The first reports from the pioneers of massive open online courses, or MOOCs, at the UW contain a mixture of humility and abiding enthusiasm for this new education platform.
October 3, 2013
The latest news from the UW
My HeartMap Seattle Challenge enlists the public to locate city’s life-saving devices
If you witness a heart attack, would you know where the nearest AED is? A Seattle contest will help pre-hospital emergency care leaders locate the city’s automatic external defibrillators, which can help restore normal heart rhythms and coach in CPR.
Arts Roundup: Exhibits, lectures — and Axis Dance Company
In what is a quiet week for many arts units on campus, the UW World Series presents Axis Dance Company in a contemporary and physically integrated performance. Activities also include exhibit openings and lectures from the School of Art and the Burke Museum.
October 2, 2013
UW ranked 25th best university in world
The University of Washington was ranked 25th best university in the world according to The Times Higher Education Rankings for 2013-14.
UW Medicine helps first patients sign up for Health Benefit Exchange
Yesterday was a historic day for health care coverage in the United States. UW Medicine was ready to assist patients in signing up for insurance under the Affordable Care Act, signed into law March 23, 2010.
October 1, 2013
Should we care if companies use data for advertising?
Estrogen pills for menopause symptoms vary in blood clot risk
A recent observational study comparing the safety of estradiol and conjugated equine estrogen associated estradiol with a lower risk of leg vein and lung clots.
September 30, 2013
3 UW professors honored by NIH for innovative biomedical research
Three University of Washington faculty members are among those honored with a grant from the National Institutes of Health’s High Risk-High Reward program.
UW researchers helped draft international assessment of climate change
UW faculty members were among international researchers who compiled the fifth climate-change assessment report. The UW will host a seminar Tuesday, Oct. 1 with some of the Seattle-area authors.
UW engineers invent programming language to build synthetic DNA
A team led by the University of Washington has developed a programming language for chemistry that it hopes will streamline efforts to design a network that can guide the behavior of chemical-reaction mixtures in the same way that embedded electronic controllers guide cars, robots and other devices.
September 26, 2013
History lecture series to explore slavery in making of America
The UW history department will review America’s history of slavery from four different angles in its annual lecture series, which begins on Oct. 23.
Arts Roundup: Exhibits, lectures — and Chris Thile performs at Meany
School has started and this week provides an array of arts events on campus and off, including a performance by mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile and the first lecture in the School of Drama’s performing art lecture series.
September 25, 2013
Shiny new Odegaard library greets students
UW students are being greeted by a spiffy new version of the Odegaard Undergraduate Library following a nearly $17 million makeover, the first in the library’s 41-year history.
‘Green jobs’ loosely defined in job creation grants
Digital applications can enable or limit, say authors of ‘The App Generation’
There’s often “an app for that” these days, but for young people such digital shortcuts can be as limiting as they are convenient, says the University of Washington co-author of a new book titled “The App Generation.”
September 23, 2013
News Digest: Flu clinics this fall, help with new K-12 standards, public events about Middle East
Flu clinics in October, November || UW helping with new science, engineering standards for K-12 || Jackson School to hold public events about Middle East
September 20, 2013
Myth busting: Why so many spiders in late summer?
September 19, 2013
Cognitive rehabilitation improves brain function in cancer survivors
A new study shows that cancer survivors who experience memory and thinking problems may benefit from cognitive rehabilitation.
Arts Roundup: Photos, lectures — and new exhibits at the Henry Art Gallery
As the new school year gears up, the arts on campus come alive with an array of exhibits, lectures and performances to enjoy.
Mantas, devil rays butchered for apothecary trade now identifiable
Dried filters from the mouths of filter-feeding rays started appearing in apothecary shops in recent years, but there’s been no way to know which of these gentle-natured rays was being slaughtered. Now scientists have discovered enough differences to identify the giant manta and eight devil rays using the dried filters.
September 18, 2013
Cables, instruments installed in the deep sea off Pacific Northwest coast
In a seven-week cruise this past summer, oceanographers and students laid 14 miles of extension cable and installed about a dozen instruments for a historic deep-sea observatory.
Documents that Changed the World: The Riot Act, 1714
When does a gathering become a riot? According to the United Kingdom’s Riot Act of 1714, it’s when local authorities say so.
September 17, 2013
Stronger winds explain puzzling growth of sea ice in Antarctica
Despite warming temperatures, Antarctic sea ice is on track to hit a record high. A new study suggests stronger polar winds can explain the recent increase in Southern Hemisphere sea ice.
Emotional attachment to robots could affect outcome on battlefield
As the military designs field robots to be more human or animal-like, it’s important to study whether soldiers could become emotionally attached to the mechanical tools and less willing to send them into harm’s way.
Door open for migrant students at UW
In spite of economic recovery, U.S. poverty rate remains high
Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau today show that, for the second year in a row, the poverty rate for the U.S. remained stable at 15 percent in 2012. Although the median annual income did not fall in 2012, it remains 8.3 percent below median income in 2007.
September 16, 2013
Depletion of ‘traitor’ immune cells slows cancer growth in mice
Scientists at the University of Washington have developed a strategy to slow tumor growth and prolong survival in mice with cancer by targeting and destroying a type of cell that dampens the body’s immune response to cancer.
Freshman Convocation marks opening of UW’s school year
University of Washington President Michael Young will be the featured speaker at the UW’s 30th annual Freshman Convocation, which begins at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 22 in the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
September 13, 2013
Neighborhoods and UW team up to measure diesel exhaust pollution in South Seattle
The residents of the Georgetown and South Park neighborhoods in Seattle’s Duwamish Valley now know how much diesel exhaust they are exposed to. A report on findings from an air pollution study comparing these neighborhoods to Beacon Hill and Queen Anne was published today, Sept. 13.
15 UW faculty members named to state Academy of Sciences
The Washington State Academy of Sciences has added 25 new members to its ranks, and 15 of them are from the University of Washington.
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.
Futures Committee suggests new compact for UW and community
A committee of volunteers, including many of the state’s top business and civic leaders, has issued a report recommending a stronger partnership between the University of Washington and the broad community of people that it serves.
Arts Roundup: Historic photos, art exhibits — and the Burke explores New Zealand
Even as the UW gears up for a new school year, interesting arts events are cropping up across campus. The Henry Art Gallery and Jacob Lawrence Gallery have new exhibits and the Burke Museum offers buggy weekend activities.
September 11, 2013
UW engineers to make cookstoves 10 times cleaner for developing world
University of Washington engineers have received a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to design a better cookstove, which researchers say will use half as much fuel and cut emissions by 90 percent.
September 10, 2013
New Sports Medicine Center at Husky Stadium is a game-changer for all athletes
This week the newest UW Medicine Sports Medicine Center opened its doors to the community at Husky Stadium. A public open house is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 19.
Two common drugs may help treat deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
A combination of interferon-alpha 2b and ribavirin, drugs routinely given for hepatitis C, may be an effective treatment for the coronovirus that causes this new disease.
New UW-based organization aims to prevent suicides
Forefront: Innovations in suicide prevention, a new University of Washington-based organization launched Sept. 10, will help Washington state lead the way to new policies and programs to solve what is regarded as a major public health problem.
UW ranked 16th among national public universities by US News
The University of Washington was tied for 16th place among public universities for its undergraduate program in the most recent edition of America’s Best Colleges released by US News & World Report.
September 9, 2013
Gene for most common childhood cancer identified
In children with this form of leukemia, damage to chromosome 9 removes part of a normal copy of the gene in question, and leaves the mutated copy unopposed.