Technology

October 8, 2013

UW, local company building innovative deep-sea manned submarine

The UW, Boeing and an Everett company are building a carbon-fiber submersible that will carry five passengers almost 2 miles deep.

September 12, 2013

Initial positive results reported on vaccine to treat genital herpes

The vaccine is the first to significantly reduce the frequency of viral shedding — the surfacing of herpes virus on the genitals — and appears to activate T cell immune responses to the virus.

September 4, 2013

Pico-world dragnets: Computer-designed proteins recognize and bind small molecules

Computer-designed proteins that can recognize and interact with small biological molecules are now a reality. Scientists have succeeded in creating a protein molecule that can be programmed to unite with three different steroids.

August 27, 2013

Researcher controls colleague’s motions in 1st human brain-to-brain interface

A photo showing both sides of the demonstration.

University of Washington researchers have performed what they believe is the first noninvasive human-to-human brain interface, with one researcher able to send a brain signal via the Internet to control the hand motions of a fellow researcher.

August 21, 2013

Physicists pinpoint key property of material that both conducts and insulates

The lines of data points are where two of the three solid-state phases of vanadium dioxide can exist stably together, and the point where the three lines meet – the triple point – is where all three phases can exist together.

UW scientists have made the first-ever accurate determination of a solid-state triple point, the temperature and pressure at which three different solid phases can coexist stably.

Julie Kientz, a UW assistant professor of human centered design & engineering, has been named one of the world’s top 35 innovators under age 35 by MIT Technology Review magazine.

August 13, 2013

Wireless devices go battery-free with new communication technique

Two devices communicate without using battery power.

University of Washington engineers have created a new wireless communication system that allows devices to interact with each other without relying on batteries or wires for power.

August 7, 2013

Regulating electron ‘spin’ may be key to making organic solar cells competitive

A vial holds a solution that contains the UW-developed polymer "ink" that can be printed to make the solar cells.

UW researchers have discovered a high-performance polymer that could make inexpensive, organic solar cells competitive with silicon-based cells.

A 1945 photograph of Henrietta and David Lacks.

Henrietta Lacks was the subject of bestselling book on the HeLa immortal cell line, the most used of its kind in labs around the world. The UW scientists are the first to publish under new policy, established through agreement with Lacks’ family.

August 1, 2013

Brain chemistry changes in children with autism offer clues to earlier detection and intervention

Between ages three and 10, children with autism spectrum disorder exhibit distinct brain chemical changes that differ from children with developmental delays and children with typical development.

July 23, 2013

Pain of artificial legs could be eased by real-time monitoring

Ron Bailey walks on a treadmill while testing the new technology.

University of Washington engineers have developed a device that tracks how much a person’s limb swells and shrinks when inside a prosthetic socket. The data could help doctors and patients predict how and when their limbs will swell, which could be used to build smarter sockets.

July 18, 2013

UW launches record 17 startup companies

A large 'W' is at the north entrance to the UW campus.

The University of Washington launched a record 17 startup companies this fiscal year.

July 16, 2013

Eye-tracking could outshine passwords if made user-friendly

University of Washington engineers found in a recent study that the user’s experience could be key to creating an authentication system that doesn’t rely on passwords.

July 15, 2013

Ecological forces structure your body’s personal mix of microbes

Researchers hope to build a predictive model of the human microbiome to study what affects this massive biological system and to design ways to manipulate the microbiome to achieve desired clinical outcomes.

July 10, 2013

Functional genomics lab to predict potential AIDS vaccines efficacy and find protection markers

Funded by the NIH at $15 million over five years, the lab will be a national resource to evaluate candidate vaccines from studies around the country.

July 3, 2013

Great ape genetic diversity catalog frames primate evolution and future conservation

A model of great ape history during the past 15 million years has been fashioned through the study of genetic variation in a large panel of humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans.

June 27, 2013

Competitive STEM program at UW targets deaf, hard of hearing students

The Summer Academy for Advancing Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Computing at the University of Washington is the only program of its kind in the nation that offers a full quarter of academic credit to incoming college students or those who just finished their first year.

June 20, 2013

U.S. Supreme Court decision to bar gene patents opens genetic test options

The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision June 13 to bar the patenting of naturally occurring genes opens up important clinical testing options for a variety of diseases.

June 12, 2013

Silicon-based nanoparticles could make LEDs cheaper, greener to produce

Researchers at the University of Washington have created a material they say would make LEDs cheaper and greener to manufacture, driving down costs to consumers.

June 4, 2013

Wi-Fi signals enable gesture recognition throughout entire home

University of Washington researchers have shown it’s possible to leverage Wi-Fi signals around us to detect specific movements without needing sensors on the human body or cameras.

May 22, 2013

News Digest: Seaglider technology licensed, lecture revisits the Boldt decision, U. of Minnesota president to speak

UW Seaglider technology is licensed commercially; Richard Whitney, emeritus professor of fisheries, will deliver a talk about the Boldt decision; U. of Minnesota president and former UW faculty member Eric Kaler will deliver a talk about challenges facing research institutions.

May 14, 2013

DNA analysis unearths origins of Minoans, the first major European civilization

The maternal genetic information passed down through many generations of mitochondria is still present in modern-day residents of the Lassithi plateau of Crete.

Two tissue samples showing differences in collagen build-up.

University of Washington engineers have created a synthetic substance that fully resists the body’s natural attack response to foreign objects. Medical devices such as artificial heart valves, prostheses and breast implants could be coated with this polymer to prevent the body from rejecting an implanted object.

May 8, 2013

New ‘academic redshirt’ program to support undergraduate STEM education

$Math Academy 2012 students$

The University of Washington in collaboration with Washington State University is developing an “academic redshirt” program that will bring dozens of low-income, Washington state high school graduates to the two universities to study engineering in a five-year bachelor’s program.

May 7, 2013

Spokane physician participates as patient in breast cancer vaccine trial

Dr. Alisa Hideg, who teaches UW medical students, is grateful for the chance to move science forward toward a future with more options for other patients.

May 6, 2013

New device can extract human DNA with full genetic data in minutes

A new device will give hospitals and research labs a much easier way to separate DNA from human fluid samples to help with genome sequencing, disease diagnosis and forensic investigations.

April 30, 2013

Tactics of new Middle East virus suggest treating by altering lung cells’ response to infection

The Erasmus virus resets 207 genes in lung cells to hamper the cells’ ability to launch an antiviral reaction. Available drugs might correct this sabotage.

April 23, 2013

Robots, solar-powered cars at Engineering Discovery Days, April 26-27

Engineering Discovery Days is April 26-27 at the UW campus and will feature exhibits and demonstrations from engineering departments and student groups.

April 15, 2013

Preparing to install the world’s largest underwater observatory

Applied Physics Laboratory engineer Mike Harrington leads development of the science junction boxes for the underwater laboratory..

Engineers at the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory are under pressure to build and test parts for installation this summer in the world’s largest deep-ocean observatory off the Washington and Oregon coasts.

April 12, 2013

New device could cut costs on household products, pharmaceuticals

Surfactant gel structure forms after passing through device.

A new procedure that thickens and thins fluid at the micron level could save consumers and manufacturers money, particularly for some soap products.

April 4, 2013

Listening to the Big Bang – in high fidelity (audio)

An illustration of the cosmic microwave background.

A UW physicist has used new satellite data to update his decade-old recreation of the sound of the Big Bang at the birth of the universe.

Image of a spacecraft powered by a fusion-driven rocket.

Astronauts could be a step closer to a fast journey to Mars using a unique manipulation of nuclear fusion devised by UW scientists and those at a Redmond company.

April 3, 2013