May 31, 2017
A new University of Washington study finds that people who believe climate change is a problem and see economic, environmental and/or social benefits to using tidal energy are more likely to support such projects. Also, connecting pilot projects to the electricity grid is an important factor in garnering public support.
May 30, 2017
A new study finds that drone deliveries emit less climate-warming carbon dioxide pollution than truck deliveries in some — but not all — scenarios.
May 25, 2017
UW synthetic biology researchers have demonstrated a new method for digital information processing in living cells, analogous to the logic gates used in electric circuits. The team built the largest circuits published to date in eukaryotic cells, using DNA instead of silicon and solder.
For years, scientists have discussed whether and how to share data from painstaking research and costly experiments. Some are further along in their efforts toward “open science” than others: Fields such as astronomy and oceanography, for example, involve such expensive and large-scale equipment and logistical challenges to data collection that collaboration among institutions has become the norm. Meanwhile, a variety of academic journals, including several in the Nature Research family, are turning their attention to another aspect of the research…
May 23, 2017
This week in the arts, hear The University Singers, Women’s Choir, and Men’s Glee Club on one stage; see award-winning playwright José Rivera’s adaptation of the classic Life is a Dream, dig dinos at the Burke; check out the latest installment of the School of Art Graduation Exhibitions; and listen to a master drummer performs with his students. UW SINGS Friday, May 26, 7:30PM| Meany Theater The University Singers, Women’s Choir, and Men’s Glee Club present their popular year-end concert, directed by Geoffrey Boers. More info….
Wolves and other top predators need large ranges to be able to control smaller predators whose populations have expanded to the detriment of a balanced ecosystem, a new study in Nature Communications finds.
May 22, 2017
Evidence from the age of the dinosaurs to today shows that chemical weathering of rocks is less sensitive to global temperature, and may depend on the steepness of the surface. The results call into question the role of rocks in setting our planet’s temperature over millions of years.
A University of Washington-led international team of astronomers has used data gathered by the Kepler Space Telescope to observe and confirm details of the outermost of seven exoplanets orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1.
May 18, 2017
Washington state’s housing market showed the continuing effects of high demand in the first quarter of 2017, according to the UW’s Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies.
As tourists and residents visit Seattle’s downtown waterfront, it may not be immediately apparent they are walking on arguably the largest, most ambitious urban seawall project in the world that prioritizes habitat for young fish and the invertebrates they feed on.
May 17, 2017
A study of a Greenland ice core shows that during large climate swings, chemically reactive oxidants shift in a different direction than expected, which means we need to rethink what controls these molecules in our air.
David James, a visiting scientist with the UW Department of Astronomy, assisted in the just-announced Lehigh University-led discovery of an exoplanet 320 light-years away with a density so light it is being called a “Styrofoam planet.”
May 16, 2017
The purpose of the hearing is to allow all interested persons an opportunity to present their views, either orally or in writing, on the proposed new Chapter 478-121 WAC, “Student Conduct Code for the University of Washington,” and the repeal of the current Chapter 478-120 WAC, as well as amendments to various cross-references to the chapter and its sections in Title 478 WAC.
For its final and biggest show of the year the UW Undergraduate Theater Society presents “Spring Awakening,” a musical exploration of youth and blooming sexuality that’s surprisingly timely for a story set in 19th century Germany.
May 15, 2017
A diverse group of the world’s leading experts in marine conservation is calling for a Hippocratic Oath for ocean conservation ― not unlike the pledge physicians take to uphold specific ethical standards when practicing medicine.
Neighborhoods with greater poverty and disorganization may play a greater role in problem drinking than the availability of bars and stores that sell hard liquor, a University of Washington-led study has found. While there is evidence for the link between neighborhood poverty and alcohol use, the new twist — that socioeconomics are more powerful environmental factors than even access to the substance itself — suggests that improving a neighborhood’s quality of life can yield a range of benefits….
May 11, 2017
The University of Washington Board of Regents on Thursday approved the location for construction of a new building to house the UW’s Population Health Initiative.
University of Washington advocates for suicide prevention were busy pushing for legislation in Olympia, working on programs with more than a dozen local high schools and organizing the fourth annual Husky Help & Hope walk when an online TV show about suicide suddenly captivated a teenage audience. To the staff of UW-based Forefront: Innovations in Suicide Prevention and the student volunteers with Huskies for Suicide Prevention and Awareness (HSPA), the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why” portrays suicide in exactly the…
May 10, 2017
This week in the arts, hear alumni composers play Music of Today; celebrate Native art with the Burke Museum; hear “The Voice of the Tunisian Revolution”; check out capstone Photomedia work at the Jake; and get a first look at the month-long Henry residency of Cheradonna Shinatra. MUSIC OF TODAY: UW ALUMNI COMPOSERS Friday, May 12, 7:30PM| Meany Theater The University of Washington School of Music and The Center for Digital Arts and Experimental Media (DXARTS) present an evening of computer music and video…
The Seattle Art Museum will feature work by abstract artist and UW art professor Denzil Hurley. The exhibit, titled “Disclosures,” will be on display from May 20 through November. It’s a fitting tribute, as Hurley will retire from the UW at the end of the school year.
University of Washington researchers have conducted a new study that explores the attitudes and concerns of both parents and children who play with internet-connected toys. Through a series of in-depth interviews and observations, the researchers found that kids didn’t know their toys were recording their conversations, and parents generally worried about their children’s privacy when they played with the toys.
May 9, 2017
A federal program that pays farmers to plant agricultural land with environmentally beneficial vegetation is probably the reason that sage grouse still live in portions of Washington’s Columbia Basin, according to a new study by UW, state and federal researchers.
An international team of scientists, including one from the University of Washington, has announced the discovery of additional remains of a new human species, Homo naledi, in a series of caves northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. The find includes the remains of two adults and a child in the Lesedi Chamber of the Rising Star Cave system, expanding the fossil record originally reported from a different chamber of the cave in 2015. Details of the latest discovery are published…
May 8, 2017
In 2016, a record 10 million gallons of raw sewage was diverted from Puget Sound, Lake Washington and other state waterways that previously would have been dumped into vulnerable water.
May 4, 2017
John E. Vidale, a UW professor of seismology and director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
May 3, 2017
This week in the arts, see century maverick composer Harry Partch turn Sophocles’s play Oedipus into a visual and aural extravaganza; hear music inspired by great works of literature; and listen to the co-winners of the School of Music’s 2016 Strings and Piano Chamber Competition. HARRY PARTCH’S OEDIPUS: A MUSIC DANCE DRAMA May 5 – 7| Meany Center Twentieth century maverick composer Harry Partch turned Sophocles’s play Oedipus into a visual and aural extravaganza, combining spoken word, instrumentation, theater, and dance into…
The UW’s Livable City Year program has selected the City of Tacoma as the program’s community partner for the 2017-2018 academic year.
For social service agencies, pinning down funding is par for the course. But there is heightened interest in the new administration’s priorities, and whether services to the poor will be among them. That lack of certainty — and a need to share information — prompted the University of Washington School of Social Work and the West Coast Poverty Center to host a panel discussion with local agency representatives at 5 p.m. May 9 at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute,…
May 2, 2017
“Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life,” is a good-news environment story about how shifts in farming practices can restore health and fertility to soils.
University of Washington Continuum College has launched the first UWPCE Certificate Scholarship program to help Washington residents eager to advance their careers through education.
Timing is everything, they say. In the latest episode of his Documents that Changed the World podcast series, Joe Janes of the UW Information School explores how an overload of critical information helped trigger the stock market crash of 1929, and thus the Great Depression. “This is a story about fortunes lost, lives ruined, a world plunged into a decade of depression, the end of an era,” Janes says in the podcast. “And, a story of infrastructure. And like any…
A new study finds that smartphone apps to track menstrual cycles often disappoint users with a lack of accuracy, assumptions about sexual identity or partners, and an emphasis on pink and flowery form over function and customization.
May 1, 2017
A University of Washington team has made new headway on a solution to remove beetle-killed trees from the forest and use them to make renewable transportation fuels or high-value chemicals. The researchers have refined this technique to process larger pieces of wood than ever before ― saving time and money in future commercial applications.
April 28, 2017
The University of Washington community has a new tool — designed as a digital scavenger hunt — to explore and learn about the existing Seattle campus as well as plans for the future.
At first, La TaSha Levy was worried her class on Black Lives Matter would be almost out of date. After all, who hasn’t seen the signs, heard the slogans, watched — or perhaps even participated in — marches to protest racism and violence against African Americans? But that was just it, realized Levy, a new assistant professor of American Ethnic Studies at the University of Washington. What most people know of Black Lives Matter is just a slogan. “Black Lives…
April 27, 2017
This week in the arts, experience “one of literature’s most beloved fantasies”; attend a one-day environmental writing program in both the field and classroom; celebrate the Photomedia Graduation show at a special reception; and hear the latest installment of the Brechemin Piano Series. ORLANDO April 28-30 and May 3-7| Glenn Hughes Penthouse Theater Virginia Woolf’s Orlando is one of literature’s most beloved fantasies—a love letter, a biography, and an epic poem that Woolf called, “too long to be a joke and…
Girls start believing they aren’t good at math, science and even computers at a young age — but providing fun STEM activities at school and home may spark interest and inspire confidence. A study from the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS) finds that, when exposed to a computer-programming activity, 6-year-old girls expressed greater interest in technology and more positive attitudes about their own skills and abilities than girls who didn’t try the activity. The results…
April 26, 2017
A new population of invasive European green crab has been found at Dungeness Spit, near Sequim, Washington, rekindling concern over the potential for damage to local marine life and shorelines.
A new study describes how some people turn to posting photos on Instagram to track food intake or to be held accountable by followers in meeting healthy eating or weight loss goals.
April 25, 2017
To new parents, a baby’s every gurgle and glance are fascinating, from a smile at mom or dad to a reach for a colorful toy. But when a baby doesn’t look at parents and caregivers, imitate gestures and sounds, or engage in play, parents have questions. And a growing number are bringing their babies to the University of Washington Autism Center for answers. The UW Autism Center hosts its annual open house from 4:30 to 7 p.m. April 27 at…