The latest news from the UW

A new study by University of Washington researchers, to be presented later this week at the American Psychological Society’s annual meeting in Denver, indicates that men and women view sexual abuse cases differently and could be poles apart in rendering an actual verdict.

Just being exposed to a story about a fictitious childhood experience can alter people’s memories to the point that half of them believe the incident probably occurred even though they previously said it didn’t, University of Washington researchers will report later this week at the American Psychological Society’s annual meeting in Denver.

Unconscious prejudice towards blacks and the elderly can be significantly decreased by exposing people to images of admired members of those groups, according to a new series of experiments conducted by University of Washington psychologists.

Despite this year’s record snowfall in the Pacific Northwest, the amount of water stored as mountain snowpack is projected to drop significantly in the long run, a change that could repaint the face of the region and drastically alter how water is used and allocated, according to University of Washington researchers.

Dr. Paul G. Ramsey, vice president for medical affairs and dean of the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine, has named Dr. Andrew A. Ziskind associate dean for clinical affairs and associate vice president for clinical specialty programs.

The University of Washington’s successful 1998 faculty field tour has been expanded to cover more of the state this year. President Richard L. McCormick will lead 30 new professors and librarians from the UW’s Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma campuses on an 1,100-mile, five-day bus trip to learn about the people, places, passions and problems of their home state.

Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine have performed the first randomized controlled clinical trial showing that a painful and even life-threatening bowel condition called acute colonic pseudo-obstruction can be effectively treated with intravenous neostigmine.

Clinical studies are underway at the University of Washington to determine the effectiveness of heat therapy to manage pressure ulcers (bed sores).

It takes just nine months on male hormone suppression treatment for men with prostate cancer to lose a significant amount of bone mass density — a rate comparable to the loss experienced by post-menopausal women, according to new research conducted at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

The University of Washington and the Seahawks have reached agreement on the use of Husky Stadium for Seahawks’ home games during the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

The number of underrepresented minority students planning to enroll in next Autumn’s freshman class is likely to decline substantially over previous years, according to figures compiled by the University of Washington’s admissions office.

It takes just nine months on male hormone suppression treatment for men with prostate cancer to lose a significant amount of bone mass density — a rate comparable to the loss experienced by post-menopausal women, according to new research conducted at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Chip Hanauer was at the pinnacle of the unlimited hydroplane racing world when he walked away three years ago, having won the sport?s top race, the APBA Gold Cup, 10 times, and 58 races overall.

A report in the May 14 issue of Science, describing a novel approach to reconstructing paleovegetation, presents the first continuous vegetation record from the Australian interior extending back to 65,000 years ago.

Outstanding students in the University of Washington’s Educational Opportunity Program will be honored at the EOP banquet, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 13 at the Convention Center.

King County residents who need the services of mental-health professionals, substance-abuse specialists and care givers trained to treat developmental disabilities have a special place and medical program of their own – the Crisis Triage Unit (CTU) at Harborview Medical Center.

Species recovery plans have multiplied quickly since the Endangered Species Act was spawned 25 years ago. But there’s still a question of how well the more than 900 species listed as endangered or threatened are recovering. Now a University of Washington zoologist is spearheading a national effort to review 200 recovery plans in detail.

Secretin, a hormone that some parents claim possesses almost magical properties as a treatment for autism, will be scientifically tested in large-scale trials starting later this month in Seattle and Denver.

Deciphering the human genome and the increasing availability of genetic testing raise ethical, legal and social challenges. The University of Washington School of Nursing will address these challenges when it hosts the 20th annual Elizabeth Sterling Soule Lecture.

Western Washington’s two major earthquakes this century had minimal impact north of Seattle. But new evidence suggests that in the previous 1,100 years an area between Everett and Marysville experienced at least three earthquakes of at least moderate intensity that produced liquefaction.

Major Puget Sound-area earthquakes in 1949 and 1965 are but a dim memory for most people who lived through them. But geological records going back thousands of years imply an even greater hazard in the Cascadia subduction zone than is reflected in 200 years of written history.

A Douglas fir log plucked from a sewer trench along the shores of Puget Sound has helped scientists narrow the time frame for a major earthquake more than a millenium ago, the last big rupture of the Seattle fault.

Dr. Robb Glenny, associate professor of medicine and of physiology and biophysics at the University of Washington, has won the only Guggenheim Fellowship Award given in medicine this year.

Hoping to add their names to Seattle’s growing ranks of successful entrepreneurs, contestants in the University of Washington Business School’s student business plan competition will vie for $25,000 in seed capital to launch companies that may become the next REI, Visio or Wizards of the Coast.

Researchers at the University of Washington are testing programs to improve the shaky state of many marriages and are looking for 300 Puget Sound couples who, if they are not exactly undergoing the worst of times, are experiencing problems in their relationships.

Recent developments in surgical techniques and technology are boosting the chances of regaining sexual function and continence for men who have undergone radical prostatectomies.

You could call it Martian Standard Time. The new “time zone” takes effect in January 2002 when a sundial designed and assembled at the University of Washington lands on the red planet aboard NASA’s 2001 Mars Surveyor.

The 50th anniversary of the UW Health Sciences Libraries and Information Center will be celebrated next week with a symposium on “The Health Information Challenge: Connecting People to Knowledge for Life.”

As University of Washington Business School students prepare to enter the global marketplace, they are bringing peers from around the globe to Seattle for a week of events culminating in the West Coast’s first international business case competition.

Recently, anesthesiologists at University of Washington Medical Center have refined the “walking epidural” technique by using meperidine (Demerol), thus minimizing uncomfortable side effects that can occur with commonly used pain control techniques.

Reporting in the April 15 issue of Nature, Ratner and Galen Shi, a graduate student in the UW Department of Bioengineering, describe a technique they developed for coating a biomaterial surface with tiny keyhole-like indentions that bind specific proteins to potentially unlock the body’s natural healing process.

The Scientific Instruments Division of the University of Washington will celebrate 50 years of achievement with an anniversary celebration and open house.

A 56-year-old Maple Valley man is about to leave UW Medical Center with the help of a new, fully portable heart pump that will assist his failing heart until a donor heart becomes available for transplant.

University of Washington President Richard L. McCormick will recommend to the Board of Regents that Yash P. Gupta, dean and professor of management in the College of Business and Administration of the University of Colorado at Denver, be appointed dean of the UW Business School, effective Aug. 1, 1999

Tim Walsh, a state DNR geologist, will provide an overview of the effects of the 1949 Olympia earthquake. Stephen Kirby, a USGS senior research geophysicist, then will discuss what can be learned about subduction zone earthquakes from the 1949 event

Alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems were significantly slashed among a group of high-risk college-age drinkers using a brief, non-confrontational intervention treatment. The study, conducted by a team of UW researchers headed by psychology professor Alan Marlatt, was published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

UW student named 1999 Truman Scholar
Dawn Hewett, a University of Washington junior, was named today as one of 79 1999 Truman Scholars by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.

Damage to the sensory hair cells in the inner ear is the most frequent cause of permanent hearing loss.

Porter and Eastman Kodak Chairman George Fisher will be in Seattle April 14 to address inner-city economic development issues as guests of the University of Washington Business School’s business and economic development program.

A group of low-income high school students is learning how to build computers in a UW class–and they will get to keep the product of their labors.