News releases
October 3, 2025
Discovery of organic compounds bolsters case that Saturn’s moon Enceladus could support life
A new analysis of data from the Cassini space probe has identified organic compounds within jets of water ice erupting from Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Some of the compounds, which likely originated in Enceladus’ subsurface ocean, have never before been identified on another world beyond Earth. The study, conducted in part by a UW researcher, contributes to mounting evidence that Enceladus could support life.
September 30, 2025
Q&A: How video games can lead people to more meaningful lives
UW researchers discuss their study which surveyed 166 gamers about how video games sparked meaningful changes in their lives.
September 29, 2025
A simple intervention significantly improved patent outcomes for women inventors
Research by the University of Washington and the USPTO found that some simple interventions increased the probability that female inventors would get patents by 12%. For first-time applicants, that probability increased to 17%.
September 25, 2025
Q&A: Insect pollinators need more higher-quality habitats to help farmers, new research says
In a new study, a team of scientists determined the minimum natural habitat on agricultural land that will allow insect pollinators — including bumble bees, solitary bees, hoverflies and butterflies — to thrive. UW News reached out to co-author Berry Brosi, UW professor of biology, to learn more about these results and how habitat is important to two types of bees native to Washington.
After schools instituted universal free meals, fewer students had high blood pressure, UW study finds
Students schools that offered free meals to all students were less likely to have high blood pressure, suggesting that universal free meals might be a powerful tool for improving public health.
September 23, 2025
Longer body size means more female calves for baleen whale moms
University of Washington researchers found, in historical whaling data, that longer baleen whale mothers were more likely to birth female calves than males. These results run contrary to a leading evolutionary theory that suggests that fit mothers will benefit more from male offspring.
September 22, 2025
Inconsistent charging stations hinder EV adoption
New research from the UW tested how much a car owner’s perception of public charger reliability influences their willingness to buy their first EV. The results were dramatic: Participants with a negative view of public charging were far less likely to choose an EV than those with a moderate view.
September 21, 2025
UW’s incoming classes welcomed by President Robert J. Jones at New Student Convocation
The University of Washington’s incoming classes were welcomed Sunday at the University’s 42nd annual New Student Convocation inside Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. The ceremony was attended by thousands of students, family and friends. Welcome, Huskies! Thousands of incoming @uofwa.bsky.social students gathered for an annual 'W' formation today after kicking off the school…
September 20, 2025
President Jones to welcome incoming class at New Student Convocation on Sunday
The University of Washington’s incoming classes will be welcomed on Sunday by President Robert J. Jones at the University’s 42nd annual New Student Convocation inside Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. The ceremony is expected to be attended by thousands of students, family and friends. Preliminary figures show the incoming freshman class will be…
September 18, 2025
Community Notes help reduce the virality of false information on X, study finds
A University of Washington-led study of X found that posts with Community Notes attached were less prone to going viral and got less engagement. After getting a Community Note, on average, reposts dropped 46% and likes dropped 44%.
September 17, 2025
VIDEO: UW welcomes incoming students to on-campus housing
This week the University of Washington campus is once again buzzing with energy as students begin to move into the residence halls and participate in annual fall activities for incoming undergraduates. A majority of the UW freshman class has signed up to live on campus for Autumn 2025, and thousands of students are expected to…
University of Washington breaks ground on ASUW Shell House renovation
University of Washington President Robert J. Jones, author Daniel James Brown, and other members of the ASUW Shell House community gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony at the historic building, which is undergoing final stages of adaptive reuse. Spanning approximately 12,000 square feet, the historic ASUW Shell House is located just feet from the northeast edge…
September 15, 2025
Webb telescope finds clues to Earth’s creation in a cosmic butterfly
The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed new details in the core of the Butterfly Nebula, known to astronomers as NGC 6302. From the dense ring of dust that surrounds the nebula’s core to the tiny but bright star hidden within, the Webb observations paint a never-before-seen portrait of the nebula’s inner workings. Researchers at the UW and around the world are studying the imagery to learn more about the origins of cosmic dust and its role in the formation of planets like ours.
September 12, 2025
Warming climate drives surge in dengue fever cases
Dengue fever incidence could rise as much as 76% by 2050 due to climate warming across a large swath of Asia and the Americas, according to a new study.
September 10, 2025
Q&A: Transparency in medical AI systems is vital, UW researchers say
In a recent paper, University of Washington researchers argue that a key standard for deploying medical AI is transparency — that is, using various methods to clarify how a medical AI system arrives at its diagnoses and outputs.
Researchers find key to Antarctic ice loss blowing in the north wind
Antarctic ice is melting at a startling pace, and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is one of the greatest sources of uncertainty in climate projections. Researchers thought westerly winds were accelerating ice loss, but a new study from UW flips the narrative by 90 degrees, pointing instead to winds from the north.
September 8, 2025
Ocean warming puts vital marine microbe at risk
Prochlorococcus, the most abundant photosynthesizing organism in the ocean, might be more vulnerable to climate change than researchers thought. Population decline could weaken the foundation of subtropical and tropical ecosystems as ocean temperatures continue to rise.
September 4, 2025
This common fish has an uncommon feature: Forehead teeth, used for mating
New findings call into question one of the core assumptions about teeth. Adult male spotted ratfish, a shark-like species native to the eastern Pacific Ocean, have rows of teeth on top of their heads, lining a cartilaginous appendage called the tenaculum, in addition to those in their jaws. They used their tenaculum teeth to grip females while mating in water.
Deep beneath the French Alps, dark matter hunters narrow their search
Physicists have floated numerous theories to explain what dark matter might be, but to date, no experiment has turned up compelling evidence to support any of them. An international team of physicists, including researchers from the UW, is now working on a new kind of dark matter detector with the goal of capturing the first direct observation of the puzzling material. Results from the detector’s prototype have already ruled out one of the leading theories of how dark matter originated.
August 27, 2025
New ad highlights national impact of Big Ten universities
The positive impact of Big Ten universities across the Pacific Northwest and around the nation will be highlighted in a new 30-second ad that will air during sporting events featuring conference members, starting with this week’s season-opening football games. The ad – entitled “We Are Here” – will air alongside the fan-favorite “Maps” spot. The…
Fund for Science and Technology invests in the UW College of the Environment to further innovation and research related to climate solutions
The University of Washington’s College of the Environment will expand its work related to climate solutions thanks to a grant announced today from Fund for Science and Technology, FFST, a new foundation within the Paul G. Allen philanthropic ecosystem.
August 25, 2025
How oxygen made the deep ocean home to animals, spurring rapid evolution
New research shows that deep-ocean oxygenation occurred 100 million years later than previously thought, aligning with the growth and spread of land plants. Once oxygenated, the ocean hosted rapid animal evolution, leading to the rise of modern vertebrates.
This AI model simulates 1000 years of the current climate in just one day
University of Washington researchers use AI to simulate the Earth’s current climate and interannual variability for up to 1,000 years. The model runs on a single processor and takes just 12 hours to generate a forecast.
August 19, 2025
Q&A: What can AI developers learn from climate activists
The goals of those developing AI systems for the climate and those working on the front lines of climate advocacy don’t necessarily align. To compare the two groups, UW researchers interviewed nine people who are developing AI for sustainability and 10 climate advocates.
August 13, 2025
Heather Horn named vice president for Human Resources
University of Washington President Robert J. Jones announced the appointment of Heather Horn to serve as the next vice president for Human Resources beginning Oct. 1.
‘Revolutionary’ seafloor fiber sensing reveals how falling ice drives glacial retreat in Greenland
A UW-led team of researchers used a fiber-optic cable to capture calving dynamics across the fjord of the Eqalorutsit Kangilliit Sermiat glacier in South Greenland. This allowed them to document — without getting too close — one of the key processes that is accelerating the rate of glacial mass loss and in turn, threatening the stability of ice sheets, with consequences for global ocean currents and local ecosystems.
People who move to more walkable cities do, in fact, walk significantly more
New research led by the University of Washington provides clear evidence that highly walkable areas lead to significantly more walking. Authors compared the steps per day of 5,424 people who moved one or more times among 1,609 U.S. cities. Across all relocations, when the Walk Score rose or fell more than 48 points, average steps increased or decreased by about 1,100 per day.
August 11, 2025
UW researchers test common disinfectants’ abilities to fight antibiotic resistance at the genetic level
Antimicrobial resistance is a lurking threat in hospitals around the world. As more strains of bacteria and other microbes evolve defenses against available drugs, more patients run the risk of contracting infections that defy treatment. Now, University of Washington researchers offer new insights into measures currently used to control the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria and other infectious agents in health care facilities.
Fresh fossil finds in Africa shed light on the era before Earth’s largest mass extinction
An international team of paleontologists, led by researchers at the University of Washington and the Field Museum of Natural History, is identifying the animals that thrived in southern Pangea — the planet’s single supercontinent at the time — just before the so-called “Great Dying” wiped out about 70% of terrestrial species, and an even larger fraction of marine ones.
August 6, 2025
With just a few messages, biased AI chatbots swayed people’s political views
University of Washington researchers recruited self-identifying Democrats and Republicans to make political decisions with help from three versions of ChatGPT: a base model, one with liberal bias and one with conservative bias. Democrats and Republicans were both likelier to lean in the direction of the biased chatbot they were talking with than those participants who interacted with the base model.
August 4, 2025
Video: USDA freezes UW project that turns Washington shellfish farmers’ seaweed problem into soil solution for land farmers
A UW-led project aimed to test the viability of seaweed as a soil amendment, and, if successful, develop a market for sea-based farmers to sell excess seaweed to their counterparts on land. The USDA froze the project’s funding, and for now, a solution remains just out of reach.
‘The discovery of the decade’: Researchers have found the culprit behind sea star wasting disease
An international research effort, including scientists from the University of Washington, has finally revealed the cause of sea star wasting disease: a strain of the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida.
July 24, 2025
Seismologists tapped into the fiber optic cable network to study offshore faults
University of Washington researchers showed that they can monitor seismic activity at the ocean floor using fiber optic cables without disrupting telecommunications. They developed this technique in Alaska and then tested it off the coast of Oregon.
July 21, 2025
12 UW professors elected to Washington State Academy of Sciences
Election recognizes the new member’s “outstanding record of scientific and technical achievement and willingness to assist the Academy in providing the best available scientific information and technical understanding to inform complex policy decisions in Washington.”
July 17, 2025
Seaweed-infused cement could cut concrete’s carbon footprint
Researchers at the University of Washington and Microsoft developed a new type of low-carbon concrete by mixing dried, powdered seaweed with cement. The seaweed-fortified cement has a 21% lower global warming potential while retaining its strength.
July 11, 2025
Pat Tillman Foundation names Stephanie Mitchell and Brian Riley in class of 2025 scholars
The Pat Tillman Foundation this week announced the 2025 Class of Tillman Scholars, which included two University of Washington students who exemplify the values Pat Tillman stood for: leadership, service, scholarship and impact. Stephanie Mitchell is a third-year doctoral student in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) and a military spouse….
July 10, 2025
Danny Barrow named vice provost for Enrollment Management
University of Washington Provost Tricia R. Serio announced the appointment of Danny Barrow to serve as the vice provost for Enrollment Management beginning July 28.
July 2, 2025
UW selects Studio Tsien as the architects for Ana Mari Cauce Welcome Center
The University of Washington today announced the selection of Studio Tsien to design the Ana Mari Cauce Welcome Center. The UW Architectural Commission made the recommendation in June.
July 1, 2025
This puzzle game shows kids how they’re smarter than AI
University of Washington researchers developed the game AI Puzzlers to show kids an area where AI systems still typically and blatantly fail: solving certain reasoning puzzles. In the game, users get a chance to solve puzzles by completing patterns of colored blocks. They can then ask various AI chatbots to solve and have the systems explain their solutions — which they nearly always fail to do accurately.
June 30, 2025
Four UW researchers named Fulbright Scholars
Four University of Washington researchers have been selected as Fulbright Scholars for 2025-2026 and will pursue studies in Spain, Taiwan, Poland and Japan.
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