Research
March 30, 2011
Report: Teacher bonus program fails to lure, retain top teachers in Washingtons high-poverty schools
Washington states $99 million bonus program for national board-certified teachers, designed to lure good teachers into high-poverty schools has not worked as intended, according to the Center on Reinventing Public Education.
UW astrophysicist: White dwarfs could be fertile ground for other Earths
Hundreds of planets have been discovered outside the solar system in the last decade, but now a UW astrophysicist is suggesting that the best place to look for planets that could support life is around dying stars called white dwarfs.
UW physicists detect low-level radioactivity from Japan arriving in Seattle
UW physicists are detecting radioactivity arriving in Seattle from Japanese nuclear reactors damaged in a tsunami following a mammoth earthquake, but the levels are far below what would pose a threat to human health.
March 28, 2011
New study shows tea party beliefs far beyond mainstream conservatism
Results from the survey suggest that the tea party is taking its philosophy in directions far more extreme than those of mainline conservatives.
Mothers abused during childhood at risk for having low birth weight babies
UW researchers report that mothers who were maltreated as children have increased risk for giving birth to low birth weight babies.
March 24, 2011
Into the purple dusk of twilight time: Stardust bids adieu
After 12 years, NASA’s Stardust spacecraft, the brainchild of a UW astronomer, has been officially decommissioned.
March 22, 2011
Interest in toys predicts effectiveness of autism treatment in toddlers
A short-term, parent-guided treatment improved communication skills in some toddlers showing early signs of autism spectrum disorders.
March 15, 2011
Controlling a single molecules reaction with light could improve solar cells
In new research published in “Science,” engineers at UW and UCLA used nanotechnology to control and observe how molecules react. They plan to use their method to develop more efficient solar molecules.
March 14, 2011
UW study finds adolescent alcohol use associated with altered ability to evaluate risk
A new study from researchers at the UW concludes that adolescent alcohol use corrupts decision-making later in life.
Gender stereotypes about math develop as early as second grade
UW researchers report that children express the stereotype that mathematics is for boys, not for girls, before gender differences in math achievement emerge.
March 13, 2011
Danger to U.S. unlikely from Japanese nuclear reactors
A University of Washington atmospheric scientist believes it is unlikely North America is in any danger from airborne radiation from Japanese nuclear reactors.
March 9, 2011
New book maps battle over same-sex marriage – literally
Peter Nicolas, a professor of law, and Mike Strong, a cartographer, have written The Geography of Love, a new book that literally and figuratively maps the 40-year battle over same-sex marriage in the United States.
UW named base for EPA-funded Clean Air Research Center
The center will examine the health effects of pollution near roadways. Researchers from several institutes and universities will participate.
UW Nanotoxicology Center to look at nanoscale product safety
Engineering of molecular machines, light-emitting quantum dots and other nanoscale products is still in its infancy. Government agencies hope to preemptively identify health and safety concerns in nanotechnology and make its products safe by design.
March 7, 2011
UW researchers seek volunteers for study on anxiety disorder therapies
UW researchers seek King County area adults who have difficulty regulating their emotions and who are struggling with depression or anxiety disorders
March 3, 2011
5-ALA clinical trial opens for patients with brain tumors called gliomas
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved University of Washington Medical Center’s use of an experimental drug called 5-ALA to help locate brain tumors. The compound causes certain kinds of tumor tissue to glow during surgery under a fluorescent light.
New findings on drug tolerance in TB suggest ideas for shorter cures
Inexpensive medications already approved for other uses, such as treating high blood pressure, can block this drug tolerance mechanism. Overcoming drug tolerance would permit TB antibiotics to do their infection-fighting job.
March 2, 2011
Algal antifreeze makes inroads into ice
Sea-ice algae – the important first rung of the food web each spring in places like the Arctic Ocean – can engineer ice to its advantage, according to the first published findings about this ability.
Disks around young distant stars likely forming into planets
A UW astronomer is part of an international team that for the first time has captured detailed images that indicate how planets might have formed from the disks of material around two young stars more than 400 light years from Earth.
March 1, 2011
Intensive counseling on adhering to HIV treatment improves patient outcomes
Intensive counseling on the importance of adhering to HIV treatment significantly reduces poor compliance and treatment failure in sub-Saharan Africa, according to an article in PLoS Medicine March 1 by UW researcher Michael Chung and colleagues.
For first time, scientists show an HIV vaccine impacts the genetic makeup of the virus
Results of study suggest new vaccine strategies to debilitate viruses by tapping into their response to selective pressure.
February 23, 2011
Trial shows drug to correct abnormal protein improves lung function in cystic fibrosis patients
A drug to correct the function of the abnormal protein in some forms of cystic fibrosis has been shown to improve lung function in clinical trials. Dr. Bonnie Ramsey, UW professor of pediatrics and a physician at Seattle Childrens, was one of the lead investigators on the trial.
Dimmable windows with solar panels could power zero-energy buildings
UW engineers and architects are collaborating on smart windows that can change transparency depending on conditions and actually harvest energy from the suns rays.
Nobel Laureate Erwin Neher to give Hille Lecture in Neurosciences March 1
Dr. Erwin Neher of the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Germany will present the 21st annual Einar Hille Memorial Lecture in Neurosciences March 1. He is know for work on how prior activities shape the efficacy of chemical transmissions between brain cells.
February 21, 2011
Foggy, volcanic Kuril Islands illuminate limits of where humans can live (with slideshow)
Ben Fitzhugh, a UW anthropologist, is leading an international team of anthropologists, archaeologists, geologists and earth and atmospheric scientists in studying the history of human settlement on the Kuril Islands.
February 16, 2011
New report examines promises, pitfalls of charter school autonomy
Charter schools are free of many school district mandates and can operate in innovative ways. But budget woes, huge administrative demands and expectations of what a school “should look like” tend to pull the schools back to traditional practice, a new report states.
Ten years after Nisqually quake, Northwests seismic dangers still lurk
A decade after the Nisqually earthquake shook Western Washington, scientific ideas about the region’s seismic danger have evolved and the ability to study and prepare for it has improved immensely.
February 15, 2011
If greenhouse gas emissions stopped now, Earth still would likely get warmer
As debate continues about potential policies to curb greenhouse gas emissions, new UW research shows the world is already committed to a warmer climate because of emissions that have occurred up to now.
February 14, 2011
Carbon Leadership Forum will devise standards to limit carbon footprints in building products
University of Washington researchers, along with design and construction professionals, will devise standards that will help limit carbon footprints of building products and systems.
February 9, 2011
Working more than 20 hours a week in high school can harm grades, UW researcher finds
A UW researcher shows that working during the school year can impede high school performance and cause behavior problems, such as drug use and delinquency.
Stardust set to meet its NExT comet
It’s been 12 years since Stardust, the brainchild of a UW astronomer, was launched and seven years since it encountered a comet called Wild 2 out beyond Mars. Next Monday the probe will make history again when it meets its second comet, Tempel 1.
February 8, 2011
Follow the field work: researcher blogging about fishing tech and turtles
On her plane trip to Ecuador Wednesday, UWs Kiki Jenkins will write her first entry for the “New York Times” blog “Scientist at work: Notes from the Field.”
February 7, 2011
Implantable computers to restore brain function lost to injury or disease is Keck Foundation grant goal
The UW has made significant progress in neural engineering — the study of communication and control between biological and machine systems. The Keck project is the next step in advancing the technology of miniature devices developed at the UW to record from and stimulate the brain, spinal cord and muscles.
February 2, 2011
Two-mile Antarctic ice core could shed light on climate change
UW scientists are part of a project that has succeeded in extracting a core more than 2 miles in depth from Antarctic ice.
February 1, 2011
Invader abundance not always explosive
When invasive plants gain a foothold in new territory they become about as abundant as on their home turf, a new finding that challenges a widely held assumption.
New center aims to dramatically lower barrier to making silicon photonic chips
The University of Washington has launched a new program, co-funded by Intel Corp., to make it easier and cheaper to build silicon photonic circuits. Sending information using light, instead of electrons, will allow for faster, lower-power and more versatile microchips.
January 26, 2011
UW sociologists seek Tacoma high school Class of 2000 for survey
Based on surveys from Tacoma high school graduates, the UW-Beyond High School Project is revealing what factors help high school students transition into happy, healthy and productive adult lives.
January 25, 2011
Higher costs of more nutritious diets contribute to socio-economic disparities in health
People with lower incomes and less education typically have less healthful eating habits than people with higher incomes and more education. A UW study concludes that socio-economic disparities in diet quality are directly affected by diet costs.
Rogue storm system caused Pakistan floods that left millions homeless
Last summers disastrous and deadly Pakistan floods were caused by a rogue weather system that wandered hundreds of miles farther west than is normal for such systems, new UW research shows.
January 20, 2011
Gulf grows between research practice and participant preferences in genetic studies
Realigning with participants’ interests is important for the future of research. UW and Group Health bioethicists suggest ways for scientists and study volunteers to build trusting relationships in a policy forum appearing Jan. 21 in the journal Science.
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