Research
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
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 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.
June 1, 2011
New journal looks at an old problem: aging
Dr. Warren Ladiges, professor of comparative medicine, has become the chief editor of a new scientific journal, “Pathobiology of Aging & Age-related Diseases.” The journal will publish research on aging in mammalian models.
May 31, 2011
Code green: Energy-efficient programming to curb computers power use
A new system called EnerJ helps computer programmers go green, allowing them to cut a program’s energy consumption by as much as 50 percent.
May 22, 2011
Scientists find odd twist in slow ‘earthquakes:’ tremor running backwards
UW scientists find that in an unfelt, weeks-long seismic phenomenon called episodic tremor and slip, the tremor can suddenly reverse direction and travel back through areas of the fault that it had ruptured in preceding days.
May 18, 2011
China fossil shows bird, crocodile family trees split earlier than thought
A fossil of a creature that died about 247 million years ago, originally thought to be a distant relative of both birds and crocodiles, actually came from the crocodile family tree after it had already split from the bird family tree, a UW researcher has found.
May 17, 2011
Real nature beats technological stand-ins for human well-being
In a new book, a University of Washington psychologist argues that to flourish, humans need exposure to the natural world.
May 16, 2011
Sporadic mutations identified in children with autism spectrum disorders
UW genome scientists have identified several sporadic mutations in children with autism spectrum disorder. By analyzing the protein-coding portions of the genome in 20 individuals with the disorder and in their parents, the researchers found 21 newly occurring mutations.
Digital imaging software creates a ‘Google Earth view of the bladder
A more automated approach to bladder exams could be cheaper, more comfortable and more convenient. The system would use the UWs ultrathin laser endoscope, which is like a thin piece of cooked spaghetti, in combination with software that automatically creates a 3-D panorama of the bladder interior.
May 13, 2011
Scientists design new anti-flu virus proteins using computational methods
Scientists have demonstrated the use of computational methods to design new antiviral proteins not found in nature, but capable of targeting specific surfaces of flu virus molecules. The researchers created a protein that disabled the part of the 1918 pandemic flu virus involved in invading respiratory tract cells.
May 11, 2011
Risking one's neck for better grog: Mutinies reveal tipping points for collective unrest
UW sociologists are studying naval records of mutinies as a way to see how modern-day ill-treatment toward subordinates can lead to violence.
New United Nations world population projections based on UW research
The world population could reach 10.1 billion people by the year 2100, according to a statistical model for future fertility developed by UW statisticians.
May 10, 2011
Razing Seattles viaduct doesnt guarantee nightmare commutes, model says
University of Washington statisticians used a computer model to study the effect of replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct on commuter travel times. They found that relying on surface streets would likely have less impact on travel times than previously reported, and that effects on commute times are not well known.
May 4, 2011
Adult-supervised drinking in teens may lead to more alcohol use
UW researchers show that allowing adolescents to drink alcohol under adult supervision does not appear to teach responsible drinking as teens get older.
May 3, 2011
‘Fatting in: Immigrant groups eat high-calorie American meals to fit in
Immigrants to the United States and their U.S.-born children gain weight, and it’s not simply the abundance of high-calorie American junk food. Psychologists show that immigrants choose typical American dishes as a way to prove their American-ness.
May 2, 2011
College students use of Kindle DX points to e-readers role in academia
A nine-month study of how University of Washington graduate students did or did not use the large-format Amazon Kindle DX in their course reading provides information on the potential future for e-readers in academia.
May 1, 2011
Several baffling puzzles in protein molecular structure solved with new method
The structures of many protein molecules remain unsolved even after experts apply an extensive array of approaches. An international collaboration has led to a high performance method that rapidly determined the structure of protein molecules in several cases where previous attempts had failed.
April 28, 2011
UW research shows new road tolls might not unfairly burden low-income drivers
Tolls on the State Route 520 bridge begin this summer but UW research shows those tolls may not unfairly burden low-income households.
April 27, 2011
UW Bothell research shows panic at the pumps unfounded, has negative consequences
Though gas prices go up and down like a roller-coaster, consumers tend to see price spikes as permanent, according to a UW Bothell researcher.
Era of canopy crane ending; certain research and education activities remain – view slideshow
The 25-story construction crane used since 1995 to investigate such things as how Pacific Northwest forests absorb carbon dioxide, obtain sufficient water and resist attacks by pests and diseases is being pruned back to just the tower.
8 percent of women physical oceanographers in tenure track, down from 23 percent – with audio clip
The gender gap for physical oceanographers in tenure-track positions has almost doubled since the mid-1990s.
April 25, 2011
Federal subsidies for child nutrition: More funding is better
A new study from University of Washington researchers found that child-care providers who received higher reimbursements spent more on food, and the food was of higher nutritional quality than the food purchased by providers who received lower reimbursements.
Psychologists warn that therapies based on positive emotions may not work for Asians
Thinking happy thoughts is believed to accelerate recovery from depression, bolster resilience during a crisis and improve overall mental health. But UW psychologists reveal that pursuing happiness may not be beneficial across all cultures.
April 21, 2011
Scientific roadblock overcome in designing genetic controls against malaria-transmitting mosquitoes
Mosquitoes can in principle be genetically engineered to resist malaria. The problem is how to drive these modifications into wild mosquito populations. Selfish genes, which promote their own propagation, might do the trick.
April 14, 2011
Data catches up with theory: Ocean front is energetic contributor to mixing
For more than two decades scientists have suspected theres a substantial source of energy for ocean mixing at ocean fronts. Researchers with the Applied Physics Laboratory are the first to devise a way to prove it.
April 13, 2011
UW biologists stumped by ‘naked penguins in Africa and South America
In the last five years, the chicks of two penguin species on different continents have been afflicted with a disorder that causes them to lose their feathers, and scientists are trying to determine the reason.
‘Scandinavian Crime Fiction: New book studies popular genre
Mention Scandinavian crime fiction and most people think of Stieg Larssons novels, but his work comes from a tradition dating back decades. A new book co-edited by the UWs Andrew Nestingen explores that tradition.
April 11, 2011
Social wasps show how bigger brains provide complex cognition — see slideshow
UW neurobiologists studied 10 species of social wasps and report that bigger-brained wasps devoted more brain space to complex thinking, implying that smaller-brained wasps can never get ahead.
April 10, 2011
West Antarctic warming triggered by warmer sea surface in tropical Pacific
New research shows that rising sea surface temperatures in the central Pacific Ocean drive atmospheric circulation that has caused some of the largest shifts in Antarctic climate in recent decades.
April 7, 2011
Free software makes computer mouse easier for people with disabilities
As the population ages, more people are having trouble with motor control, but a University of Washington team has invented two mouse cursors that make clicking targets a whole lot easier.
April 6, 2011
Sudden cardiac death affects about 1 in 44,000 NCAA athletes a year
Athletic training and competition can increase the risk of sudden death in college students with underlying heart disease. The new data — higher than many estimates — could influence screening guidelines for sport physicals.
Amount of AIDS virus in genital secretions predicts risk of heterosexual transmission
The link between higher reproduction of the virus in the genital tracts and the increased risk transmitting HIV to others may reveal biological mechanisms of disease spread during sexual activity, and may suggest new strategies to reduce infection.
April 5, 2011
Ill just Google it: College students find plenty of information online, but often go offline to verify
According to a new study, college students use online sources to gather information for personal decisions but also rely almost as much on family and friends for finding and making choices about information.
April 4, 2011
Earthquake scientists discuss West Coast earthquake early warning system
Scientists from Washington, Oregon and California are in talks about the feasibility of establishing an earthquake early warning system for the West Coast.
High dose of oxygen enhances natural cancer treatment
An environment of pure oxygen at three-and-a-half times normal air pressure adds significantly to the effectiveness of a natural compound already shown to kill cancerous cells.
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