UW News


September 30, 2013

3 UW professors honored by NIH for innovative biomedical research

Drumheller Fountain and Gerberding Hall on the UW campus.

Three University of Washington faculty members are among those honored with a grant from the National Institutes of Health’s High Risk-High Reward program.


UW researchers helped draft international assessment of climate change

Graphic of IPCC report depicts temperatures at the end of the 21st century.

UW faculty members were among international researchers who compiled the fifth climate-change assessment report. The UW will host a seminar Tuesday, Oct. 1 with some of the Seattle-area authors.


UW engineers invent programming language to build synthetic DNA

An example chemical program.

A team led by the University of Washington has developed a programming language for chemistry that it hopes will streamline efforts to design a network that can guide the behavior of chemical-reaction mixtures in the same way that embedded electronic controllers guide cars, robots and other devices.


September 26, 2013

History lecture series to explore slavery in making of America

Part of a poster for 2013 history department lecture sereis.

The UW history department will review America’s history of slavery from four different angles in its annual lecture series, which begins on Oct. 23.


Arts Roundup: Exhibits, lectures — and Chris Thile performs at Meany

Chris Thile, mandolin virtuoso.

School has started and this week provides an array of arts events on campus and off, including a performance by mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile and the first lecture in the School of Drama’s performing art lecture series.


September 25, 2013

Shiny new Odegaard library greets students

The second and third floors of Odegaard library.

UW students are being greeted by a spiffy new version of the Odegaard Undergraduate Library following a nearly $17 million makeover, the first in the library’s 41-year history.


‘Green jobs’ loosely defined in job creation grants

Mike Mitzel, maintenance mechanic for UW's consolidated laundry facility.

Digital applications can enable or limit, say authors of ‘The App Generation’

Image from the cover of Cover of "The App Generation" co-authored by UW's Katie Davis.

There’s often “an app for that” these days, but for young people such digital shortcuts can be as limiting as they are convenient, says the University of Washington co-author of a new book titled “The App Generation.”


September 23, 2013

News Digest: Flu clinics this fall, help with new K-12 standards, public events about Middle East

Sketch of little girl blowing her nose

Flu clinics in October, November || UW helping with new science, engineering standards for K-12 || Jackson School to hold public events about Middle East


September 20, 2013

Myth busting: Why so many spiders in late summer?

A male giant house spider perched on a hand.

September 19, 2013

Cognitive rehabilitation improves brain function in cancer survivors

A study participant takes the Stroop test.

A new study shows that cancer survivors who experience memory and thinking problems may benefit from cognitive rehabilitation.


Arts Roundup: Photos, lectures — and new exhibits at the Henry Art Gallery

"Chicago," by Ray Metzker, from an exhibit at the Henry Art Gallery.

As the new school year gears up, the arts on campus come alive with an array of exhibits, lectures and performances to enjoy.


Mantas, devil rays butchered for apothecary trade now identifiable

Side view of manata ray swimmming

Dried filters from the mouths of filter-feeding rays started appearing in apothecary shops in recent years, but there’s been no way to know which of these gentle-natured rays was being slaughtered. Now scientists have discovered enough differences to identify the giant manta and eight devil rays using the dried filters.


September 18, 2013

Cables, instruments installed in the deep sea off Pacific Northwest coast

instrument on seafloor

In a seven-week cruise this past summer, oceanographers and students laid 14 miles of extension cable and installed about a dozen instruments for a historic deep-sea observatory.


Documents that Changed the World: The Riot Act, 1714

The Riot Act, circa 1714

When does a gathering become a riot? According to the United Kingdom’s Riot Act of 1714, it’s when local authorities say so.


September 17, 2013

Stronger winds explain puzzling growth of sea ice in Antarctica

sea ice

Despite warming temperatures, Antarctic sea ice is on track to hit a record high. A new study suggests stronger polar winds can explain the recent increase in Southern Hemisphere sea ice.


Emotional attachment to robots could affect outcome on battlefield

A United States Army explosive ordnance disposal robot pulls the wire of a suspected improvised explosive device in Iraq.

As the military designs field robots to be more human or animal-like, it’s important to study whether soldiers could become emotionally attached to the mechanical tools and less willing to send them into harm’s way.


Door open for migrant students at UW

Jose Carmona spent the summer as an intern with the Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center, doing field research on two projects.

In spite of economic recovery, U.S. poverty rate remains high

Man on bench, from West Coast Poverty Center web site.

Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau today show that, for the second year in a row, the poverty rate for the U.S. remained stable at 15 percent in 2012. Although the median annual income did not fall in 2012, it remains 8.3 percent below median income in 2007.


September 16, 2013

Depletion of ‘traitor’ immune cells slows cancer growth in mice

A stained cross-section of a mouse tumor. In this image, red areas are macrophages, and green indicates the presence of the peptide that can bind with macrophages in cancer cells.

Scientists at the University of Washington have developed a strategy to slow tumor growth and prolong survival in mice with cancer by targeting and destroying a type of cell that dampens the body’s immune response to cancer.


Freshman Convocation marks opening of UW’s school year

Drumheller Fountain and Gerberding Hall on the UW campus.

University of Washington President Michael Young will be the featured speaker at the UW’s 30th annual Freshman Convocation, which begins at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 22 in the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.


September 13, 2013

Neighborhoods and UW team up to measure diesel exhaust pollution in South Seattle

UW researchers install an air-sampling monitor.

The residents of the Georgetown and South Park neighborhoods in Seattle’s Duwamish Valley now know how much diesel exhaust they are exposed to. A report on findings from an air pollution study comparing these neighborhoods to Beacon Hill and Queen Anne was published today, Sept. 13.


15 UW faculty members named to state Academy of Sciences

A large 'W' is at the north entrance to the UW campus.

The Washington State Academy of Sciences has added 25 new members to its ranks, and 15 of them are from the University of Washington.


September 12, 2013

Initial positive results reported on vaccine to treat genital herpes

The vaccine is the first to significantly reduce the frequency of viral shedding — the surfacing of herpes virus on the genitals — and appears to activate T cell immune responses to the virus.


Futures Committee suggests new compact for UW and community

Drumheller Fountain and Gerberding Hall on the UW campus.

A committee of volunteers, including many of the state’s top business and civic leaders, has issued a report recommending a stronger partnership between the University of Washington and the broad community of people that it serves.


Arts Roundup: Historic photos, art exhibits — and the Burke explores New Zealand

2013Postcard

Even as the UW gears up for a new school year, interesting arts events are cropping up across campus. The Henry Art Gallery and Jacob Lawrence Gallery have new exhibits and the Burke Museum offers buggy weekend activities.


September 11, 2013

UW engineers to make cookstoves 10 times cleaner for developing world

An example of one of the more efficient cookstoves used in developing countries.

University of Washington engineers have received a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to design a better cookstove, which researchers say will use half as much fuel and cut emissions by 90 percent.


September 10, 2013

New Sports Medicine Center at Husky Stadium is a game-changer for all athletes

antogravity treadmill

This week the newest UW Medicine Sports Medicine Center opened its doors to the community at Husky Stadium. A public open house is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 19.


Two common drugs may help treat deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome

MERS virus

A combination of interferon-alpha 2b and ribavirin, drugs routinely given for hepatitis C, may be an effective treatment for the coronovirus that causes this new disease.


New UW-based organization aims to prevent suicides

Forefront image

Forefront: Innovations in suicide prevention, a new University of Washington-based organization launched Sept. 10, will help Washington state lead the way to new policies and programs to solve what is regarded as a major public health problem.


UW ranked 16th among national public universities by US News

A large 'W' is at the north entrance to the UW campus.

The University of Washington was tied for 16th place among public universities for its undergraduate program in the most recent edition of America’s Best Colleges released by US News & World Report.


September 9, 2013

Gene for most common childhood cancer identified

stained ALL leukemia bone marrow cells

In children with this form of leukemia, damage to chromosome 9 removes part of a normal copy of the gene in question, and leaves the mutated copy unopposed.


Brotmans receive Gates Volunteer Service Award

statue of George Washington on UW campus

Nearly half of state’s distracted drivers are texting

texting while driving

In our state, texting on a hand-held device diverts drivers’ attention more than any other distraction.


Breaking deep-sea waves reveal mechanism for global ocean mixing

wave

Oceanographers for the first time recorded an enormous wave breaking miles below the surface in a key bottleneck for global ocean circulation.


September 6, 2013

UW’s big bet on cheap classes

Scenes depicting online education.

September 5, 2013

News Digest: UW 14th on Teach for America list, program scores perfect 100, UW Botanic Gardens showcases vendors

UW 14th on Teach for America list || College Assistance Migrant Program scores perfect 100 || UW Botanic Gardens showcases venues and vendors


Redesigned feminine hygiene product tackles problem of human trafficking

A group of University of Washington graduate students wanted to help save victims of human trafficking. Along the way they won two prestigious national design awards for their efforts and hope to raise money to help even more people.


September 4, 2013

Pico-world dragnets: Computer-designed proteins recognize and bind small molecules

Protein design team

Computer-designed proteins that can recognize and interact with small biological molecules are now a reality. Scientists have succeeded in creating a protein molecule that can be programmed to unite with three different steroids.


KUOW inaugurates new two-hour program

Logo for The Record.

KUOW launched “The Record on KUOW” Tuesday with more than a half-dozen segments focused on local, national and international news and information.



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