Research
March 19, 2015
Suspension leads to more pot use among teens, study finds
Suspending kids from school for using marijuana is likely to lead to more — not less — pot use among their classmates, a new study finds. Counseling was found to be a much more effective means of combating marijuana use. And while enforcement of anti-drug policies is a key factor in whether teens use marijuana,…
March 18, 2015
New research suggests insect wings might serve gyroscopic function
Gyroscopes measure rotation in everyday technologies, from unmanned aerial vehicles to cell phone screen stabilizers. Though many animals can move with more precision and accuracy than our best-engineered aircraft and technologies, gyroscopes are rarely found in nature. Scientists know of just one group of insects, the group including flies, that has something that behaves like…
New Air Force center at UW learns from animals for better flight
A new center at the University of Washington funded by the U.S. Air Force will focus on how elements in nature can help solve challenging engineering and technological problems related to building small, remotely operated aircraft.
March 17, 2015
First global review on the status, future of Arctic marine mammals
A University of Washington scientist is lead author on the first census of all Arctic marine mammals, including whales, walruses, seals and polar bears. The multinational report assesses the current status of these populations and makes recommendations for conservation of these species under climate change.
March 12, 2015
Naturally acidic waters of Puget Sound surround UW’s Friday Harbor Labs
For more than 100 years, marine biologists at Friday Harbor Laboratories have studied the ecology of everything from tiny marine plants to giant sea stars. Now, as the oceans are undergoing a historic shift in chemistry, the lab is establishing itself as a place to study what that will mean for marine life. And the…
March 11, 2015
‘Chaotic Earths’: Some habitable exoplanets could experience wildly unpredictable climates
New research by UW astronomer Rory Barnes and co-authors describes possible planetary systems where a gravitational nudge from one planet with just the right orbital configuration and tilt could have a mild to devastating effect on the orbit and climate of another, possibly habitable world.
March 10, 2015
An injectable UW polymer could keep soldiers, trauma patients from bleeding to death
University of Washington researchers have developed a new injectable polymer that strengthens blood clots, called PolySTAT. Administered in a simple shot, the polymer finds any unseen injuries and has the potential to keep trauma patients from bleeding to death before reaching medical care.
March 9, 2015
UW leads nation in primary care, rural medicine and family medicine; top 10 in dozens of graduate programs
The University of Washington has 42 graduate schools and specialty programs among the nation’s top 10 in each area, according to U.S. News & World Report’s Graduate School Rankings released Tuesday. The UW again ranked as the No. 1 primary care medical school, while the rural medicine and family medicine specialties continue to lead the…
Study shows teens and adults hazy on Washington marijuana law
More than two years after Washington legalized marijuana, parents and teens may be hazy on the specifics of the law, if the findings of a new study are any indication. University of Washington research, published recently in Substance Use & Misuse, found that only 57 percent of Washington parents surveyed knew the legal age for…
March 3, 2015
On thin ice: Combined Arctic ice observations show decades of loss
Historic submarine and modern satellite records show that ice thickness in the central Arctic Ocean dropped by 65 percent from 1975 to 2012. September ice thickness, when the ice cover is at a minimum, dropped by 85 percent.
February 26, 2015
Embrace unknowns, opt for flexibility in environmental policies
Two University of Washington professors argue in a Science perspectives article that ecosystem managers must learn to make decisions based on an uncertain future.
February 20, 2015
Winter air campaign tracking how pollution handles the cold
A UW atmospheric scientist is leading a six-week survey of eastern U.S. skies to see how winter conditions affect air quality.
February 18, 2015
Fearless birds and shrinking salmon: Is urbanization pushing Earth’s evolution to a tipping point?
We’ve long known that humans and our cities affect the ecosystem and even drive some evolutionary change. What’s new is that these evolutionary changes are happening more quickly than previously thought, and have potential impacts not in the distant future — but now.
February 17, 2015
Study: Manufacturing growth can benefit Bangladeshi women workers
The life of a Bangladeshi garment factory worker is not an easy one. But new research from the University of Washington indicates that access to such factory jobs can improve the lives of young Bangladeshi women — motivating them to stay in school and lowering their likelihood of early marriage and childbirth.
February 16, 2015
Ancient rocks show life could have flourished on Earth 3.2 billion years ago
Some of the oldest rocks on the planet push back scientific estimates of when life could have covered the Earth by 1 billion years.
February 13, 2015
AAAS symposium looks at how to bring big-data skills to academia
A session Feb. 15 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting will explore how big data scientists can find careers at universities and within academic settings.
University of Washington named one of 12 ‘top producers’ of both Fulbright scholars and students
The University of Washington is one of 12 institutions to make the “top producers” list of both Fulbright scholars and students for 2014-15, according to lists released Thursday in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The Fulbright Program, operated by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is the U.S. government’s flagship…
AAAS talk: Some bilinguals use emoticons more when chatting in non-native language
A research team has found that one group of bilingual speakers used emoticons more often when typing in their second language in casual, online communication than they did when typing in their native tongue.
February 11, 2015
Statewide home prices leveling off, but affordability woes linger
Home sale prices were down in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared to the third quarter but up compared with the previous year, and the rate of home sales also dropped, according to the UW’s Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies.
How to interest girls in computer science and engineering? Shift the stereotypes
Women have long been underrepresented among undergraduates in computer science and engineering for a complex variety of reasons. A new study by University of Washington researchers identifies a main culprit for that disparity: inaccurate stereotypes depicting computer scientists and engineers as geeky, brilliant and socially awkward males. And they say broadening those stereotypes is key to…
Earthquake early warning begins testing in Pacific Northwest
The first early earthquake warning system for the region has begun testing with a small group of users at businesses and public agencies in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.
February 9, 2015
3-D printing with custom molecules creates low-cost mechanical sensor
A UW chemistry lab teamed up with UW engineers studying 3-D printing to create 3-D printed objects with new capabilities.
February 5, 2015
New tool monitors effects of tidal, wave energy on marine habitat
A robot developed at the University of Washington will deploy instruments to gather information in unprecedented detail about how marine life interacts with underwater equipment used to harvest wave and tidal energy.
February 2, 2015
Documents that Changed the World: ‘Rosie the Riveter’ poster, 1943
The famous World War II-era poster of Rosie the Riveter is less a document that changed the world than the other way around — an image the world adopted and filled with meaning. But such turnabout is fair play in the ongoing Documents that Changed the World podcast series by UW Information School Professor Joe Janes.
January 28, 2015
Child maltreatment not a clear path to adult crime
Research has found a significant link between childhood abuse and neglect and crime in adulthood. But a recent University of Washington study finds that link all but disappears when accounting for other life factors. “We find that children who were involved in child welfare services are at high risk of adult crimes, but once we…
Some potentially habitable planets began as gaseous, Neptune-like worlds
Two phenomena known to inhibit the potential habitability of planets — tidal forces and vigorous stellar activity — might instead help chances for life on certain planets orbiting low-mass stars, University of Washington astronomers have found.
January 27, 2015
UW researchers helping region get ready for the next Big One
On the anniversary of a massive earthquake off our region’s coast, UW researchers are working on everything from tsunami evacuation structures to updated seismic hazard maps.
January 23, 2015
$3.9 million project will identify, treat Washington state toddlers at risk for autism
Early detection can make a world of difference for toddlers with autism, but many children do not get diagnosed until they’re at least 4 years old. As a result, they often don’t get specialized services during the critical period up to age 3 that can greatly improve their skills and behavior. A new project at…
January 20, 2015
Scientists drilling first deep ice core at the South Pole
A UW researcher is chief scientist this month on a project to drill the first deep ice core at the South Pole, to understand the climate history in that section of Antarctica.
January 19, 2015
Boeing, UW open research lab on Seattle campus
The Boeing Advanced Research Center, located in the Department of Mechanical Engineering on the UW campus, will let students and faculty members work collaboratively with Boeing engineers on aircraft and spacecraft assembly and manufacturing. Four initial projects are underway at the UW, led by Boeing-employed affiliate instructors and UW engineering professors.
January 15, 2015
Tiny plant fossils a window into Earth’s landscape millions of years ago
An international team led by the University of Washington has discovered a way to determine the tree cover and density of trees, shrubs and bushes in locations over time based on clues in the cells of plant fossils preserved in rocks and soil.
January 8, 2015
Epic survey finds regional patterns of soot and dirt on North American snow
University of Washington scientists published the first large-scale survey of impurities in North American snow. An almost 10,000-mile road trip showed that disturbed soil often mattered as much as air pollution for the whiteness of the snow.
January 7, 2015
How the ‘Beast Quake’ is helping scientists track real earthquakes
Scientists with the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network will install instruments this Thursday to provide real-time monitoring of the stadium’s movement during the 2015 NFL playoffs. It’s a valuable test of their newest seismic technology.
December 19, 2014
UW architecture students to design, build public pavilion on Seattle’s waterfront
UW architecture students will design and build a new temporary event pavilion and Internet hub for the Seattle waterfront.
December 18, 2014
Survey shows hope, optimism among homeless Alaska Native elders
Mention homeless people and words like optimistic, hopeful and happy are typically not what spring to mind. More likely, said Jordan Lewis, an assistant professor in the University of Washington’s School of Social Work, the stereotypes are negative — “that they’re chronic alcoholics, depressed, they steal, they’re thieves. They don’t have hope. They’ve just given up.”…
December 17, 2014
Improving forecasts for rain-on-snow flooding
Many of the worst West Coast winter floods involve heavy rains and melting snow, and UW hydrology experts are using the physics of these events to better predict the risks.
December 9, 2014
Warmer Pacific Ocean could release millions of tons of seafloor methane
Water off Washington’s coast is warming a third of a mile down, where seafloor methane shifts from a frozen solid to a gas. Calculations suggest ocean warming is already releasing significant methane offshore of Alaska to California.
November 25, 2014
‘Subirdia’ author urges appreciation of birds that co-exist where we work, live, play
Surprisingly, the diversity of birds in suburban areas can be greater than in forested areas, according to John Marzluff’s new book “Welcome to Subirdia.”
November 24, 2014
Black prison activism, organizing explored in new book ‘Captive Nation’
Dan Berger, assistant professor in the UW Bothell School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, discusses his new book, “Captive Nation: Black Prison Organizing in the Civil Rights Era.”
Study: US attracting fewer educated, highly skilled migrants
The U.S. economy has long been powered in part by the nation’s ability to attract the world’s most educated and skilled people to its shores. But a new study of the worldwide migration of professionals to the U.S. shows a sharp drop-off in its proportional share of those workers – raising the question of whether…
Previous page Next page
