A fluctuating tilt in a planet’s orbit does not preclude the possibility of life, according to new research by astronomers at the University of Washington, Utah’s Weber State University and NASA. In fact, sometimes it helps.
Science
UW oceanographers found fast-flowing water and intense mixing in a submarine canyon just off the Washington coast.
Detailed ice core measurements show smog-related ratios leveling off in 1970, and suggests these deposits are sensitive to the same chemicals that cause acid rain.
Get on your 3-D glasses for one of the animations of tiny fruit flies employing banked turns to evade attacks just like fighter jets.
University of Washington engineers have developed software that automatically generates images of a young child’s face as it ages through a lifetime. The technique is the first fully automated approach for aging babies to adults that works with variable lighting, expressions and poses.
A team of University of Washington scientists and engineers working at the Applied Physics Laboratory is creating a control system for underwater remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs. Researchers will demonstrate the technology at the SmartAmerica Challenge in Washington, D.C. in June.
UW researchers made some of the first aerial surveys over the Oso mudslide, using radar technology to map the condition immediately after the slide.
Leah Ceccarelli, professor of communication, discusses her well-reviewed new book “On the Frontier of Science: An American Rhetoric of Exploration and Exploitation.”
A national team jointly led by a University of Washington geotechnical engineer and an engineering geologist will investigate what caused the March 22 mudslide in Snohomish County and what effects the disaster had on the nearby residential communities.
Four graduate students were part of a year-long legislative process in Olympia working to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in Washington state.
Seventeen North American scientists outline the importance of natural science and call for a revitalization of the practice.
Increasing cell signals that put the brake on excitatory brain cells reduces repetitive behaviors and learning problems and improves social interactions in a mouse model of autism. This was achieved with a low dose of benzodiazipine, a common anti-anxiety, anti-seizure medication.
The UW this fall will complete installation of a huge high-tech ocean observatory. Dozens of instruments will connect to power and Internet cables on the seafloor, but the observatory also includes a new generation of ocean explorers: robots that will zoom up and down through almost two miles of ocean to monitor the water conditions and marine life above.
University of Washington scientists have built the thinnest-known LED that can be used as a source of light energy in electronics. The LED is based off of two-dimensional, flexible semiconductors, making it possible to stack or use in much smaller and more diverse applications than current technology allows.
The 9th annual Polar Science Weekend will bring polar research, art and an actual ice core to the Pacific Science Center.
UW astronomers have developed a new method of gauging the atmospheric pressure of exoplanets, or worlds beyond the solar system, by looking for a certain type of molecule. And if there is life out in space, it may one day be revealed by this method.
UW astronomer Eric Agol played a key role in the windfall of 715 new exoplanets recently announced by NASA. Agol was on a team that found seven of those worlds, all in orbit around the same star.
German, Finnish and U.S. scientists have discovered how gas wafting from coniferous trees creates particles that can reflect sunlight or promote formation of clouds.
A three-year survey of whales in the Bering Strait reveals that many species of whales are using the narrow waterway, while shipping and commercial traffic also increase.
Oceanographers have found that archaea, a type of marine microbe, can produce B-12 vitamins in the ocean.
UW’s Matthew Bush has been selected as one of 126 Sloan Research Fellows for 2014.
Carrying out geoengineering for several decades and then stopping would cause warming at a rate more than double that expected due to global warming.
A recently introduced homebuilding subsidy program in Japan put logs and lumber imported from the U.S. and other countries at a competitive disadvantage.
People who are genetically equipped to stop hepatitis C viruses from turning off a type of interferon generally have a robust antiviral response. Findings on the mechanisms governing this ability suggest new avenues for treatment research.
University of Washington scientists and engineers are developing a low-cost device that could help pathologists diagnose pancreatic cancer earlier and faster. The prototype can perform the basic steps for processing a biopsy, relying on fluid transport instead of human hands to process the tissue.
The ninth annual Allen L. Edwards Psychology Lecture Series will delve into “The Science of Decision Making,” to explain how the brain and an individual’s expectations influence decisions made in uncertain conditions.
The results break the longstanding belief that caregiving directly causes psychological distress, and make a case for genetics and upbringing influencing vulnerability.
That fruit fly appearing moments after you poured that first glass of cabernet, has just used a poppy-seed-sized brain to conduct a finely-choreographed search and arrive in time for happy hour.
Observations of Jakobshavn Glacier from 2012 and 2013 show the fast-moving glacier has set new records for the speed of ice flowing toward the ocean.
The same physics that gives stability to tornadoes lies at the heart of new UW research and could lead to a better understanding of nuclear dynamics in studying fission, superconductors and the workings of neutron stars.
Climate change is killing penguin chicks from the world’s largest colony of Magellanic penguins, not just indirectly but directly because of drenching rainstorms and heat.
A fossil-free method of sequencing archaic DNA may provide insight into human evolution.
The experimental treatment restored muscle function and prolonged lives in animals with a condition similar to X-linked myotubular myopathy in children
Titanium-based materials can inhibit bacterial growth when bound to metal ions. If proven beneficial in clinical trials, certain titanates could be applied after a dental procedure to prevent infection or decay.
Serious risks are associated with continuing game play immediately after incurring a concussion, yet University of Washington researchers found that many young female soccer players do just that.
UW scientists installed a third seismograph at CenturyLink Field this week after the trial by fire of a website and new monitoring tools during last weekend’s Seahawks game.
Samples from steep mountaintops in New Zealand shows that rock can transform into soil more than twice as fast as previously believed possible.
A new drug, called pritelivir, may offer a new treatment option for patients with genital herpes, a new industry-sponsored – study led by University of Washington researchers has found.
A mere glass full of water from a 1.2 million-gallon aquarium tank is all scientists really needed to identify most of the 13,000 fish swimming there.
University of Washington environmental engineers are launching a new study to try to understand how climate change will affect streamflow patterns in the Columbia River Basin. The team will look at the impact of glaciers on the river system, the range of possible streamflow changes and how much water will flow in the river at hundreds of locations in future years.