the divide could have seeded Earth with organic molecules and even water.