Research
December 19, 2024
By looking at individual atoms in tooth enamel, UW and PNNL researchers are learning what happens to our teeth as we age
A research team at UW and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory examined the atomic composition of enamel samples from two human teeth.
December 18, 2024
Q&A: New AI training method lets systems better adjust to users’ values
University of Washington researchers created a method for training AI systems — both for large language models like ChatGPT and for robots — that can better reflect users’ diverse values. It predicts users’ preferences as they interact with it, then tailors its outputs accordingly.
December 17, 2024
Q&A: Will the next generation of AI be agents that can shop autonomously?
Chirag Shah, a UW professor in the Information School, discusses what AI agents are and what might impede a near future where people can simply get AI bots to shop for them.
December 13, 2024
In the Field: UW Oceanographers and undergrads pursue tiny viral prize in Puget Sound waters
UW oceanographer Robert Morris and a collaborator at UCLA are going out with students to collect the most abundant bacteria in the oceans to understand how its relationship with marine viruses changes depending on the place or the season. They leave Dec. 16 aboard UW School of Oceanography’s small research vessel, the RV Rachel Carson.
December 12, 2024
Surveys show full scale of massive die-off of common murres following the ‘warm blob’ in the Pacific Ocean
Colony surveys of common murres, an Alaskan seabird, show the full effects of the 2014-16 marine heat wave known as “the blob.” Analysis of 13 colonies surveyed between 2008 and 2022 finds that colony size in the Gulf of Alaska dropped by half after the marine heat wave. In colonies along the eastern Bering Sea, west of the peninsula, the decline was even steeper, at 75% loss. No recovery has yet been seen.
December 6, 2024
More than 10,000 supernovae counted in stellar census
Since 2018 the Zwicky Transient Facility, an international astronomical collaboration based at the Palomar Observatory in California, has scanned the entire sky every two to three nights. As part of this mission, the ZTF’s Bright Transient Survey has been counting and cataloguing supernovae — flashes of light in the sky that are the telltale signs of stars dying in spectacular explosions. On Dec. 4, ZTF researchers — including astronomers at the University of Washington — announced that that they have identified more than 10,000 of these stellar events, the largest number ever identified by an astronomical survey.
Record-low Antarctic sea ice can be explained and forecast months out by patterns in winds
University of Washington researchers show that the all-time record low in winter sea ice extent in 2023 can be explained by warm Southern Ocean conditions and patterns in the winds that circled Antarctica months earlier, allowing forecasts for sea ice coverage around the South Pole to be generated six or more months in advance. This could support regional and global weather and climate models.
December 5, 2024
That’s no straw: Hummingbirds evolved surprisingly flexible bills to help them drink nectar
Hummingbird bills — their long, thin beaks — look a little like drinking straws. But new research shows just how little water, or nectar, that comparison holds. University of Washington scientists have discovered that the hummingbird bill is surprisingly flexible. While drinking, a hummingbird rapidly opens and shuts different parts of its bill simultaneously, engaging in an intricate and highly coordinated dance with its tongue to draw up nectar at lightning speeds.
December 4, 2024
Video: Talking about climate and weather with the Office of the Washington State Climatologist
From a base at the southwest corner of the UW’s Seattle campus, the Office of the Washington State Climatologist’s Guillaume Mauger and Karin Bumbaco provide expertise, tools and resources on “all things climate” to partners and communities across the state.
November 25, 2024
Video: UW-led research links wildfire smoke exposure with increased dementia risk
An analysis of the health care records of 1.2 million Southern California residents found that higher long-term smoke exposure was associated with a significant increase in the odds that a person would be diagnosed with dementia. Exposure to non-wildfire PM2.5 also increased a person’s risk of dementia, but to a much lesser degree.
November 21, 2024
UW among best universities in the world for interdisciplinary science
The University of Washington was ranked No. 15 in the world for interdisciplinary scientific research, according to a new list published earlier this month by the U.K.-based Times Higher Education. The UW placed in the top 10 among U.S. institutions. Among U.S. public institutions, the UW placed fifth.
Fewer than 7% of global hotspots for whale-ship collisions have protection measures in place
A new study led by the University of Washington has for the first time quantified the risk for whale-ship collisions worldwide for four geographically widespread ocean giants that are threatened by shipping: blue, fin, humpback and sperm whales. In a paper published online Nov. 21 in Science, researchers report that global shipping traffic overlaps with about 92% of these whale species’ ranges. Only about 7% of areas at highest risk for whale-ship collisions have any measures in place to protect whales from this threat. These measures include speed reductions, both mandatory and voluntary, for ships crossing waters that overlap with whale migration or feeding areas.
November 20, 2024
UW addresses USDA inspection report findings at WaNPRC
A routine inspection of the University of Washington’s animal care and use program conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on Oct. 8 identified issues that the UW had self-reported and corrected before the inspection took place.
In the ‘Wild West’ of AI chatbots, subtle biases related to race and caste often go unchecked
University of Washington researchers developed a system for detecting subtle biases in AI models. They found seven of the eight popular AI models they tested in conversations around race and caste generated significant amounts of biased text in interactions — particularly when discussing caste. Open-source models fared far worse than two proprietary ChatGPT models.
November 18, 2024
Q&A: UW professor discusses how academia can help battery manufacturing in the US
Jie Xiao, University of Washington professor of mechanical engineering, talks about batteries and how academia can help support the growing domestic battery manufacturing industry.
Q&A: A new medical AI model can help spot systemic disease by looking at a range of image types
UW assistant professor Sheng Wang discusses BiomedParse, an AI medical image analysis model that works across nine types of medical images to better predict systemic diseases. Medical professionals can load images into the system and ask the AI tool questions about them in plain English.
November 14, 2024
Deborah H. Fuller tapped to lead WaNPRC
The University of Washington named Deborah H. Fuller, a professor of Microbiology at the UW School of Medicine, the next director of the Washington National Primate Research Center. Fuller started in the new role on Nov. 1, said Vice Provost of Research Mari Ostendorf.
AI headphones create a ‘sound bubble,’ quieting all sounds more than a few feet away
A team led by researchers at the University of Washington has created a headphone prototype that allows listeners to hear people speaking within a bubble with a programmable radius of 3 to 6 feet. Voices and sounds outside the bubble are quieted an average of 49 decibels, even if they’re louder than those in the bubble.
November 8, 2024
Miniature backpack-like tags offer insight into the movement of hummingbirds
A team led by scientists at the University of Washington and the University of Aberdeen attached tiny “backpack” trackers to hummingbirds in the Colombian Andes to learn more about their movements. As they report in a paper published Oct. 10 in the journal Ecology and Evolution, the tracking system will aid conservation efforts in this region by revealing the previously hidden movements of hummingbirds and other small animals.
November 5, 2024
Reconstructing ancient Andean climate provides clues to climate change
As Earth faces unprecedented climate change, a look into the planet’s deep past may provide vital insights into what may lie ahead. But knowledge of the natural world millions of years ago is fragmented. A 15-year study of a site in Bolivia by a joint U.S.-Bolivia team has provided a comprehensive view of an ancient ecosystem when Earth was much warmer than it is today, and changed how we look at the Andes.
November 4, 2024
NASA funds effort to study effects of the space environment on living organisms
NASA has awarded a five-year, $2.5 million grant to establish a regional scientific consortium based at the University of Washington, in partnership with Washington State University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The consortium will use an interdisciplinary approach to explore how the space environment — both in low-Earth orbit and beyond — affects living things.
October 31, 2024
AI tools show biases in ranking job applicants’ names according to perceived race and gender
University of Washington researchers found significant racial, gender and intersectional bias in how three state-of-the-art large language models ranked resumes. The models favored white-associated names 85% of the time, female-associated names only 11% of the time, and never favored Black male-associated names over white male-associated names.
October 23, 2024
Rocky planets orbiting small stars could have stable atmospheres needed to support life
A new study finds that rocky planets orbiting small stars do have the potential for stable, life-supporting atmospheres. The finding supports continued study of the TRAPPIST-1 system and other top candidates in the search for life outside our solar system.
From accessibility upgrades to a custom cat-food bowl, this mobile 3D printer can autonomously add features to a room
University of Washington researchers created MobiPrint, a mobile 3D printer that can automatically measure a room and print objects onto the floor. The team’s graphic interface lets users design objects in a space that the robot has mapped out. The prototype, which the team built on a modified consumer vacuum robot, can add a range of objects to rooms.
October 22, 2024
Paws of polar bears sustaining ice-related injuries in a warming Arctic
Polar bears in some parts of the high Arctic are developing ice buildup and related injuries to their feet. The changes appear to be an unexpected consequence of climate change, related to changing conditions in a warming Arctic.
October 21, 2024
Sweetened beverage taxes decrease consumption in lower-income households by nearly 50%, UW study finds
New research from the University of Washington investigated responses to sweetened beverage taxes using the purchasing behavior of approximately 400 households in Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland and Philadelphia. Researchers found that after the tax was introduced, lower-income households decreased their purchases of sweetened beverages by nearly 50%, while higher-income households reduced purchases by 18%.
October 17, 2024
Life could exist on Mars in shallow meltwater pools below icy surface, study suggests
Researchers think meltwater beneath Martian ice could host microbial life. New results show that dusty ice could allow deeper layers to melt, while allowing enough sunlight through to support photosynthesis.
October 4, 2024
Q&A: New dataset provides a robust picture of Hurricane Helene’s destruction — and could help design more resilient communities
UW researchers collaborated with people at multiple institutions to collect pre-storm data and place sensors to measure storm surge levels and wave height during Hurricane Helene’s landfall.
October 1, 2024
Q&A: UW researchers examine link between light pollution and interest in astronomy
Rodolfo Cortes Barragan, research scientist the University of Washington Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (I-LABS), and Andrew Meltzoff, co-director of I-LABS and professor of psychology, recently co-authored a study in Nature Scientific Reports showing a link between the ability to see the stars unblocked by light pollution and an interest in astronomy.
September 25, 2024
To make fluid flow in one direction down a pipe, it helps to be a shark
Researchers from the University of Washington have discovered a new way to help liquid flow in only one direction, but without using the flaps that engines and our circulatory system rely upon to prevent fluid backup. The team built a flexible pipe with an interior helical structure inspired by the anatomy of shark intestines — creating a prototype inspired by biology but with applications in engineering and medicine.
September 23, 2024
Q&A: How the Remote Hub Lab can prepare engineering students for their future careers
The Remote Hub Lab allows students to access physical engineering equipment from anywhere in the world. A primary focus of the lab is to use a process called “digital twinning,” to create virtual models that mirror real-world systems, which enables students to experiment, learn and innovate in a risk-free, cost-effective environment.
September 19, 2024
What’s for dinner? Scientists unearth key clues to cuisine of resident killer whales
Scientists have discovered the cuisine preferences of two resident killer whale populations, also known as orcas: the Alaska residents and the southern residents, which reside primarily in the Salish Sea and off the coast of Washington, British Columbia, Oregon and northern California. The two populations show broad preference for salmon, particularly Chinook, chum and coho. But they differ in when they switch to hunting and eating different salmon species, as well as the other fish species they pursue to supplement their diets. This information could aid conservation efforts for southern resident killer whales, which remain critically endangered due to pollution, loss of salmon habitat and other human-caused factors that disrupt their hunting and reproductive capabilities.
September 18, 2024
Explaining dramatic planetwide changes after world’s last ‘Snowball Earth’ event
Some of the most dramatic climatic events in our planet’s history are “Snowball Earth” events that happened hundreds of millions of years ago, when almost the entire planet was encased in ice up to 0.6 miles thick. New research from the University of Washington provides a more complete picture for how the last Snowball Earth event ended, and suggests why it preceded a dramatic expansion of life on Earth, including the emergence of the first animals.
September 17, 2024
AI researcher discusses the new version of ChatGPT’s advances in math and reasoning
Niloofar Mireshghallah, a UW postdoctoral scholar, discusses why math and reasoning have so challenged artificial intelligence models and what the public should know about OpenAI’s new release.
September 13, 2024
In the Field: Understanding the impact of Arctic militarization on Indigenous communities
Mia Bennett, University of Washington assistant professor of geography, will spend a week this month in Norway as part of the orientation for the Fulbright Arctic IV Initiative. Bennett is one of 20 scholars selected to collaborate on multi-disciplinary research over the next 18 months.
September 12, 2024
UW’s Ashleigh Theberge receives Schmidt Sciences Polymath honors for ‘boundary-pushing work’ in cell signaling, communication
Ashleigh Theberge, associate professor of chemistry at the University of Washington, has been named to the Schmidt Sciences Polymath Program, entitling her to grants of up to $2.5 million over five years to “pursue risky, novel theories that would otherwise be difficult to fund,” according to a Sept. 10 announcement from Schmidt Sciences. Theberge — one of six awardees this year — was selected from an applicant pool of 117, and is the first UW faculty member selected for the program, which is in its third year.
September 10, 2024
UW researchers develop a stretchable, wearable device that lights up an LED using only the warmth of your skin
UW researchers have developed a flexible, durable electronic prototype that can harvest energy from body heat and turn it into electricity that can be used to power small electronics, such as batteries, sensors or LEDs. This device is also resilient — it still functions even after being pierced several times and then stretched 2,000 times.
Thanks to humans, Salish Sea waters are too noisy for resident orcas to hunt successfully
New research led by the University of Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has revealed how underwater noise produced by humans may help explain why southern resident orca populations have not recovered from historic lows. In a paper published Sept. 10 in Global Change Biology, the team reports that underwater noise pollution — from both large and small vessels — forces northern and southern resident orcas to expend more time and energy hunting for fish. The din also lowers the overall success of their hunting efforts. Noise from ships likely has an outsized impact on southern resident orca pods, which spend more time in parts of the Salish Sea with high ship traffic.
September 9, 2024
COVID-19 lockdowns prematurely aged teenage brains, UW study shows
New research from the University of Washington found lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unusually accelerated brain maturation in adolescents. This maturation was more pronounced in girls. When measured in terms of the number of years of accelerated brain development, the mean acceleration was 4.2 years in females and 1.4 years in males.
August 30, 2024
New discoveries about how mosquitoes mate may help the fight against malaria
An international team led by researchers at the University of Washington has uncovered surprising details about mosquito mating, which could lead to improved malaria control techniques and even help develop precision drone flight. In a paper published Aug. 30 in the journal Current Biology, the team revealed that when a male Anopheles coluzzii mosquito hears the sound of female-specific wingbeats, his eyes “activate” and he visually scans the immediate vicinity for a potential mate.
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