News releases
August 8, 2011
An abnormally warm decade is part of the new ‘normal’
On July 1, the 30-year average temperatures used to determine “normal” changed, dropping the decade of the 1970s and adding the decade of 2001 through 2010. As a result, normal temperatures are now a bit warmer.
August 3, 2011
Univ. of Washington faculty experts available to discuss 9/11 issues
University of Washington professors in law, political science, communication and international studies are available to discuss issues related to the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11 disaster.
University of Illinois selects UWs Phyllis Wise as Urbana-Champaign chancellor
The University of Illinois today announced the appointment of Phyllis M. Wise, provost and executive vice president at the University of Washington, as its next vice president of the university and chancellor at Urbana-Champaign.
Web search is ready for a shakeup, says UW computer scientist
On the 20-year anniversary of the World Wide Web, computer scientist Oren Etzioni has written a two-page commentary in the journal Nature that calls on the international academic and business communities to take a bolder approach when designing how people find information online.
August 2, 2011
UW Medicine highlighted in Healthcare Equality Index 2011
UW Medicine health system is proud to be included as a leader in the Healthcare Equality Index 2011, an annual report published by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
Digital photos can animate a face so it ages and moves before your eyes
Computer scientists have created a way to take images from the web or personal photos collections and in seconds create an animation of a persons face. The tool can make a face appear to age over time, or gradually change the expression from a smile to a frown.
August 1, 2011
Did you think it was a cold spring? Now you have the proof
A University of Washington researcher has found that, at least by one measure, this spring was the coldest on record for the state and that Seattle’s last two springs have been the cloudiest since cloud-cover records started 50 years ago.
Kids anxiety, depression halved when parenting styled to personality
When it comes to rearing children, just about any parent will say that what works with one kid might not work with another. But which parenting styles work best with which kids? A study by UW psychologists provides advice about tailoring parenting to childrens personalities.
July 26, 2011
College-educated undocumented young adults face same narrow range of jobs as their parents
A new survey of life trajectories of 150 undocumented young adults raised and educated in America shows that they end up with the same labor jobs as their parents, working in construction, restaurants, cleaning and childcare services.
July 22, 2011
New target found for nitric oxide's attack on Salmonella bacteria
Nitric oxide, which is naturally produced in the nose and gut, disrupts the energy sources of many types of bacteria. Learning how it does this may lead to new antimicrobials or ways to promote the body’s own defenses against infection.
The cable has landed: Ocean science history in the making — with slideshow
Submarine cables for the nations first regional cabled ocean observatory, a project led by the University of Washington, made landfall last week on the Oregon coast.
July 21, 2011
Adolescent boys among those most affected by Washington state parental military deployment: UW study
A new study from researchers at the University of Washington concludes that parental military deployment is associated with impaired well-being among adolescents, especially adolescent boys.
July 20, 2011
Battle of the bugs: Pseudomonas breaches cell walls of rival bacteria without hurting itself
Microbiologists have uncovered a sneaky trick by the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa to oust rivals. It deploys a toxin delivery machine to breach cell walls of competitors without hurting itself. Its means of attack helps it survive in the outside environment and may even help it cause infection.
UW Medicine ranks high in U.S. News & World Reports 2011 Best Hospitals rankings
Hospitals in the UW Medicine system placed highly in the latest U.S. News rankings, as did specific patient-care specialties.
July 19, 2011
Race matters when recruiting, retaining undergraduate women engineers
A new study of female engineering students perceived challenges finds significant differences between black, Hispanic, Native American, Asian-American and white women. The findings could help institutions better attract and retain particular underrepresented student populations.
Gene therapy delivered once to blood vessel wall protects against atherosclerosis in rabbit studies
A one-dose method for delivering gene therapy into an arterial wall in rabbits effectively protects the artery from developing atherosclerosis despite ongoing high blood cholesterol. In the future, researchers hope to test whether this gene-delivery method works in heart bypass grafts.
July 14, 2011
UW will lead $18.5 million effort to create mind-machine interface
The National Science Foundation today announced an $18.5 million grant to establish an Engineering Research Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering based at the UW. The interdisciplinary center will combine neuroscience and robotics to develop new rehabilitation technologies.
July 13, 2011
Wood products part of winning carbon-emissions equation, researchers say
Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to grow, so forests have long been proposed as a way to offset climate change. But rather than just letting the forest sit there for a hundred or more years, the amount of carbon dioxide taken out of the atmosphere could be quadrupled in 100 years by harvesting regularly and using the wood in place of fossil-fuel intensive steel and concrete.
Atomic structure discovered for a sodium channel that generates electrical signals in living cells
Sodium channels are pores in the membranes of excitable cells – such as brain nerve cells or beating heart cells – that emit electrical signals. Researchers have obtained a high-resolution crystal structure showing all the atoms of this complex protein molecule and how they relate in three-dimensions.
July 12, 2011
Wireless power could cut cord for patients with implanted heart pumps
A new system to send electricity over short distances has been shown to reliably power a mechanical heart pump. The system could free patients from being tethered to a battery or external power source, lowering their chance of infection and improving their quality of life.
July 6, 2011
Sarah Reichard becomes director of UW Botanic Gardens
A forest resources professor whos an expert on invasive species and rare plants became director of the University of Washington Botanic Gardens July 1.
July 5, 2011
Kelsey Knowles selected as UW student regent
Kelsey Knowles, a masters degree candidate in the Evans School of Public Affairs, has been appointed as the University of Washingtons student regent by Gov. Chris Gregoire. The appointment is for one year.
Rose-colored beer goggles: Social benefits of heavy drinking outweigh harms
A study by University of Washington psychologists shows some people continue to drink heavily because of perceived positive effects, suggesting a new direction for programs targeting binge drinking.
July 1, 2011
UW Nurse Camp creates collegiate opportunities for minority and low-income high school students
The teens will spend a week in July at the UW exploring the nursing profession and what it takes to become a nurse. The camp is made possible by donations from UW School of Nursing faculty, staff and students, and from local community groups and businesses.
June 27, 2011
Seattle survey: Block watches and individual cop recognition promote good opinions of police
A new survey shows that Seattle residents who know or recognize a police officer in their neighborhood and have participated in a block watch or similar program are more likely to regard police positively. And its especially true about people of color.
Two talks with teens leads to less marijuana use for at least a year
Brief, voluntary conversations with a health educator led to up to a 20 percent decrease in marijuana use for teenagers who frequently used the drug.
June 22, 2011
Caribou in Albertas oil sands stressed by human activity, not wolves
New research suggests that, in the Athabasca Oil Sands in northern Alberta, human activity related to oil production and the timber industry could be more important than wolves in the decline of the caribou population.
June 21, 2011
Diabetic kidney disease on the rise in America, despite improved diabetes care
Better glucose, lipid and blood pressure control in the diabetic population over the past 20 years has not reduced the prevalence of diabetic kidney disease in the United States.
New 3-D computer models improve building design and construction
A recent report shows that building information modeling is challenging and changing the construction industry, including the ways mechanical contractors organize teams and technology.
June 20, 2011
Bacteria develop restraint for survival in a rock-paper-scissors community
New research shows that in some structured communities, organisms increase their chances of survival if they evolve some level of restraint that allows competitors to survive as well, a sort of “survival of the weakest.”
June 19, 2011
Atmospheric carbon dioxide buildup unlikely to spark abrupt climate change
New research lends support to recent studies that suggest abrupt climate change is the result of alterations in ocean circulation uniquely associated with ice ages, not from atmospheric carbon dioxide.
June 16, 2011
Boost for plant scientists, including UW prof, comes at critical time
Keiko Torii, professor of biology, is among 15 of the “nations most innovative plant scientists” selected to share $75 million for fundamental plant science research.
June 15, 2011
Life expectancy in most U.S. counties falls behind worlds healthiest nations
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s most current county-level analysis of life expectancy in America finds large disparities nationwide. Women fare worse than men, and people in Appalachia, the Deep South, and Northern Texas live the shortest lives.
June 13, 2011
Perkins Coie awards grant for nanoengineering patch to repair heart attack damage
The law firm Perkins Coie has presented its $20,000 “Award for Discovery” to Deok-Ho Kim, UW assistant professor of bioengineering and a regenerative medicine researcher. Kim works on pre-conditioning stem cells to try to create longer-surviving patches for heart muscle repair.
June 9, 2011
UW Medicine, Valley Medical Center form strategic alliance
The chief executive officers of UW Medicine and Valley Medical Center have announced the formation of a strategic alliance in which Valley Medical Center, Public Hospital District #1 of King County, will join UW Medicine effective July 1, 2011.
Scientists find recent snowpack declines in the West nearly unprecedented
The snowpack decline of the last 50 years in the Rocky Mountains is highly unusual in context of the past 800 years, according to findings published June 10 in “Science.”
Physicists hit on mathematical description of superfluid dynamics
A century after the discovery of superfluids, scientists using a powerful supercomputer have devised a theoretical framework that explains the real-time behavior of superfluids.
June 7, 2011
Corpse flower blooms overnight Wednesday
An Amorphophallus titanum, also known as a corpse flower in its native Sumatra and elsewhere because of its foul odor, has bloomed at the University of Washington botany greenhouse. Visit weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. while the bloom lasts.
June 3, 2011
University of Washington and KEXP sign new 30-year management agreement
The University of Washington and KEXP Radio have entered into a new management agreement for KEXP to continue operating the Universitys broadcast service at 90.3 FM for the next 30 years.
June 2, 2011
Revamped bio course improves performance – especially among educationally disadvantaged students – in spite of budget cuts
Students overall performed better – and educationally disadvantaged students generally made even greater strides than everyone else – in an introductory biology course at the University of Washington where recent budget woes doubled class sizes for the course, cut lab times and reduced the number of graduate teaching assistants.
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