News releases
May 30, 2013
Big feet preference in rural Indonesia defies one-size-fits-all theory of attractiveness
In most cultures, a woman’s small feet are seen as a sign of youth and fertility, but that’s not true of all cultures, including the Karo Batak on the island of Sumatra.
May 29, 2013
Early brain responses to words predict developmental outcomes in children with autism
The pattern of brain responses to words in 2-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder predicted the youngsters’ linguistic, cognitive and adaptive skills at ages 4 and 6, according to a new study by UW’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences.
UW to host student steel bridge competition this weekend
Just a week after the Interstate 5 Skagit River Bridge collapse north of Seattle, the University of Washington will host a national steel bridge competition for undergraduate civil engineering students. Forty-nine finalist teams will converge on campus for the 2013 National Student Steel Bridge Competition.
May 23, 2013
Clinical trial aims to prevent type 2 diabetes through medication
The UW and the VA Puget Sound will be among the sites for the national RISE study. The researchers want to see if treating patients to preserve insulin secretion keeps diabetes from forming or slows its progression.
Depression raises diabetics’ risk of severe low blood sugar episodes
Evidence points to importance of recognizing and treating depression in people with diabetes to reduce medical complications.
Denzil Suite selected as UW vice president for student life
Denzil Suite has been selected as vice president for student life.
May 22, 2013
Practicing medicine pharma-free in a drug rep-filled world
A rural family medicine group is an example for other community physicians seeking to wean themselves from pharmaceutical industry influence.
UW joins edX to provide more free online courses
The University of Washington announced May 21 a new partnership with edX, the Massive Open Online Course provider from Harvard/MIT.
May 21, 2013
Bjong Wolf Yeigh selected as chancellor for UW Bothell
Bjong Wolf Yeigh, professor and president of SUNYIT, the State University of New York Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome, has been selected as the next chancellor at the University of Washington Bothell.
The tea party and the politics of paranoia
New research argues that the tea party owes more to paranoid politics of the John Birch Society and others than traditional American conservatism. “True conservatives aren’t paranoid,” says political scientist Chris Parker. “Tea party conservatives are.”
May 20, 2013
Amazon River exhales virtually all carbon taken up by rain forest
A study published this week in Nature Geoscience shows that woody plant matter is almost completely digested by bacteria living in the Amazon River, and that this tough stuff plays a major part in fueling the river’s breath.
May 17, 2013
Youth bullying because of perceived sexual orientation widespread and damaging
Harmful effects of bullying are profound for youth struggling with identity and self-worth, and can lead to depression and thoughts of suicide.
May 15, 2013
Tropical air circulation drives fall warming on Antarctic Peninsula
New UW research shows that, in recent decades, fall is the only time of extensive warming over the entire Antarctic Peninsula, and it is mostly from atmospheric circulation patterns originating in the tropics.
May 14, 2013
DNA analysis unearths origins of Minoans, the first major European civilization
The maternal genetic information passed down through many generations of mitochondria is still present in modern-day residents of the Lassithi plateau of Crete.
Engineered biomaterial could improve success of medical implants
University of Washington engineers have created a synthetic substance that fully resists the body’s natural attack response to foreign objects. Medical devices such as artificial heart valves, prostheses and breast implants could be coated with this polymer to prevent the body from rejecting an implanted object.
May 13, 2013
Using earthquake sensors to track endangered whales
Oceanographers are using a growing number of seafloor seismometers, devices that record seafloor vibrations, to carry out inexpensive and non-invasive studies of endangered whales.
May 8, 2013
Do peppers reduce risk of Parkinson’s?
New study suggests dietary nicotine may protect against this disorder, which results from the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells.
Affordability drives Washington housing recovery in first quarter of 2013
The UW’s Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies shows Washington state’s housing market improved in the first quarter of 2013 for the third consecutive quarter.
New ‘academic redshirt’ program to support undergraduate STEM education
The University of Washington in collaboration with Washington State University is developing an “academic redshirt” program that will bring dozens of low-income, Washington state high school graduates to the two universities to study engineering in a five-year bachelor’s program.
May 6, 2013
New device can extract human DNA with full genetic data in minutes
A new device will give hospitals and research labs a much easier way to separate DNA from human fluid samples to help with genome sequencing, disease diagnosis and forensic investigations.
April 30, 2013
Tactics of new Middle East virus suggest treating by altering lung cells’ response to infection
The Erasmus virus resets 207 genes in lung cells to hamper the cells’ ability to launch an antiviral reaction. Available drugs might correct this sabotage.
April 29, 2013
Blast concussions could cause pituitary deficiencies in war vets
Low pituitary hormone levels can mimic symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress syndrome, but are easily treated.
Dinosaur predecessors gain ground in wake of world’s biggest biodiversity crisis — with photo gallery
Newly discovered fossils reveal a lineage of animals thought to have led to dinosaurs taking hold in Tanzania and Zambia, many millions of years before dinosaur relatives were seen in the fossil record elsewhere on Earth.
Grocery delivery service is greener than driving to the store
New University of Washington research shows it’s much more environmentally friendly to leave the car parked at home and opt for groceries delivered to your doorstep.
April 25, 2013
Astronomer studies far-off worlds through ‘characterization by proxy’
A UW astronomer is using Earth’s interstellar neighbors to learn the nature of certain stars too far away to be directly measured or observed, and the planets they may host.
Keeping beverages cool in summer: It’s not just the heat, it’s the humidity
Drops forming on the outside of your drink don’t just make the can slippery. Experiments show that in hot, humid weather, condensation heats a drink more than the surrounding air.
April 23, 2013
A greener concrete? UW-led coalition seeks to reduce concrete’s carbon footprint
Concrete is used to build streets, bridges, buildings, dams and driveways — and it lasts a very long time — but what if concrete could be made with a 50 percent smaller carbon footprint?
Workers Memorial Day event takes place April 24 at HUB Lyceum
The 65 workers who died from job-related injuries or illnesses in Washington state this past year will be remembered at a UW event promoting safer workplaces.
April 22, 2013
Wayne C. Roth, president and general manager of KUOW, to retire after 30 years
Wayne C. Roth, president and general manager of KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio, has announced that he will retire this September.
April 18, 2013
Astronomers discover five-planet system with most Earth-like exoplanet yet
A University of Washington astronomer has discovered perhaps the most Earth-like planet yet found outside the solar system by the Kepler Space Telescope.
April 17, 2013
A key to mass extinctions could boost food, biofuel production
A substance implicated in several mass extinctions could greatly enhance plant growth, with implications for global food supplies biofuels, new UW research shows.
April 15, 2013
Jon Huntsman selected as UW Commencement speaker
Jon Huntsman, who has spent more than two decades in public service, will be the featured speaker at the UW’s 2013 Commencement exercises
High glucose levels could impair ferroelectricity in body’s connective tissues
Researchers found that a protein in organs that repeatedly stretch and retract can lose their functionality when exposed to sugar.
April 14, 2013
Recent Antarctic climate, glacier changes at the ‘upper bound’ of normal
In recent decades the thinning of glaciers at the edge of Antarctica has accelerated, but new UW-led research indicates the changes, though dramatic, cannot be confidently attributed to human-caused global warming.
April 12, 2013
New device could cut costs on household products, pharmaceuticals
A new procedure that thickens and thins fluid at the micron level could save consumers and manufacturers money, particularly for some soap products.
April 11, 2013
Space-age domes offer a window on ocean acidification
At Friday Harbor Labs, students are conducting a three-week study on the effects of ocean acidification using a strategy that’s midway between a controlled lab test and an open-ocean experiment.
Tuberculosis fighter and promoter reveals what’s behind its split identity
Latest research findings suggest the possibility of reverting TB hyper-susceptibility to TB hyper-resistance.
April 4, 2013
Listening to the Big Bang – in high fidelity (audio)
A UW physicist has used new satellite data to update his decade-old recreation of the sound of the Big Bang at the birth of the universe.
Rocket powered by nuclear fusion could send humans to Mars
Astronauts could be a step closer to a fast journey to Mars using a unique manipulation of nuclear fusion devised by UW scientists and those at a Redmond company.
April 3, 2013
UW group part of national report, meeting on adaptation to climate change
The UW’s Climate Impacts Group is part of a national report and first-ever national meeting on adapting to the effects of a changing climate.
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