Research
March 23, 2012
Embryonic stem cells shift metabolism in a cancer-like way upon implanting in the uterus
This change may release fuel and materials for the rapid growth of the early embryo and the formation of layers that will later become organs.
Emotionally supportive teachers lower risk for alcohol use in middle schoolers
Middle school students who felt more emotional support from teachers reported a delay in alcohol and other illicit substance initiation.
March 22, 2012
Geologists discover new class of landform – on Mars
An odd, previously unseen landform could provide a window into the geological history of Mars, according to new research by University of Washington geologists.
March 20, 2012
Web tool, phone app pinpoint tsunami dangers, quick getaway routes
A new online portal and smartphone app lets Washington and Oregon residents enter the addresses of their homes, schools, workplaces or kids’ day care centers to check if they’re in harm’s way should a tsunami hit. The tool, being publicized on the heels of the one-year anniversary of the Tohoku tsunami, was developed by researchers at the Applied Physics Laboratory.
March 19, 2012
Pediatricians' pain-medication judgments affected by unconscious racial bias, says UW study
Pediatricians who showed an unconscious preference for European Americans tended to prescribe better pain-management for white patients than they did for African-American patients, new UW research shows.
D.C. cherry trees: Blooms won’t wait in warming world, UW research finds
Cherry trees in full bloom in our nation’s capital could be as much as four weeks earlier by 2080 depending on how much warming occurs. So says an analysis conducted at the University of Washington that relied on the UW’s own cherry trees as one test of a computer model used in the project.
March 14, 2012
Some mammals used highly complex teeth to compete with dinosaurs
New research shows that at least one group of small mammals, the multituberculates, actually flourished in the last 20 million years of dinosaurs reign and survived their extinction.
Loss of appetite deciphered in brain cell circuit
UW scientists traced a brain circuit that mediates the loss of appetite in mice. They also discovered potential therapeutic targets.
March 12, 2012
Bellingham roadway with recycled toilets is world's first official 'Greenroad'
Greenroads, a rating system developed at the University of Washington to promote sustainable roadway construction, awarded its first official certification to a Bellingham project that incorporates porcelain from recycled toilets.
March 8, 2012
Study shows benefit of gun cabinets in homes in Alaskan villages
Installing a gun cabinet dramatically reduces unlocked guns and ammunition in the home, according to a study in rural Alaska villages.
March 6, 2012
One year later: Japan quake, tsunami a cautionary tale for Pacific Northwest
On the one-year anniversary of Japan’s great Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, UW scientists said the devastating event has some important lessons for the Pacific Northwest – most notably, that a similar event will happen here, and this region is much less prepared than Japan.
UW played major role in telling story of Japan quake
From Seattle to Japan, University of Washington faculty had an important role in providing information about the aftermath of the March 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami.
March 4, 2012
Lower Duwamish Waterway health study to inform EPAs final cleanup plan for Superfund site
Environmental health researchers will assess the effects of the proposed cleanup on people who use or live on South Seattle’s polluted Duwamish River.
February 29, 2012
Are budget cuts to health departments putting our health at risk?
Researchers are seeking to improve public health outcomes at a time of diminished funding and program reductions.
Chinas urbanization unlikely to lead to fast growth of middle class: UW geographer
Chinas growing cities are considered a boon for the consumer goods market, but a UW geographer presents evidence that new city dwellers will unlikely have much disposable income.
February 27, 2012
New book details archaeological excavations on San Juan Island
“Is it a House?” details years of archaeological excavations at English Camp on San Juan Island, facing the Gulf of Georgia, conducted by Burke Museum Director Julie Stein and her students over many years.
February 22, 2012
AAAS Notebook: Faculty views range across natural world, human health, more
Last weeks American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Vancouver, BC, included 11 speakers from the University of Washington on topics including marine protected areas, the myth of black progress, womens reproductive health and how undergraduates learn best.
February 21, 2012
Design eye for the science guy: Drop-in clinic helps scientists communicate data
The Design Help Desk offers scientists a chance to meet with a student who can help them create more effective figures, tables and graphs. This visual equivalent of a Writing Help Desk is also a study on how to teach data visualization.
New book says financial model for higher ed is broken, offers ways to overhaul
Higher education, a jewel of American society and an engine of its economy, is under threat, and if the nation is to remain competitive the financial model must be overhauled, says a new book. “Financing American Higher Education in the Era of Globalization” offers specific ways to make crucial changes.
February 17, 2012
Models underestimate future temperature variability; food security at risk
Climate warming caused by greenhouse gases is very likely to increase summer temperature variability around the world by the end of this century, new UW research shows. The findings have major implications for food production.
February 13, 2012
Decades-old riddle in economics — solved?
You could say that the economic field of benefit-cost analysis has been stuck in a kind figure-eight for 70 years — a logical loop leading not forward, but back upon itself. But Richard Zerbe, longtime UW professor in the Evans School of Public Affairs, may have solved this logical paradox — or at least clarified it.
February 8, 2012
Scientists sound alarm over threat of untreatable gonorrhea in United States
Emerging cephalosporin resistance and treatment failures reported in other countries signal a need for urgent U.S. action to control the spread of gonorrhea.
UW launches technology startup incubator, aims to double startups in three years
A business incubator unveiled today is one element in a larger commercialization initiative announced by UW President Michael Young that will double the number of startups produced by the university – from an average of 10 a year to 20 – during the next three years.
February 7, 2012
Treatment for TB can be guided by patients genetics
A gene that influences the inflammatory response to infection also predicts drug treatment effectiveness for a deadly form of TB.
February 3, 2012
Public lectures explore the brain and behavior
The psychology departments annual public lecture series will cover the relationships between brains and behavior, exploring hearing, vision and memory.
February 2, 2012
Scientists coax shy microorganisms to stand out in a crowd
University of Washington scientists have advanced a method that allowed them to single out a marine microorganism and map its genome even though the organism made up less than 10 percent of a water sample teeming with many millions of individuals from dozens of identifiable groups of microbes.
Diet high in processed meat linked to increased diabetes risk in populations with high diabetes rate
Diabetes risk is increased in men and women who eat a diet high in processed meats, according to a study published online this week in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Processed meats include hot dogs, lunch meat, sausages and canned meats.
January 30, 2012
Preserved habitat near national parks helps species conservation
National parks help preserve species native to a particular region, but it appears that some species preservation is more successful if a significant portion of land adjacent to a park also is left as natural habitat.
Ferroelectric switching discovered for first time in soft biological tissue
The walls of the aorta, the largest blood vessel carrying blood from the heart, exhibits a response to electric fields known to exist in inorganic and synthetic materials. The discovery could have implications for treating human heart disease.
January 26, 2012
Commentary in Nature: Can economy bear what oil prices have in store?
The economic pain of a flattening oil supply will trump the environment as a reason to curb the use of fossil fuels, say two scientists, one from the University of Washington and one from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, in the Jan. 26 issue of the journal Nature.
January 25, 2012
Injecting sulfate particles into stratosphere wont fully offset climate change
New UW research demonstrates that one suggested method of geoengineering the atmosphere to deal with climate change probably would have limited success.
USDOT awards $3.5 million for UW-based regional transportation center
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded a grant of $3.5 million to a multi-university, regional transportation center led by the University of Washington. The newly established Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium, or PacTrans, will focus on safe and sustainable transportation systems.
New center to develop interventions for writing, reading disabilities
UW’s College of Education has been awarded an $8.1 million, five-year federal grant to study how best to teach writing and reading to both learning-disabled and typically achieving children.
January 20, 2012
‘Beyond the Ivory Tower offers latest on communicating science
A panel discussion Monday on “Broader Impacts: What do Funders Really Want?” is the first of six presentations on sharing University of Washington research with the general public.
January 17, 2012
Fruit flies watch the sky to stay on course — with video
New research demonstrates that fruit flies keep their bearings by using the polarization pattern of natural skylight, bolstering the belief that many, if not all, insects have that capability.
January 12, 2012
Surgical robots to provide open-source platform for medical robotics research
Seven identical robots created and built at the UW will be flown to campuses across the country, where they will provide the first common research platform to develop the future of surgical robotics. The robots will be display Friday at an open house.
January 11, 2012
Hubble spies old stars that shed their skins to look younger
A UW-led team has peered deep into the neighboring Andromeda galaxy to find unusual ultra-blue stars.
January 10, 2012
Gut microbe networks differ from norm in obese people, systems biology approach reveals
For the first time, researchers have analyzed the multitude of microorganisms residing in the human gut as a complex, integrated biological system, rather than a set of separate species. Their approach has revealed patterns that correspond with excess body weight.
January 9, 2012
Crab sagas yield insight into sustainable fisheries
Decades of wild swings in crab populations dramatize the myriad issues surrounding questions of sustainable fisheries, said David Armstrong, director of aquatic and fishery sciences, in his talk “Claws, causes, climate and corps: A cavalcade of true crab sagas.”
January 5, 2012
Larger-than-life characters, intrigue part of history behind Battle of Adwa
Ethiopia is the only African country not defeated in the period of empire and Raymond Jonas new book “The Battle of Adwa: African Victory in the Age of Empire” describes the key battle.
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