News releases

August 27, 2014

New smartphone app can detect newborn jaundice in minutes

A demonstration of how the app set-up looks.

University of Washington engineers and physicians have developed a smartphone application that checks for jaundice in newborns and can deliver results to parents and pediatricians within minutes.

August 26, 2014

Scientists craft a semiconductor junction only three atoms thick

As seen under an optical microscope, the heterostructures have a triangular shape. The two different monolayer semiconductors can be recognized through their different colors.

Scientists have developed what they believe is the thinnest-possible semiconductor, a new class of nanoscale materials made in sheets only three atoms thick.

August 25, 2014

Learning by watching, toddlers show intuitive understanding of probability

UW researchers have found that children as young as 2 intuitively use math concepts to help make sense of their world.

statue of George Washington on UW campus

The Washington Monthly magazine has listed UW seventh in the nation in its 2014 national university rankings.

August 21, 2014

Cause of global warming hiatus found deep in the Atlantic Ocean

graph of global temperatures and ocean heat

Observations show that the heat absent from the Earth’s surface is plunging deep in the north and south Atlantic Ocean, and is part of a slow, naturally recurring cycle.

Washington state’s housing market rebounded from its first quarter performance, as the annual rate of existing home sales rose 6.4 percent in the second quarter of 2014.

August 19, 2014

Shyam Gollakota named one of world’s top innovators under 35

Shyam Gollakota, a University of Washington assistant professor of computer science and engineering, has been named one of this year’s “Innovators Under 35” by global media company MIT Technology Review.

August 18, 2014

University of Washington No. 15 in the world

The University of Washington moved up one position to No. 15 on the 2014 Academic Ranking of World Universities, conducted by researchers at the Center for World-Class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which was released Friday. The UW ranked 13th among U.S. universities and fourth among public institutions worldwide. The ranking considers several indicators…

A UW study found that StopInfo, a new hub for bus stop information in the OneBusAway app, is helpful for blind riders and can promote spontaneous and unfamiliar travel. A UW research team launched the program recently in collaboration with King County Metro.

August 16, 2014

Virginity pledges for men can lead to sexual confusion — even after the wedding day

Hands of a man and woman wearing weddng rings on to pf open bible

Young men receiving support after they pledge to abstain from sex until marriage, can find themselves without advisors and help once they do marry.

August 15, 2014

Research from 1960s shakes up understanding of West Coast earthquakes

A new study used seabed samples collected by UW graduate students in the late 1960s to question current interpretations of earthquake frequency along the West Coast.

August 14, 2014

Stardust sample analysis finds likely interstellar dust

An artist's conception of the Stardust spacecraft meeting the comet Wild-2.

The Stardust mission, the brainchild of a UW astronomer, enlisted help from thousands of citizen scientists to find likely evidence of interstellar dust.

August 13, 2014

Snow has thinned on Arctic sea ice

Historic observations and NASA airborne data provide a decades-long record showing that the snowpack on Arctic sea ice is thinning.

August 8, 2014

Ancient shellfish remains rewrite 10,000-year history of El Niño cycles

Piles of ancient shells provide the first reliable long-term record for the powerful driver of year-to-year climate changes. Results show that the El Niños 10,000 years ago were as strong and frequent as they are today.

August 7, 2014

Ocean’s most oxygen-deprived zones to shrink under climate change

Predictions that the lowest-oxygen environments in the ocean will get worse may not come to pass. UW research shows climate change, by weakening the trade winds, will shrink these extremely low-oxygen waters.

August 6, 2014

Penguins at risk world over, scientists urge new strategies

Scientists writing in the current issue of Conservation Biology call for marine protected areas and partially protected areas to help penguins cope.

August 5, 2014

Funding approval a big step forward for Large Synoptic Survey Telescope

A photograph and a rendering mix of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

With a key funding approval, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, an international astronomy project of which the University of Washington is a founding member, is taking a major step toward becoming a reality.

August 4, 2014

No-power Wi-Fi connectivity could fuel Internet of Things reality

University of Washington engineers have designed a new communication system that uses radio frequency signals as a power source and reuses existing Wi-Fi infrastructure to provide Internet connectivity to battery-free devices.

July 31, 2014

Rovy Branon named vice provost for UW Educational Outreach

University of Washington President Michael K. Young and Provost Ana Mari Cauce announced today the selection of Rovy Branon as the new vice provost for UW Educational Outreach, effective Oct. 15, 2014. The appointment is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents. “Rovy Branon’s prior leadership experiences make him uniquely qualified for this…

For certain ancient planets orbiting smaller, older stars, the gravitational influence of an outer companion planet might generate enough energy to keep the inner world habitable even when its own internal fires burn out. This is an illustration of a planet in the habitable zone of a star about the size of the sun. But what would such a world look like at its surface? Here, UW astronomy Rory Barnes provides a speculative illustration. "The star would appear about 10 times larger in the sky than our Sun. The sky is mostly dark because cool stars don't emit much blue light, so the atmosphere doesn't scatter it."

Having a companion in old age is good for people — and, it turns out, might extend the chance for life on certain Earth-sized planets in the cosmos as well.

July 30, 2014

Dissolvable fabric loaded with medicine might offer faster protection against HIV

The UW's dissolving fibers could be spun and placed within an applicator, similar to those used to insert a tampon. The inset image shows the quick-release fibers magnified 5,000 times.

University of Washington bioengineers have discovered a potentially faster way to deliver a topical drug that protects women from contracting HIV. Their method spins the drug into silk-like fibers that quickly dissolve when in contact with moisture, releasing higher doses of the drug than possible with other materials.

July 29, 2014

Huge waves measured for first time in Arctic Ocean

The first measurements of waves in the middle of the Arctic Ocean recorded house-sized waves during a September 2012 storm. More sensors are going out this summer to study waves in newly ice-free Arctic waters.

July 28, 2014

New protein structure could help treat Alzheimer’s, related diseases

An abnormal protein, left, is intercepted by the UW’s compound that can bind to the toxic protein and neutralize it, as shown at right.

University of Washington bioengineers have a designed a peptide structure that can stop the harmful changes of the body’s normal proteins into a state that’s linked to widespread diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and Lou Gehrig’s disease.

July 22, 2014

University of Washington named ‘Great College to Work For’

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

UW is recognized as a “Great College to Work For” by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

An aerial view of the slide site at Oso, Washington, from March 31, 2014.

The UW is part of a new study that shows the disastrous landslide that killed 43 people at Oso, Washington, involved the “remobilization” of a 2006 landslide in the same place.

July 21, 2014

Sean D. Sullivan named dean of UW School of Pharmacy

University of Washington President Michael K. Young and Provost Ana Mari Cauce announced Monday the selection of Sean D. Sullivan as the new dean of the UW School of Pharmacy, effective Sept. 15. The appointment is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents. “Dr. Sullivan occupies a very prominent position nationally and internationally…

July 18, 2014

Sloan Digital Sky Survey — including UW — now to view entire sky

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a consortium of institutions of which the University of Washington is part, will soon expand its view to see the entire sky, and even peer into the Milky Way’s galactic center.

July 17, 2014

Geophysicists prep for massive ‘ultrasound’ of Mount St. Helens

Dozens of geophysicists and volunteers will deploy 3,500 seismic sensors at Mount St. Helens next week in an unprecedented study of the volcano’s plumbing.

July 16, 2014

Tracking the breakup of Arctic summer sea ice

An international team has placed sensors on and under Arctic sea ice to monitor this season’s retreat. Scientists hope to understand the physics of the ice edge in order to predict summer conditions in the Arctic Ocean.

July 15, 2014

Brain responses to emotional images predict PTSD symptoms after Boston Marathon bombing

brain scan showing activation of the amygdala in the left hemisphere

By using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging scans from before the attack and survey data from after, the researchers found that heightened amygdala reaction to negative emotional stimuli was a risk factor for later developing symptoms of PTSD.

July 14, 2014

Months before their first words, babies’ brains rehearse speech mechanics

A year-old baby sits in a brain scanner, called magnetoencephalography -- a noninvasive approach to measuring brain activity. The baby listens to speech sounds like "da" and "ta" played over headphones while researchers record her brain responses.

Research from UW’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences shows that in 7- and 11-month-old infants speech sounds stimulate areas of the brain that coordinate and plan motor movements for speech.

July 11, 2014

University of Washington sees record-breaking fundraising in 2013-14

Donors contributed more money — more than $482 million — to the UW in the 2013-14 fiscal year than in any previous year.

July 8, 2014

Better visualizing of fitness-app data helps discover trends, reach goals

University of Washington researchers have developed visual tools to help self-trackers understand their daily activity patterns over a longer period and in more detail. They found people had an easier time meeting personal fitness and activity goals when they could see their data presented in a broader, more visual way.

July 3, 2014

Board of Regents — July 10 meeting

The Board of Regents will hold meetings Thursday, July 10. The Board meetings will take place in the Bill & Melinda Gates Commons, CSE Room 691, Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering. The first committee meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. The Regular Board meeting is scheduled to begin at…

July 1, 2014

Victor Balta becomes director of UW Office of News and Information

The former news planning editor for Aljazeera.com, the online home of Al Jazeera America cable news channel, is the new director of the Office of News and Information.

The Road Map Project highlights how students are most successful when schools and communities find creative and culturally responsive ways of engaging parents.

June 26, 2014

Nanopore technique rapidly decodes long DNA strands

A low-cost technique may make DNA sequencing more convenient and less cumbersome, perhaps eventually replacing large lab machines with hand held devices.

New research on how pollinators find flowers when background odors are strong shows that both natural plant odors and human sources of pollution can conceal the scent of sought-after flowers.

University of Washington computer scientists have shown that crowdsourcing can be a quick and effective way to teach a robot how to complete tasks.

June 24, 2014

Rhoads leaving UW commercialization; Jandhyala takes new innovation post

Linden Rhoads will leave her post as UW vice provost for commercialization; Vikram Jandhyala will take over the new position of vice provost for innovation.

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