Research
June 26, 2014
Nanopore technique rapidly decodes long DNA strands
A low-cost technique may make DNA sequencing more convenient and less cumbersome, perhaps eventually replacing large lab machines with hand held devices.
Foul fumes derail dinner for hungry moths
New research on how pollinators find flowers when background odors are strong shows that both natural plant odors and human sources of pollution can conceal the scent of sought-after flowers.
Ask the crowd: Robots learn faster, better with online helpers
University of Washington computer scientists have shown that crowdsourcing can be a quick and effective way to teach a robot how to complete tasks.
June 25, 2014
Shellfish center – named after UW’s Ken Chew – to tackle shellfish declines
Washington state’s newest shellfish hatchery has been named after longtime faculty member Ken Chew.
June 24, 2014
Rhoads leaving UW commercialization; Jandhyala takes new innovation post
Linden Rhoads will leave her post as UW vice provost for commercialization; Vikram Jandhyala will take over the new position of vice provost for innovation.
June 23, 2014
Ferroelectric switching seen in biological tissues
University of Washington researchers have shown that a favorable electrical property is present in a type of protein found in organs that repeatedly stretch and retract, such as the lungs, heart and arteries. These findings are the first that clearly track this phenomenon, called ferroelectricity, occurring at the molecular level in biological tissues.
Zippy, electric micro cars coming to campus for sustainability research
The University of Washington is one of four institutions receiving four Innova Dash all-electric micro vehicles this summer. They will be able to communicate data such as position, speed and battery charge directly to the UW’s network, which will provide the information to various research projects.
June 18, 2014
Health Sciences News Digest
News from the UW Health Sciences: Muscular dystrophy research center, UW Medicine part of a care network for Boeing employees, and a Q&A with Aaron Katz, a UW expert on health systems and policy.
Scientists ready to study magma formation beneath Mount St. Helens
Scientists are embarking on research to improve volcanic eruption forecasting by learning more about how a deep-underground feeder system creates and supplies magma to Mount St. Helens.
June 17, 2014
UW news office, advancement services, Columns win national awards
UW units have won medals in the annual awards program sponsored by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.
June 16, 2014
Ferries for science: Instrument will monitor flow in Puget Sound
The UW, the state Department of Ecology and Washington State Ferries are working together to get a better understanding of water circulation in Puget Sound.
Sensor in eye could track pressure changes, monitor for glaucoma
University of Washington engineers have designed a low-power sensor that could be placed permanently in a person’s eye to track hard-to-measure changes in eye pressure. The sensor would be embedded with an artificial lens during cataract surgery and would detect pressure changes instantaneously, then transmit the data wirelessly using radio frequency waves.
June 12, 2014
Health Sciences News Digest
News from the UW Health Sciences: Seafaring Neolithic people, communal bike programs, and high-utilizer patients
New computer program aims to teach itself everything about anything
Computer scientists from the University of Washington and the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Seattle have created the first fully automated computer program that teaches everything there is to know about any visual concept.
June 11, 2014
Nearly 1 in 8 American children are maltreated before age 18
By the time they reach age 18, nearly one in eight of American children experience a confirmed case of maltreatment. Co-author Hedy Lee, a UW assistant professor of sociology, says the study shows that child maltreatment is much more common than previously thought.
June 10, 2014
Students mine history for their own Documents that Changed the World installment
Undergraduates working with University of Washington Information School Professor Joe Janes looked to American and European history for their own installments of Janes’ podcast series, Documents that Changed the World.
June 3, 2014
UW Health Digest
Recent UW health sciences news: E-health in small practices, summer safety, stopping farm worker assaults
UW Libraries hosts digital collection of activist Gary Greaves’ interviews
Interviews from the 1990s by Seattle-area activist Gary Greaves on how the area changed after the 1962 World’s Fair are now offered online by UW Libraries.
June 2, 2014
UW experts offer free resources to help caregivers boost babies’ brains
UW’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences has a new online library to showcase the latest in how young children learn – and what their caregivers can do to help kids be ready to start school.
May 28, 2014
PTSD treatment cost-effective when patients given choice
A cost-analysis of post-traumatic stress disorder treatments shows that letting patients choose their course of treatment – either psychotherapy or medication – is less expensive than assigning a treatment and provides a higher quality of life for patients.
May 22, 2014
Sociologist Robert Crutchfield examines the relationship between work and crime in ‘Get a Job’
In his new book, “Get a Job: Labor Markets, Economic Opportunity, and Crime,” University of Washington sociologist Robert Crutchfield explains the nuanced links between work, unemployment and crime.
May 21, 2014
Marine apprenticeships give UW undergrads role in animal-ancestor breakthrough
Comb jellies – and not sponges – may lay claim as the earliest ancestors of animals, according to new research in Nature.
May 20, 2014
Health Sciences Digest: Alcoholism in homeless, medical phone apps, aging with chronic disability
Designing medical apps for your phone, treating alcohol-dependent homeless individuals, and enhancing wellness in older disabled adults are some of the developments at the UW Health Sciences and UW Medicine
Shrub growth decreases as winter temps warm up
Many have assumed that warmer winters as a result of climate change would increase the growth of trees and shrubs because the growing season would be longer. But shrubs achieve less yearly growth when cold winter temperatures are interrupted by temperatures warm enough to trigger growth.
May 19, 2014
Favoritism, not hostility, causes most discrimination, says UW psychology professor
Most discrimination in the U.S. is not caused by intention to harm people different from us, but by ordinary favoritism directed at helping people similar to us, according to a theoretical review published online in American Psychologist.
May 14, 2014
$31M gift will fund early stage UW research by high-tech entrepreneurs
The University of Washington is receiving a $31.2 million gift from Washington Research Foundation to boost entrepreneurship and support research that tackles some of society’s most crucial challenges. The award will fund four interdisciplinary initiatives that seek to advance global innovation in clean energy, protein design, big data science and neuroengineering.
May 13, 2014
Health Digest: Cutbacks jeopardize newborns, safe water, MERS facts
The costly effects of cutbacks on maternal/child services, assuring a pure water supply, and what you need to know about Middle East respiratory syndrome.
Focus on research: Undergraduates bring findings alive Friday
Join your colleagues at the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium Friday, May 16.
Video stories, other bonding exercises could help foster families connect
Researchers affiliated with the UW’s School of Social Work tailored a parenting program known to improve communication in non-foster families for use in foster families, who often say they don’t feel connected and have trouble communicating, but few resources exist that nurture their bonding.
May 12, 2014
Improve grades, reduce failure – undergrads should tell profs ‘Don’t lecture me’
A significantly greater number of students fail science, engineering and math courses that are taught lecture-style than fail with active learning according to the largest analysis ever of studies comparing lecturing to active learning in undergraduate education
West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapse is under way
The collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has begun, according to computer models using detailed topographic maps. The fast-moving Thwaites Glacier will likely disappear in a matter of centuries, researchers say, raising sea level by nearly 2 feet.
Washington housing market weaker in first quarter of 2014
Washington state’s housing market finished weaker in the first quarter of 2014 when compared to the end of 2013, according to the UW’s Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies.
May 8, 2014
Documents that Changed the World: Airline ‘black box’ flight data recorder, 1958
Recent headlines sadly explain why Joe Janes chose the latest installment in his Documents that Changed the World podcast series — he’s writing about airline flight data recorders, or “black boxes.”
Army drug users twice as likely to use synthetic marijuana as regular marijuana
Social work researchers from the University of Washington have found that among a group of active-duty Army personnel who use illicit drugs, the most abused substance is synthetic marijuana, nicknamed “Spice,” which is harder to detect than other drugs through standard drug tests.
May 7, 2014
UW building teleoperated robots for disaster response in national challenge
University of Washington electrical engineers have developed telerobotics technology that could make disaster response faster and more efficient. They are working with a large team as part of the SmartAmerica Challenge, an initiative that encourages new technologies that help society in our increasingly connected world.
Greenland melting due equally to global warming, natural variations
Up to half of the recent warming in Greenland and surrounding areas may be due to climate variations that originate in the tropical Pacific and are not connected with the overall warming of the planet. Still, at least half the warming remains attributable to global warming caused by rising carbon dioxide emissions.
UW student briefs lawmakers on global land use, touts undergrad research
At an event in Washington, D.C. a UW biology student presented her research into the global connections between consumers and goods that come from agriculture and forest production.
May 6, 2014
UW scientist a lead author on third National Climate Assessment
University of Washington climate scientist Amy Snover is one of two lead authors for the Northwest chapter of the newly published National Climate Assessment.
Social workers can help patients recover from mild traumatic brain injuries
More than a million people are treated for mild traumatic brain injuries in U.S. hospitals and emergency rooms each year. A University of Washington researcher has found that a 20-minute conversation with a social worker has the potential to significantly reduce the functional decline of those diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury.
May 1, 2014
Amphibians in a vise: Climate change robs frogs, salamanders of refuge
Amphibians in the West’s high-mountain areas find themselves caught between climate-induced habitat loss and predation from introduced fish. A novel combination of tools could help weigh where amphibians are in the most need of help.
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