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The latest news from the UW

Browser plug-in helps people balance their political news reading habits

As the U.S. presidential election approaches, many voters become voracious consumers of online political news. A new tool tracks whether all those articles really provide a balanced view of the debate – and, if not, suggests some sites that offer opinions from the other side of the political spectrum.

News Digest: Discount Stanford tickets for faculty/staff, checklist for smart computing, scorecard for St. Helens, Honor: D. Boersma, environmental-humanities confab

Discount Stanford football game tickets for faculty/staff || It’s a new year: UW offers checklist for secure/smart computing || Dee Boersma receives Motar Board award || First transatlantic environmental humanities conference starts Friday

Low income linked to poorer health in both U.S. and England, despite different health systems

Although the English are generally healthier than Americans, both countries grapple with large health inequalities. A new study suggests that in both countries, health and wealth are tightly linked. The study, published online Sept. 20 in the American Journal of Public Health, links income level with obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma and other health conditions. The results surprised author Melissa Martinson, an assistant professor at the UW’s School of Social Work, who expected income to have less of an effect…

The original Twitter? Tiny electronic tags monitor birds’ social networks

A tiny digital tag developed at the UW can for the first time see when birds meet in the wild, offering a window into animal social networks. A study in Current Biology used the tags to track the social habits of New Caledonian crows, and found a surprising amount of interaction among the tool-using birds.