Research
November 2, 2020
Video: Free coronavirus testing for UW community open for more enrollment
The Husky Coronavirus Testing program, powered by the Seattle Flu Study, launched on Sept. 24 and now has more than 12,500 members of the UW community enrolled and has conducted more than 10,000 tests.
Break it up: Polymer derived from material in shrimp’s shells could deliver anti-cancer drugs to tumor sites
A University of Washington team led by Miqin Zhang, a professor of materials science and engineering and of neurological surgery, has developed a nanoparticle-based drug delivery system that can ferry a potent anti-cancer drug through the bloodstream safely. Their nanoparticle is derived from chitin, a natural and organic polymer that, among other things, makes up the outer shells of shrimp.
Flying through wildfire smoke plumes could improve smoke forecasts
The biggest study yet of West Coast wildfire plumes shows how a smoke plume’s chemistry changes over time. Results suggest current models may not accurately predict the air quality downwind of a wildfire.
No social distancing in the Cretaceous: New study finds earliest evidence for mammal social behavior
A new study led by paleontologists at the University of Washington indicates that the earliest evidence of mammal social behavior goes back to the Age of Dinosaurs. A multituberculate that lived 75.5 million years ago, Filikomys primaevus engaged in multi-generational, group-nesting and burrowing behavior, and possibly lived in colonies.
October 29, 2020
Models show how COVID-19 cuts a neighborhood path
A research team led by UC Irvine and the University of Washington has created a new model of how the coronavirus can spread through a community. The model factors in network exposure — whom one interacts with — and demographics to simulate at a more detailed level both where and how quickly the coronavirus could spread through Seattle and 18 other major cities.
UW awarded $23.5M to build floating robots as part of NSF project to monitor the world’s oceans
The University of Washington is among leading U.S. oceanographic institutions that have received National Science Foundation funding to build and deploy 500 robotic ocean-monitoring floats to monitor the chemistry and biology of the world’s oceans.
October 28, 2020
SoundWatch: New smartwatch app alerts d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing users to birdsong, sirens and other desired sounds
UW researchers have developed SoundWatch, a smartwatch app for deaf, Deaf and hard-of-hearing people who want to be aware of nearby sounds.
October 27, 2020
Vanessa Freije of UW Jackson School explores Mexican politics, journalism in new book ‘Citizens of Scandal’
A talk with Vanessa Freije of the UW Jackson School about her new book, “Citizens of Scandal: Journalism, Secrecy, and the Politics of Reckoning in Mexico.”
October 22, 2020
UW seeks Latinos caring for relatives, friends with dementia to develop better training program
With Latinos 1.5 times more likely to have dementia than non-Latino whites, among other health disparities, researchers at the University of Washington are hoping to better understand Latino family caregivers and adapt the training available to those caregivers. To do that, the UW Department of Health Services is seeking to interview Latino caregivers for a…
Simple actions can help people survive landslides, UW analysis shows
Simple actions can dramatically improve a person’s chances of surviving a landslide, show records from 38 landslides in the U.S. and around the world. People who survived landslides tended to have moved upstairs or to higher ground, among other key actions.
October 20, 2020
UW jumps two spots to No. 8 in US News Best Global Universities ranking
The University of Washington moved up two spots to No. 8 on the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Global Universities rankings, released Tuesday. The UW maintained its No. 2 ranking among U.S. public institutions.
Video: Local stream watchers add to salmon science
This fall, about three dozen people signed up to help count the salmon in their local streams and creeks. Recruited by University of Washington Bothell teaching professor Jeff Jensen, these volunteers agree to observe a stream location for at least half an hour per week (while taking coronavirus precautions) to gather vital information about salmon in streams that flow into Lake Washington and the Sammamish River.
October 19, 2020
Conversation about suicide prevention leads to safe gun storage, study finds
Research by Forefront Suicide Prevention at the University of Washington, from visits to 18 gun shows and other community events around Washington state last year, found that engaging people in a community-based setting, in an empathetic conversation focused on safety, resulted in more people locking up their firearms.
Early-arriving endangered Chinook salmon take the brunt of sea lion predation on the Columbia
A new University of Washington and NOAA Fisheries study found that sea lions have the largest negative effect on early-arriving endangered Chinook salmon in the lower Columbia River. The results of this study will publish Oct. 18 in the Journal of Applied Ecology.
October 16, 2020
New annual book prize named for late UW historian William Rorabaugh
The national Alcohol and Drugs History Society has established an annual book prize in the name of UW history professor William Rorabaugh, who died this spring, calling him “a pioneer in the social history of alcohol.”
October 15, 2020
For single adults and families alike, higher cost of living in all Washington counties
Cost of living is up in all Washington counties, for families of all sizes, according to the 2020 Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State, a report that identifies the amount of income needed to support families of various sizes without additional help from the government, community or other personal resources.
October 12, 2020
UW awarded NIH grant for training in advanced data analytics for behavioral and social sciences
With a grant from the National Institutes of Health, a five-year, $1.8 million training program at the University of Washington will fund 25 academic-year graduate fellowships, develop a new training curriculum and contribute to methodological advances in health research at the intersection of demography and data science.
October 8, 2020
Airdropping sensors from moths: Researchers use flying insects to drop sensors from air, land them safely on the ground
UW researchers have created a sensor system that can ride aboard a small drone or an insect, such as a moth, until it gets to its destination.
October 7, 2020
Turning hotels into emergency shelter as part of COVID-19 response limited spread of coronavirus, improved health and stability
A King County initiative to relocate people from homeless shelters to hotel rooms during the pandemic not only limited the spread of COVID-19, but also improved people’s mental health and well-being, and allowed them to focus on long-term goals.
October 6, 2020
All together now: Experiments with twisted 2D materials catch electrons behaving collectively
In a paper published Sept. 14 in the journal Nature Physics, a team led by the University of Washington reports that carefully constructed stacks of graphene — a 2D form of carbon — can exhibit highly correlated electron properties. The team also found evidence that this type of collective behavior likely relates to the emergence of exotic magnetic states.
October 1, 2020
Faculty/staff honors: Teaching and mentoring award; three Aeronautics & Astronautics professors recognized — and state dance educator of the year
Recent honors to UW faculty have come from the American Institute for Aeronautics & Astronautics, the American Society of Composites, the Coalition for Excellence in Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology and the Dance Educators Association of Washington.
September 30, 2020
UW researchers driving around Seattle to track COVID-19 response over time
UW researchers developed a project that scans the streets every few weeks to document how Seattle has reacted to the pandemic and what recovery looks like.
Greenland is on track to lose ice faster than in any century over the past 12,000 years, study finds
A new study combines ice cores, geologic records and computer models to understand the past, present and future of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The results show that emissions this century have a big influence on how much ice will be lost from Greenland.
September 29, 2020
Aquatic hitchhikers: Using mobile technology to predict invasive species transmission
A new University of Washington study uses passive data from a fishing technology company to model the movement of anglers and predict where aquatic invasive species may be spreading.
September 24, 2020
Age restrictions for handguns make little difference in homicides as US deals with ‘de facto availability’ of firearms
In the United States, individual state laws barring 18- to 20-year-olds from buying or possessing a handgun make little difference in the rate of homicides involving a gun by people in that age group, a new University of Washington study has found. “The central issue is that there’s a very high degree of informal access…
September 23, 2020
Some polar bears in far north are getting short-term benefit from thinning ice
The small subpopulation of polar bears in Kane Basin were doing better, on average, in recent years than in the 1990s. The bears are experiencing short-term benefits from thinning and shrinking multiyear sea ice that allows more sunlight to reach the ocean surface, which makes the system more ecologically productive.
September 22, 2020
UW Podcasts: ‘Coastal Café’ explores marine, shoreline issues — and ‘Voices Unbound’ on racism in COVID-19 responses
A talk with the hosts of Washington Sea Grant’s “Coastal Café” podcast, which is also a radio show. And EarthLab’s podcast “Voices Unbound” releases a new season of timely topics.
Muslims, atheists more likely to face religious discrimination in US
A new study led by the University of Washington found that Muslims and atheists in the United States are more likely than those of Christian faiths to experience religious discrimination. Researchers focused on public schools and tested how principals responded to an individual’s expression of religious belief.
September 17, 2020
Watching over whales: Online tool detects whales and ships in California’s Santa Barbara Channel in near real-time
Whale Safe — an online tool launched Sept. 17 by scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the University of Washington and other partner institutions — allows users to detect and better protect these endangered animals in the Santa Barbara Channel. It is a mapping and analysis tool to help prevent ships from running into whales.
Environmental health professor emeritus Sverre Vedal serves on committee studying respiratory effects of Southwest Asia military service
Dr. Sverre Vedal, UW professor emeritus of environmental and health sciences, served on an expert committee for the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine studying the long-term respiratory health impacts of military service in Southeast Asia.
September 16, 2020
Most landslides in western Oregon triggered by heavy rainfall, not big earthquakes
Researchers at the University of Washington, Portland State University and the University of Oregon have shown that deep-seated landslides in the central Oregon Coast Range are triggered mostly by rainfall, not by large offshore earthquakes. The open-access paper was published Sept. 16 in Science Advances. “Geomorphologists have long understood the importance of rainfall in triggering…
Marine animals live where ocean is most ‘breathable,’ but ranges could shrink with climate change
New research shows that a wide variety of marine animals — from vertebrates to crustaceans to mollusks — already inhabit the maximum range of breathable ocean that their physiology will allow. The findings provide a warning about climate change: Since warmer waters will harbor less oxygen, some stretches of ocean that are breathable today for a given species may not be in the future.
September 11, 2020
Evans School interim dean receives $2M NSF grant to study ‘megafires’
Alison Cullen, professor and interim dean of the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance at the University of Washington, will study “megafires” with a new $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation.
September 8, 2020
How birth control, girls’ education can slow population growth
Education and family planning have long been tied to lower fertility trends. But new research from the University of Washington analyzes those factors to determine, what accelerates a decline in otherwise high-fertility countries.
September 4, 2020
Mask mandates delayed by nearly a month in Republican-led states, UW study finds
Political science researchers at the University of Washington examined the factors associated with statewide mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. When controlling for other factors, states with Republican governors delayed imposing broad indoor mask requirements by nearly a month.
September 2, 2020
UW Books: Climate change meets restoration science in ‘Anticipating Future Environments’; ‘Building Reuse’ in paperback — and Anu Taranath’s ‘Beyond Guilt Trips’ named a Washington State Book Award finalist
Recent news about UW-authored books includes a UW Press book on salmon habitat restoration amid climate change and a paperback edition of a book on building reuse. Also, Anu Taranath’s “Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World” is a Washington State Book Award finalist.
August 31, 2020
UW receives NSF funds for investment in an interdisciplinary quantum future
The National Science Foundation has awarded $3 million to establish a NSF Research Traineeship at the University of Washington for graduate students in quantum information science and technology. The new traineeship — known as Accelerating Quantum-Enabled Technologies, or AQET — will make the UW one of just “a handful” of universities with a formal, interdisciplinary QIST curriculum.
August 27, 2020
Frequently asked questions: torpor in Antarctic Lystrosaurus
This FAQ discusses evidence for a hibernation-like condition in Lystrosaurus, a mammal relative that lived in the Antarctic portion of Pangea about 250 million years ago. This discovery was enabled by high-resolution of incremental growth marks preserved in the tusks of Lystrosaurus.
Weathering the tough times: Fossil evidence of ‘hibernation-like’ state in 250-million-year-old Antarctic animal
University of Washington scientists report evidence of a hibernation-like state in Lystrosaurus, an animal that lived in Antarctica during the Early Triassic, some 250 million years ago. The fossils are the oldest evidence of a hibernation-like state in a vertebrate, and indicate that torpor — a general term for hibernation and similar states in which animals temporarily lower their metabolic rate to get through a tough season — arose in vertebrates even before mammals and dinosaurs evolved.
August 26, 2020
Faculty from Allen School, Evans School tapped for NSF institutes on artificial intelligence
The National Science Foundation has announced five new institutes devoted to AI research and based at universities around the country. Six University of Washington faculty will be affiliated with the institutes.
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