Scientists crack the code of butterflies’ international journey

Each fall, monarch butterflies across Canada and the United States turn their orange, black and white-mottled wings toward the Rio Grande and migrate over 2,000 miles to the relative warmth of central Mexico.

This journey, repeated instinctively by generations of monarchs, continues even as monarch numbers haveplummeted due to loss of their sole larval food source — milkweed. But amid this sad news, a research team believes they have cracked the secretof the internal, genetically encoded compass that the monarchs use to determine the direction — southwest — they should fly each fall.

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For leading nonprofits, global change starts in Seattle

By investing in global health, Seattle foundations and non-profits are also changing the Puget Sound region. They are infusing the region’s innovation ecosystem with a wealth of global health care companies and research institutes, and they have helped build capacity and expertise at the University of Washington.

UW-led field project watching clouds from Antarctica

A UW atmospheric scientist is leading a project to study the clouds above the Southern Ocean. Seeing how the cloud droplets, small bits of dust, sea spray, and other materials on which cloud droplets form, and the ocean and sun interact will help improve global climate models.

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Guggenheim Foundation honors three globally-engaged professors

Three UW professors are among the 178 scholars, artists, and scientists recognized this year by the Guggenheim Foundation. Katharyne Mitchell, Helen O’Toole and Rajesh Rao were among the winners chosen from more than 3,100 applicants and will receive grants that allow them to pursue creative projects in the fields of science, academic scholarship and the arts.

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Exploring the history of Jewish refugees in Shanghai

From 1933 to 1941, Shanghai became a modern-day “Noah’s Ark” accepting over 18,000 Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust in Europe. Most were from Germany and Austria, but the refugees also included students of the famed Mir Yeshiva, the only yeshiva in occupied Europe to survive the Holocaust. In the “Designated Area for Stateless Refugees” in Ti Lan Qiao historic area of Shanghai, Jewish refugees lived harmoniously with local Chinese, overcoming numerous difficulties together. By the time the Second World War ended in 1945, most of the Jewish refugees had survived.

The Jewish Refugees in Shanghai Exhibition (1933-1941) brings together for the first time photos, personal stories, and artifacts from Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum. The exhibition will run at Hillel at UW from April 5 through April 30, 2016. It is free and open to the public Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM. School field trips are available with advanced notice.

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Department of Global Health celebrates Innovation Fund awards

This year’s Global Innovation Fund awardees represent a number of disciplines across 29 schools, colleges and programs. The funds are managed by the Office of Global Affairs. A record 95 applications were received at the fall deadline. Only 26 applications were awarded funds, eight involve Global Health faculty.

Study: Most tweets following fall Paris attacks defended Islam, Muslims

Researchers at the UW Information School and the Qatar Computing Research Institute analyzed 8.36 million tweets beginning seven hours after the November 13, 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris and continuing for 50 hours. Searching for words and hashtags relevant to the event, the team identified about 900,000 tweets relating to Islam and Muslims. They found that while anti-Islam and anti-Muslim sentiments arose on Twitter, most tweets in the huge stream following the Paris attacks actually condemned the negative hashtags and expressed support for Islam.

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In the Galapagos, UW researchers partner to map historic climate patterns

Together with colleagues from Australian National University, University of Washington oceanographers used clues from the Galapagos Islands — a dot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean — to trace El Niño patterns and seasonal tropical rains over the past 2,000 years. Evidence shows shifts that last for centuries, suggesting these tropical climate patterns have varied more radically and for longer durations than previously believed. The study is published the week of March 14 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Center for Global Health Nursing promotes ‘health that transcends borders’

Sarah Gimbel and Pam Kohler co-direct the UW School of Nursing Center for Global Health Nursing. The center pushes for the voices of nurses to be included in global health conversations. The center will support nursing students who want to learn and serve overseas, as well as international students who want to study at the UW. Likewise, a global health perspective allows nurses from the U.S. and abroad to learn from one another. “When we say ‘global,’” Gimbel said, “we’re talking about health that transcends borders.”

The Global Innovation Fund supports projects sponsored by the Center for Global Health Nursing.

Solving the global problem of mental health illness

Professor Deepa Rao and her colleagues say stigma, poor mental health, and substance abuse drive many global health problems, including diabetes, preterm birth, trauma injuries, self-harm and motor vehicle deaths. More than one billion people suffer from a mental health illness or substance abuse problem. “Mental health has been a neglected disease in global health,” says Rao, co-director of the UW Global Mental Health Program.

The next step is improving treatment. The Global Mental Health Program seeks philanthropic support for faculty, pilot research projects, and student scholarships and fellowships. Rao and her colleagues are conducting research and training to address gaps in global mental health interventions. One successful example is Professor Debra Kaysen’s therapy work in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where women are traumatized from domestic violence and rape.