UW News
The latest news from the UW
December 18, 2013
Single bacterial super-clone behind world epidemic of drug-resistant E. coli
Virulent, drug-resistant forms of E. coli that recently have spread around the world emerged from a single strain of the bacteria, not many different strains, as has been widely supposed.
December 17, 2013
UWMC grants wish for seriously ill teen interested in NICU nursing
Samantha’s dream career is Neonatal Intensive Care Unit nursing. One day last week the nurses in the UW Medical Center NICU warmly welcomed her to their world of caring for babies and their families.
Tag(s): nursing
The move’s on us: Students leave Terry, will return to new Lander Hall
Students living in the University of Washington’s Terry Hall will get a new home after the holidays without doing any moving – that part’s on the house, you might say.
Tag(s): Capital Projects • Terry Hall • UW Housing & Food Services
Hack the planet? Geoengineering research, ethics, governance explored
A special interdisciplinary issue of the journal Climatic Change includes the most detailed description yet of the proposed Oxford Principles to govern geoengineering research, and surveys the technical hurdles, ethics and regulatory issues related to deliberately manipulating the planet’s climate.
Tag(s): climate change • College of Arts & Sciences • College of the Environment • Department of Atmospheric Sciences • geoengineering • philosophy • Rob Wood • Stephen GardinerDecember 16, 2013
5 effective parenting programs to reduce problem behaviors in children
UW researchers evaluated about 20 parenting programs and found five that are especially effective at helping parents and children at all risk levels avoid adolescent behavior problems that affect not only individuals, but entire communities.
Tag(s): Kevin Haggerty • School of Social Work • Social Development Research GroupDecember 12, 2013
New state-funded Clean Energy Institute will focus on solar, battery technologies
A new University of Washington institute to develop efficient, cost-effective solar power and better energy storage systems launched Dec. 12 with an event attended by UW President Michael K. Young, Gov. Jay Inslee and researchers, industry experts and policy leaders in renewable energy.
Tag(s): clean or renewable energy • College of Arts & Sciences • College of Engineering • Daniel Schwartz • David Ginger • Department of Chemical Engineering • Department of Chemistry • Department of Materials Science & Engineering • Michael K. Young
Scientists discover double meaning in genetic code
Finding a second code hiding in the genome casts new light on how changes to DNA impact health and disease.
Tag(s): Department of Genome Sciences • genetics & DNA • genomics • School of MedicineDecember 11, 2013
Arts Roundup: Exhibits at the Henry and Burke Museum
This week we’re wrapping up the end of fall quarter — and the last arts roundup of 2013 — with a nice bow. During the roundup’s winter hiatus, we encourage you to check out some of the ongoing exhibits on campus before they also come to a close.
Tag(s): Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • Henry Art Gallery
UW ranked 13th best value among public institutions by Kiplinger’s
The University of Washington has been ranked 13th best value among public colleges and universities for 2014 by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.
Tag(s): RankingsDecember 10, 2013
What climate change means for federally protected marine species
As the Endangered Species Act nears its 40th birthday at the end of December, conservation biologists are coming to terms with a danger not foreseen in the 1970s: global climate change.
Tag(s): Amy Snover • climate change • Climate Impacts Group • College of the Environment • endangered species • fisheries biologyDecember 9, 2013
Communities across U.S. reduce teen smoking, drinking, violence and crime
Fewer high school students across the U.S. started drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, committing crimes and engaging in violence before graduation when their towns used a prevention system developed by UW’s Social Development Research Group.
Tag(s): David Hawkins • School of Social Work • Social Development Research Group
Astronomers solve temperature mystery of planetary atmospheres
An atmospheric peculiarity the Earth shares with Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune is likely common to billions of planets, University of Washington astronomers have found, and knowing that may help in the search for potentially habitable worlds.
Tag(s): astronomy & astrophysics • College of the Environment • David Catling • Department of Astronomy • Department of Earth and Space Sciences • Tyler Robinson • Virtual Planetary LaboratoryDecember 6, 2013
Sounders star makes young UW dental patient’s day
Samuel Knorr didn’t like the idea of missing school for an orthodontic retainer check at the UW’s The Center for Pediatric Dentistry. When he came face to face with Seattle Sounders star DeAndre Yedlin, however, he was happy he did.
Tag(s): Center for Pediatric DentistryDecember 4, 2013
Arts Roundup: Drama, Ladino Day — and the UW Opera Theater
As fall quarter comes to a close, there’s still plenty to see and do on campus. This coming week, attend the UW Opera Theater to brush up on your “Le Nozze di Figaro,” or enjoy the final weekend of the Undergraduate Theater Society’s performance of “Woyzeck.”
Tag(s): Henry Art Gallery • School of Music • Stroum Center for Jewish Studies • Undergraduate Theater SocietyDecember 3, 2013
Signalers vs. strong silent types: Sparrows exude personalities during fights
Like humans, some song sparrows are more effusive than others, at least when it comes to defending their territories. New UW findings show that consistent individual differences exist not only for how aggressive individual song sparrows are but also for how much they use their signals to communicate their aggressive intentions.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Psychology • Michael Beecher
New book ‘Going Viral’ explores nature, impact of Internet virality
Will we of the early 21th century be remembered for Internet memes like Grumpy Cat? “Going Viral,” a new book by Karine Nahon and Jeff Hemsley of the UW Information School explores the nature of virality and impacts of virality.
Tag(s): Information School • Jeff Hemsley • Karine Nahon • social media
Project to gauge effects of Affordable Care Act in Washington state
The overall purpose of the project, called UW-SHARE, is to obtain a benchmark, pre-ACA picture of health-care use, health, health-related attitudes, and access to health insurance.
Tag(s): Anirban Basu • School of Public Health
‘Spooky action’ builds a wormhole between ‘entangled’ particles
New research indicates that a phenomenon called “quantum entanglement” could be intrinsically linked with the creation of wormholes.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of PhysicsDecember 2, 2013
Last chance to donate: UW Combined Fund Drive ends Dec. 6
UW faculty and staff have until Dec. 6 to contribute to this year’s UW Combined Fund Drive, part of Washington state’s workplace giving campaign.
Tag(s): Combined Fund Drive • Human ResourcesNovember 26, 2013
MyHeartMapSeattle scavenger hunters report over 2,000 defibrillators
A city-wide contest to locate as many of Seattle’s automatic external defibrillators, or AEDs, netted far more than expected. The challenge arose from the need to map and monitor these devices, which can save the lives of people suffering an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest.
Tag(s): Graham Nichol • heart disease
Arts Roundup: Drama, art — and the School of Music’s ‘Carolfest’
The holiday season kicks off in full force with a variety of arts events to enjoy, including the School of Music’s annual CarolFest is on Dec. 4.
Tag(s): Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • Henry Art Gallery • School of Music • Stroum Center for Jewish Studies • Undergraduate Theater Society
Redesigned purple UW license plates now available
The newly designed University of Washington vehicle license plate is now available for sale from the state Department of Licensing.
AAAS names five UW researchers as fellows
Five University of Washington researchers are among new fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
News digest: ‘StormReady’ status, Ryan Calo blogs, green seed proposals due, ease Net access
“StormReady” status ups UW’s ability to cope with weather extremes || Ryan Calo blogs for Forbes || First Green Seed Fund proposals due Dec. 3 || Ease Net access at 5,500 institutions with “eduroam”
November 25, 2013
Study: Greenhouse gas might have warmed early Mars enough to allow liquid water
The mystery of how the surface of Mars, long dead and dry, could have flowed with water billions of years ago may have been solved by research that included a University of Washington astronomer.
Tag(s): astronomy & astrophysics • Department of Astronomy • planetary science • Tyler Robinson
Dashboards to bring culture change in strategic decision-making
New dashboards for exploring trends are bringing about a culture change in strategic decision-making at the university
Tag(s): UW-ITNovember 24, 2013
How living cells solved a needle in a haystack problem to generate electrical signals
Filtered from a vast sodium sea, more than 1 million calcium ions per second gush through our cells’ pores to generate charges
Tag(s): cell biology • Department of Pharmacology • Ning Zheng • William CatterallNovember 21, 2013
Studies to probe confluence of human, animal and environmental health in Africa
Grand Challenges Exploration Grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will allow two UW-led teams to study the health determinants people share with other living creatures.
Tag(s): Department of Global Health • Gates Foundation • School of Medicine • School of Public Health
David Barash explores science, religion and meaning of life in ‘Buddhist Biology’
David Barash, a UW psychology professor, is an evolutionary biologist, unapologetic atheist, and self-described Jewbu. In his latest book, “Buddhist Biology: Ancient Eastern Wisdom Meets Modern Western Science,” Barash examines the overlap between Buddhism and biology.
Tag(s): books • College of Arts & Sciences • David Barash • Department of PsychologyNovember 20, 2013
Board of Regents — Nov. 29 Special Meeting, Dec. Regular Meeting canceled, 2014 schedule announced
The Dec. 12 Regular Meeting of the Board of Regents has been cancelled. The Regents will hold a Special Meeting with the WSU Board of Regents on Friday, Nov. 29, at 9:30 a.m. in the Jim Houston Stadium Boardroom at Husky Stadium. The agenda is available online. The 2014 Board of Regents schedule has been…
Arts Roundup: Music, drama — and ‘Elwha: A River Reborn’
This week slows down as the campus prepares for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. However, don’t miss your last chance to see School of Drama’s “Fifth of July” or venture to the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture to explore their new exhibit “Elwha: A River Reborn.”
Tag(s): Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of Drama • School of Music
Study shines light on what makes digital activism effective
Digital activism is usually nonviolent and tends to work best when social media tools are combined with street-level organization, according to new research from the University of Washington.
Tag(s): Department of Communication • Philip Howard
December deadlines approach for Awards of Excellence nominations
Nominations are due in December and coming months for this year’s University of Washington Awards of Excellence categories.
Tag(s): awardsNovember 19, 2013
Paddlers spread pump-out ‘gospel’ to recreational boaters
Washington Sea Grant’s “Pumpout Paddlers” are readying their kayaks for winter paddling to deliver more adapters so boaters have a cleaner, easier way to pump their sewage-holding tanks.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Washington Sea GrantNovember 18, 2013
Documents that Changed the World: the Zapruder film, Nov. 22, 1963
He only came to get the iconic footage through a series of coincidences and later regretted what he had done. It was the last film Abraham Zapruder would ever shoot.
Tag(s): Documents that Changed the World • history • Information School • Joe Janes
Post-shutdown, UW Arctic research flights resume
UW researchers this month are on missions to fly above the Arctic Ocean to measure glacier melt, polar storms and Arctic sea ice.
Tag(s): Applied Physics Laboratory • Benjamin Smith • College of the Environment • Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies • Jamie Morison • Nick Bond
Faculty Senate chair Jack Lee charts course for year
Faculty & Staff Insider asked this year’s Faculty Senate chair, Jack Lee, professor of mathematics, to discuss some of the the issues it is likely to tackle in the coming year.
November 14, 2013
FDA-approved immune-modulating drug unexpectedly benefits mice with fatal mitochondrial defect
Rapamycin, an anti-rejection drug for organ transplant patients, has now been shown to increases survival in and delayed symptoms of Leigh’s syndrome. The drug appears to cause a metabolic switch that bypasses the mitochondrial deficiency.
Tag(s): Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology • genetics & DNA • Healthy Aging and Longevity Research Institute • Matt Kaeberlein • School of Medicine
A decline in creativity? It depends on how you look
Recent research suggests that young Americans might be less creative now than in decades past, even while their intelligence — as measured by IQ tests — continues to rise. But new research from the UW Information School and Harvard University hints that the dynamics of creativity may not break down as simply as that.
Tag(s): Information School • Katie DavisNovember 13, 2013
Arts Roundup: Music, drama — and the Hall Health Artwalk
It’s a packed week in the arts, with an event option for every day. DXARTS and the School of Music offer an electro-acoustic concert, the UW World Series presents “Café Variations” in collaboration with the School of Drama, the Burke Museum of History and Culture has its Meet the Mammals day, and more.
Tag(s): Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of Drama • School of Music« Previous Page Next Page »
