Natural Sciences in the News

Mussels cramped by environmental factors

Professor of biology Emily Carrington reported Saturday that the fibrous threads she calls "nature's bungee cords" become 60 percent weaker in water that was 15 degrees F above typical summer temperatures where the mussels were from. Learn more at UW Today.
2/18/2013

I-LABS findings featured in Wall Street Journal

Infants as young as 6 months are capable of making predictions based on probability, a higher level of reasoning than is commonly believed possible, researchers have found. Learn more at Wall Street Journal.
2/12/2013

University of Washington biologist Michael Dickinson explains the intricacies of fly brains

UW biologist Michael Dickinson explains the intricacies of fly brains - given their abundant numbers, one of the most common brains on Earth - using videos of flies in flight, Donald Trump and chewing crabs. Flies may have brains smaller than a grain of salt, but this TEDx talk delivered at Caltech, may just cause you to think next time, before you swat. Learn more at TEDxCaltech.
2/5/2013

Beer's bitter compounds could help brew new medicines

The findings of research employing a century-old observational technique could lead to new pharmaceuticals to treat diabetes, some types of cancer and other maladies. Learn more at UW Today.
1/29/2013

Astronomy to go: UW readies new portable planetarium

The astronomy department is readying a traveling planetarium to take to schools for outreach and collaboration in Seattle and beyond. Learn more at UW Today.
1/24/2013

Study Links Cognitive Deficits, Hearing Loss

A new study suggests that elderly people with compromised hearing are at risk of developing cognitive deficits sooner than those whose hearing is intact. Kelly Tremblay, professor of speech and hearing sciences, comments. Learn more at New York Times.
1/23/2013

Babies begin learning language while in womb

Babies only hours old are able to differentiate between sounds from their native language and a foreign language, scientists have discovered. The study indicates that babies begin absorbing language while still in the womb, earlier than previously thought. Learn more at UW Today.
1/2/2013

Plumes across the Pacific deliver thousands of microbial species to West Coast

For the first time, UW researchers have been able to gather enough biomass in the form of DNA to apply molecular methods to samples from two large dust plumes making their way from Asia to North America the spring of 2011. Learn more at UW Today.
12/17/2012

Moths: Two Smelling Systems Support Survival

Moths are able to enjoy a pollinator's buffet of flowers--in spite of being among the insect world's picky eaters--because of two distinct "channels" in their brains, UW scientists have discovered. Learn more at National Science Foundation.
12/17/2012

Washington college instructors are 'flipping' the way they teach

In a trend called flipping the classroom, new technology tools and different approaches to learning are changing the way some college faculty, including at the UW, teach their courses. Learn more at The Seattle Times.
12/16/2012

Moths wired two ways to take advantage of floral potluck

Moths are able to enjoy a pollinator's buffet of flowers because of two distinct "channels" in their brains, UW Biology scientists have discovered. Learn more at UW Today.
12/6/2012

Misleading Mosquitoes, One Scent at a Time

UW biologists are studying mosquitoes to understand why they crave human blood and to explore what happens when their sensory system is rewired in the lab. Learn more at Perspectives newsletter.
12/5/2012

World's "Oldest Old" to Increase Dramatically

A new statistical model developed by A&S faculty predicts that by 2100 there will be more elderly, and fewer working-age adults to support them, than previous estimates have suggested. Learn more at Perspectives newsletter.
12/5/2012

Computing with Hyak: The Power of Sharing

UW scientists can dramatically increase their research capabilities by owning a small piece of a powerful campus-wide computing facility, Hyak, with maintenance and management costs shared by all owners. Learn more at Perspectives newsletter.
12/5/2012

Scientists find oldest dinosaur - or closest relative yet

UW researchers are part of a team that has discovered what may be the earliest dinosaur, showing that the dinosaur lineage appeared 10 million to 15 million years earlier than fossils previously showed, originating in the Middle Triassic rather than in the Late Triassic period. Learn more at UW Today.
12/4/2012

Six Arts & Sciences faculty named AAAS fellows

Six Arts & Sciences faculty are among eleven University of Washington researchers named as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Election as a fellow of AAAS is an honor bestowed upon members by their peers. Fellows are recognized for meritorious efforts to advance science or its applications. Learn more at UW Today.
12/3/2012

Alberta Science and Technology Leadership Foundation honors Conservation Canines

The Conservation Canines Program won the "Outstanding Achievement in Environmental Technology and Innovation Award" for recent work investigating the influences of wolf predation, habitat fragmentation and human use on caribou and moose stress, nutrition and resource use in the Alberta oil sands. Learn more at ASTech.ab.ca.
11/4/2012

UW professor aims to make time travel a reality

Physicists, mathematicians and philosophers all have opinions about validity of time travel. So does John Cramer, professor Emeritus of Physics at the UW. He wants to make it a reality. Learn more at KOMO-TV ABC 4.
10/29/2012

Scholarly publishing's gender gap

UW Professor of Biology Carl T. Bergstrom undertakes the largest analysis ever done of academic articles by gender, reaching across hundreds of years and hundreds of fields. Learn more at The Chronicle of Higher Education.
10/26/2012

Applied mathematics among UW departments offering courses online at no cost

Applied Mathematics Professor Eric Zivot's course in computational finance, offered for free through massive open online course service Coursera, is one of several being offered by the UW. The class has more than 17,000 students. Learn more at King 5.
10/25/2012

Advancing Science Through Mass Spectrometry

Chemistry professor Frank Turecek, whose work in mass spectrometry has led to advances in his field and better detection of several rare diseases in newborns, recently received a distinguished Thomson Medal Award. Learn more at Perspectives newsletter.
10/23/2012

UW research ranks fourth among world universities

A ranking released by National Taiwan University places the University of Washington fourth among the world's universities and first among American public universities in scientific research, as measured by its faculty's productivity, research impact and research excellence. Learn more at UW Today.
10/11/2012

Capturing Nature: An exploration at the Neptune Theatre

An exploration on capturing nature in art and other media will be offered Oct. 15 at the Neptune Theatre, where ten experts from the UW and beyond have six minutes and 20 slides to discuss everything from the Hubble Space Telescope to cave paintings. Learn more at Seattle Times.
10/10/2012

Fighting the illegal ivory trade from Seattle

Sam Wasser, a researcher and director of UW's Center for Conservation Biology, is helping to put a dent in the illegal ivory trade in Africa. Learn more at KPLU-FM.
10/8/2012

Hungry Snakes Trap Guam In Spidery Web

University of Washington researchers investigate the explosion of the island's spider population. Learn more at NPR.
9/19/2012


 

 

 

Bookmark and Share
Sign Up for E-communication Social Media Buttons