Research
April 19, 2018
Researchers achieve HD video streaming at 10,000 times lower power
Engineers at the University of Washington have developed a new HD video streaming method that doesn’t need to be plugged in. Their prototype skips the power-hungry components and has something else, like a smartphone, process the video instead.
April 18, 2018
Screen reader plus keyboard helps blind, low-vision users browse modern webpages
By using a keyboard to provide tactile feedback along with with a screen reader, blind and low-vision users were three times more successful at navigating complex modern webpages, similar to a typical Airbnb booking site.
April 17, 2018
Daniel Bessner’s ‘Democracy in Exile’ explores brain drain from Germany in 1930s, effect on U.S. foreign policy
Daniel Bessner, assistant professor in the Jackson School, has a new book from Cornell University Press: “Democracy in Exile: Hans Speier and the Rise of the Defense Intellectual.”
April 12, 2018
UW’s Kristina Olson wins NSF Waterman Award for studies of ‘how children see themselves and the world’
The National Science Foundation today named Kristina Olson, University of Washington associate professor of psychology, winner of this year’s Alan T. Waterman Award. The Waterman Award is the U.S. government’s highest honor for an early career scientist or engineer, recognizing an outstanding scientist under the age of 40 or within 10 years of receiving…
Circumbinary castaways: Short-period binary systems can eject orbiting worlds
Planets orbiting “short-period” binary stars, or stars locked in close orbital embrace, can be ejected off into space as a consequence of their host stars’ evolution, according to new research from the University of Washington.
April 9, 2018
After 30 years of R&D, breakthrough announced in dark matter detection technology, definitive search to begin for axion particles
This week, the Axion Dark Matter Experiment (ADMX) announced that it has achieved the necessary sensitivity to “hear” the telltale signs of dark matter axions. This technological breakthrough is the result of more than 30 years of research and development, with the latest piece of the puzzle coming in the form of a quantum-enabled device that allows ADMX to listen for axions more closely than any experiment ever built.
April 3, 2018
Bowhead whales, the ‘jazz musicians’ of the Arctic, sing many different songs
Bowhead whales are constantly changing their tune, unlike the only other whale species that sings, the humpback.
April 2, 2018
Earth’s stable temperature past suggests other planets could also sustain life
Earth has had moderate temperatures throughout its early history, and neutral seawater acidity. This means other rocky planets could likely also maintain this equilibrium and allow life to evolve.
March 29, 2018
Stellar break-up likely behind ‘runaway’ star’s fast pace, researcher says
During a recent survey of supermassive stars, an international team of astronomers discovered a star that is in quite a hurry. As they report in a new paper, the team tracked one yellow supergiant star cruising along at about 300,000 miles per hour, a velocity that would get you from the Earth to the Moon in about 48 minutes.
March 28, 2018
UW historian Michael Honey recalls Martin Luther King’s message of economic justice in new book, ‘To the Promised Land’
As the 50th anniversary approaches of the murder of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, UW historian Michael Honey reminds us in a new book that economic justice and labor rights were always part of King’s progressive message.
Decade of fossil collecting in Africa gives new perspective on Triassic period, emergence of dinosaurs
A University of Washington-led project spanning countries, years and institutions has attempted to reconstruct what the southern end of the world looked like during the Triassic period, 252 to 199 million years ago.
March 26, 2018
Underground neutrino experiment sets the stage for deep discovery about matter
In a study published March 26 in Physical Review Letters, collaborators of the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR have shown they can shield a sensitive, scalable 44-kilogram germanium detector array from background radioactivity. This accomplishment is critical to developing a much larger future experiment to study the nature of neutrinos.
March 22, 2018
A blind date in the deep sea: First-ever observations of a living anglerfish, a female with her tiny mate, coupled for life
A pair of anglerfish, a species never before seen alive by humans, was recorded recently on camera by researchers aboard the LULA1000, a submersible operated by the marine science-focused Rebikoff-Niggeler Foundation.
March 21, 2018
Partnering with indigenous communities to anticipate and adapt to ocean change
With a new $700,000 grant awarded from the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program, scientists from the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory, Washington Sea Grant and the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean have teamed with federal and tribal partners to study the social and ecological vulnerabilities of Olympic Coast ocean acidification.
March 15, 2018
With new ‘shuffling’ trick, researchers can measure gene activity in single cells
Researchers at the University of Washington and the Allen Institute for Brain Science have developed a new method to classify and track the multitude of cells in a tissue sample. In a paper published March 15 in the journal Science, the team reports that this new approach — known as SPLiT-seq — reliably tracks gene activity in a tissue down to the level of single cells.
Democratizing science: Researchers make neuroscience experiments easier to share, reproduce
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a set of tools to make MRI studies of our central nervous system easier to share.
March 14, 2018
Could anti-Trump sentiment mobilize African-American voters in 2018?
African-American voters who dislike and feel threatened by Donald Trump and his presidency are more likely to vote and to engage with politics, according to new research from the UW and California State University, Sacramento.
March 9, 2018
A prestigious award brings UW composer Huck Hodge time to reflect, write
UW music professor Huck Hodge talks about the Charles Ives Living Award, bestowed on him by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
How social networks help perpetuate the ‘Cycle of Segregation’
Think about the last time you looked for a new apartment or house. Maybe you asked your friends or colleagues about where they lived. You thought about your route to work, or that neighborhood you always drive through on your way to your kid’s soccer practice. Many of these places were familiar to you,…
March 8, 2018
‘Trump in the World’: Jackson School faculty give public talks through spring quarter
The UW Jackson School of International Studies presents “Trump in the World: International Implications of the Trump presidency,” a series of public lectures and discussions Tuesday afternoons through spring quarter.
March 7, 2018
Is there a glass ceiling in academic publishing?
A University of Washington study finds that women authors are significantly under-represented in high-profile academic journals.
March 6, 2018
Glaciers in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert actually shrank during the last ice age
High in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, the climate is so dry and cold that glaciers shrank during the last ice age. Dating of rock deposits shows how glaciers in this less-studied region can behave very differently as the climate shifts.
March 2, 2018
Two species of ravens nevermore? New research finds evidence of ‘speciation reversal’
A new study almost 20 years in the making provides some of the strongest evidence yet of the “speciation reversal” phenomenon in two lineages of common ravens.
February 27, 2018
Largest Chinook salmon disappearing from West Coast
The largest and oldest Chinook salmon — fish also known as “kings” and prized for their exceptional size — have mostly disappeared along the West Coast, according to a new study led by the University of Washington.
February 22, 2018
Reducing failed deliveries, truck parking time could improve downtown Seattle congestion, new report finds
If online shopping continues to grow at its current rate, there may be twice as many trucks delivering packages in Seattle’s city center within five years, a new report projects — and double the number of trucks looking for a parking space.
New curriculum prioritizes tribal sovereignty, cultural respect in scientific research of American Indian, Alaska Native communities
When scientists have conducted research in Native American communities, the process and the results have sometimes been controversial. There have been a few well-known cases, such as the 1979 Barrow Alcohol Study, in which researchers examined substance use in the tiny Arctic Circle town and issued findings to the press, before briefing the…
February 21, 2018
A talk with UW historian Quintard Taylor: Taking ‘the long view’ in troubled times
Quintard Taylor, UW professor emeritus of history and recipient of a lifetime achievement honor from Washington State Historical Society, discusses his work and this unusual moment in American history.
February 20, 2018
Beluga whales dive deeper, longer to find food in Arctic
Reductions in sea ice in the Arctic have a clear impact on animals such as polar bears that rely on frozen surfaces for feeding, mating and migrating. But sea ice loss is changing Arctic habitat and affecting other species in more indirect ways, new research finds. Beluga whales that spend summers feeding in the Arctic…
Using a laser to wirelessly charge a smartphone safely across a room
Engineers at the University of Washington have for the first time developed a method to safely charge a smartphone wirelessly using a laser.
February 15, 2018
Five UW scientists awarded Sloan Fellowships for early-career research
Five faculty members at the University of Washington have been awarded early-career fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The new Sloan Fellows, announced Feb. 15, include Maya Cakmak, assistant professor of computer science and engineering; Jiun-Haw Chu, assistant professor of clean energy and physics; Arka Majumdar, assistant professor of electrical engineering and physics; Jessica Werk, assistant professor of astronomy; and Chelsea Wood, assistant professor of aquatic and fishery sciences.
February 12, 2018
Tissue paper sensors show promise for health care, entertainment, robotics
University of Washington engineers have turned tissue paper – similar to toilet tissue – into a new kind of wearable sensor that can detect a pulse, a blink of an eye and other human movement.
Hybrid optics bring color imaging using ultrathin metalenses into focus
In a paper published Feb. 9 in Science Advances, scientists at the University of Washington announced that they have successfully combined two different imaging methods — a type of lens designed for nanoscale interaction with lightwaves, along with robust computational processing — to create full-color images.
February 9, 2018
Research uncovers the mysterious lives of narwhals
New findings could help scientists understand a little more about the elusive narwhal and how these marine mammals might fare in a changing climate.
February 8, 2018
Simple rules can help fishery managers cope with ecological complexity
A team of ecologists and economists is the first to test whether real-life ecological interactions produce economic benefits for the fishing industry. The results were published online Jan. 29 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
February 7, 2018
Ice core shows North American ice sheet’s retreat affected Antarctic weather
A study from the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Washington finds that the retreat of the ice sheet covering North America made Antarctic weather more similar from one year to the next.
Fruit bat’s echolocation may work like sophisticated surveillance sonar
High-speed recordings of Egyptian fruit bats in flight show that instead of using a primitive form of echolocation, these animals actually use a technique recently developed by humans for surveillance and navigation.
February 5, 2018
UW atmospheric scientists flying through clouds above Antarctica’s Southern Ocean
UW atmospheric sciences faculty and graduate students are in Tasmania studying how clouds form over Antarctica’s Southern Ocean.
Watery worlds: UW astronomer Eric Agol assists in new findings of TRAPPIST-1 planetary system
A team of astronomers including Eric Agol of the University of Washington has found that the seven Earth-sized planets orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1 are all made mostly of rock, and some could even have more water — which can give life a chance — than Earth itself. The research was led by Simon Grimm of…
February 1, 2018
UW’s large research vessel, R/V Thomas G. Thompson, gets back to work
After an “extreme makeover” that went from stem to stern on five decks of the ship, the R/V Thomas G. Thompson is ready to get back to work exploring the world’s oceans. The University of Washington’s School of Oceanography, part of the College of the Environment, operates the 274-foot ship, which arrived on campus in…
January 31, 2018
University of Washington, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory team up to make the materials of tomorrow
The Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Washington announced the creation of the Northwest Institute for Materials Physics, Chemistry and Technology — or NW IMPACT — a joint research endeavor to power discoveries and advancements in materials that transform energy, telecommunications, medicine, information technology and other fields.
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