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.
Research

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.
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.

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.

In a new book, a University of Washington psychologist argues that to flourish, humans need exposure to the natural world.

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.

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.

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.

UW sociologists are studying naval records of mutinies as a way to see how modern-day ill-treatment toward subordinates can lead to violence.

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.

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.
UW researchers show that allowing adolescents to drink alcohol under adult supervision does not appear to teach responsible drinking as teens get older.

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.
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.
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.

Tolls on the State Route 520 bridge begin this summer but UW research shows those tolls may not unfairly burden low-income households.

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.

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.

The gender gap for physical oceanographers in tenure-track positions has almost doubled since the mid-1990s.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
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.
Scientists from Washington, Oregon and California are in talks about the feasibility of establishing an earthquake early warning system for the West Coast.

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.
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.

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 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.
Results from the survey suggest that the tea party is taking its philosophy in directions far more extreme than those of mainline conservatives.

UW researchers report that mothers who were maltreated as children have increased risk for giving birth to low birth weight babies.

After 12 years, NASA’s Stardust spacecraft, the brainchild of a UW astronomer, has been officially decommissioned.

A short-term, parent-guided treatment improved communication skills in some toddlers showing early signs of autism spectrum disorders.