New research led by the University of Washington suggests that two different climate transitions millions of years ago fueled the diversification of carnivoran body plans.
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The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Oct. 8 awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi “for the development of metal-organic frameworks,” or MOFs. Both Dianne Xiao, a UW associate professor of chemistry, and Douglas Reed, a UW assistant professor of chemistry, use MOFs in their research at the UW. UW News reached out to them to learn more about the significance of these structures and how researchers use them.
The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute on Monday awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Mary E. Brunkow — an alum of the University of Washington — along with Frederick J. Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi “for groundbreaking discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance that prevents the immune system from harming the body.” Brunkow received her bachelor’s degree in molecular and cellular biology from the UW in 1983. UW News spoke with Martha Bosma, professor and chair…
UW researchers discuss their study which surveyed 166 gamers about how video games sparked meaningful changes in their lives.
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.
In her new book, Katharina Reinecke explores how “digital culture shock” manifests in the world, in ways innocuous and sometimes harmful.
Quantum dots, which are 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, are unique materials that generate very specific colors of light. Researchers, including Brandi Cossairt, UW professor of chemistry, hope that quantum dots can one day be useful for more than just illuminating TV screens. UW News asked her to compare the quantum dots in QLED TVs with the ones her lab makes.
UW doctoral student Brett Halperin interviewed picketing film workers about AI during the 2023 strikes.
Two University of Washington researchers are developing treatments that aim to simultaneously treat cancer and improve patients’ quality of life. For World Cancer Day, UW News asked them to discuss their novel materials and how these materials can treat both the cancer and the patient.
University of Washington researchers created a method for training AI systems — both for large language models like ChatGPT and for robots — that can better reflect users’ diverse values. It predicts users’ preferences as they interact with it, then tailors its outputs accordingly.
Jie Xiao, University of Washington professor of mechanical engineering, talks about batteries and how academia can help support the growing domestic battery manufacturing industry.
UW assistant professor Sheng Wang discusses BiomedParse, an AI medical image analysis model that works across nine types of medical images to better predict systemic diseases. Medical professionals can load images into the system and ask the AI tool questions about them in plain English.
Before the results of the 2024 election start rolling in, UW News asked three University of Washington professors of political science to discuss what’s on their minds heading into the final hours.
America’s homeless services system relies on a massive amount of data, and at first glance, that data is exacting. Federal reports describe the country’s unhoused population in granular detail, listing precisely how many people are experiencing homelessness in each city along with detailed demographic data. Want to know how many people ages 55-64 slept outside in Spokane last year? A spreadsheet confidently provides the answer: just one. That data influences decisions at every level of government, from how the U.S….
UW researchers collaborated with people at multiple institutions to collect pre-storm data and place sensors to measure storm surge levels and wave height during Hurricane Helene’s landfall.
The Remote Hub Lab allows students to access physical engineering equipment from anywhere in the world. A primary focus of the lab is to use a process called “digital twinning,” to create virtual models that mirror real-world systems, which enables students to experiment, learn and innovate in a risk-free, cost-effective environment.
Niloofar Mireshghallah, a UW postdoctoral scholar, discusses why math and reasoning have so challenged artificial intelligence models and what the public should know about OpenAI’s new release.
Young adults with psychosis tend to use cannabis at extremely high rates, and their symptoms can be exacerbated by long-term marijuana use. A team of University of Washington researchers is focused on this particular group.
A study led by UW researcher Diana Ceballos is most comprehensive study to date of the specific fragrance chemical mixtures found in nail salon air, and will allow researchers to further study the potential health risks.
Several common injuries seem to haunt women’s sports. Jenny Robinson, a University of Washington assistant professor, is interested in designing better methods to help female athletes train to prevent and recover from injuries.
Two University of Washington researchers are investigating how to mitigate the effects of climate change on common road pavements, such as asphalt and concrete.
A major outbreak of a new strain of bird flu — formally named Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 — has killed millions of wild birds and infected poultry, dairy cattle, domestic cats and a small number of humans. UW experts explain how bird flu evolves and what it could mean for humans.
But in her new book “Log Off: Why Posting and Politics (Almost) Never Mix,” Katherine Cross, a UW doctoral student in the Information School, argues that social media has limited political value.
Franziska Roesner, a University of Washington associate professor, and collaborators will present two papers that mine real-world data to help understand TikTok’s personalized its recommendation algorithm and its impact.
New research from the University of Washington shows the brain’s response to viewing errors in both the syntax (form) and semantics (meaning) of code appeared identical to those that occur when fluent readers process sentences on a word-by-word basis, supporting a resemblance between how people learn computer and natural languages.
As researchers explore potential applications for AI, they have found scenarios where AI could be really useful but there’s not enough data to accurately train the algorithms. Jenq-Neng Hwang, University of Washington professor of electrical and computer and engineering, specializes in these issues.
Sandy Littletree, a UW assistant professor in the Information School, discusses the importance of working Indigenous ways of knowing into libraries, archives and data repositories.
New research from the UW examines how three wellness Instagram influencers profited from anti-vaccine misinformation.
Alzheimer’s disease and Type 2 diabetes are part of a family of amyloid diseases that are characterized by having proteins that cluster together. UW researchers have demonstrated more similarities between the two diseases.
Mike Teodorescu, a University of Washington assistant professor in the Information School, proposes that private enterprise standards for fairer machine learning systems would inform governmental regulation.
Robots in warehouses and even around our houses struggle to identify and pick up objects if they are too close together, or if a space is cluttered. This is because robots lack what psychologists call “object unity,” or our ability to identify things even when we can’t see all of them. Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a way to teach robots this skill.
A team University of Washington researchers have published a guide explaining language models, the technology that underlies chatbots.
A team led by researchers at the University of Washington developed 11 actions a robotic arm can make to pick up nearly any food attainable by fork. This allows the system to learn to pick up new foods during one meal.
Five University of Washington experts comment on the current El Niño, its effect on Pacific Northwest winter weather, as well as on regional and global ocean temperature trends.
The turmoil at large tech platforms has many people reconsidering what they want out of social media. Four researchers at the University of Washington are exploring different approaches to improve people’s experiences.
This month, University of Washington researchers will introduce multiple projects that deploy augmented reality — through headsets and phone apps — with the aim of making the world more accessible for people with disabilities.
A team including researchers at the University of Washington recently used new software to compare MRIs from 300 babies and discovered that myelin, a part of the brain’s so-called white matter, develops much slower after birth.
Clara Berridge, associate professor of social work at the University of Washington, discusses her research into how older adults feel about technology that’s marketed for their safety and security, such as location trackers and companion robots.
Jason Yip, a UW associate professor in the Information School, discusses how parents and schools can adapt to new technologies in ways that support children’s learning.
Twenty-five undergraduates are among the participants on a 41-day cruise off the Oregon coast aboard the UW’s large research vessel, the R/V Thomas G. Thompson. Principal investigator Deborah Kelley, professor of oceanography, answers questions about the expedition to visit and maintain the cabled ocean observatory.