Science
March 6, 2013
UW nautilus expedition may have spied new species
A University of Washington research team has captured color photographs of what could be a previously undocumented species of chambered nautilus, a cephalopod mollusk often classified as a “living fossil,” in the waters off American Samoa in the South Pacific. “This is certainly a new taxon, but we are not sure if it is a…
March 4, 2013
United States lags behind many developed countries on key health measures
A public symposium on the Global Burden of Diseases study will be held on campus Monday, March 11.
‘True grit’ erodes assumptions about evolution
New work in Argentina where scientists had previously thought Earth’s first grasslands emerged 38 million years ago, shows the area at the time covered with tropical forests rich with palms, bamboos and gingers. Grit and volcanic ash in those forests could have caused the evolution of teeth in horse-like animals that scientists mistakenly thought were adaptations in response to emerging grasslands.
February 28, 2013
Changes in cloud distribution explain some weather patterns
Regional cloud changes may be as important for climate change as the overall amount of cloud cover.
February 27, 2013
Contaminated diet contributes to phthalate and bisphenol A exposure
People are exposed to these endocrine-disrupting chemicals even if they eat an organic diet and do not store, prepare or cook in plastic containers.
February 21, 2013
Drugs to slow aging are a matter of when, not if
Evidence suggests it will someday be possible to slow down aging and delay the onset of diseases common in the elderly.
Using amount of fish caught as measure of fisheries health is misleading
Do changes in the amount of fish caught necessarily reflect the number of fish in the sea? “No,” say UW researchers in a “Counterpoint” commentary in Nature.
February 19, 2013
Mutant champions save imperiled species from almost-certain extinction
Species facing widespread and rapid environmental changes can sometimes evolve quickly enough to dodge the extinction bullet. UW scientists consider the genetic underpinnings of such evolutionary rescue.
February 18, 2013
Mussels cramped by environmental factors
The fibrous threads helping mussels stay anchored are more prone to snap when ocean temperatures climb higher than normal.
February 15, 2013
Flu researcher whose findings met U.S. biosecurity review to speak at UW
The review generated public debate on publishing legitimate biological science findings that could pose a threat to public health or national security,
Firing range lead exposure reduced with UW workplace health expertise
UW’s Field Research and Consultation Group in Environmental and Occupational Health assess ventilation systems and airborne lead levels in firing ranges, and offer advice on lowering exposure.
February 13, 2013
Psychology in the real world: Public lecture series begins
The eighth annual Allen L. Edwards Psychology Lecture Series will spotlight “The Science of Psychology in the Real World,” exploring psychological aspects of the natural world, adolescence and the law.
European satellite confirms UW numbers: Arctic Ocean is on thin ice
New satellite observations confirm a University of Washington analysis that for the past three years found accelerated declines in the volume of Arctic sea ice.
February 12, 2013
Get off my lawn: Song sparrows escalate territorial threats – with video
UW researchers have discovered a hierarchical warning scheme in which territorial song sparrows use increasingly threatening signals to ward off trespassing rivals.
February 11, 2013
Noisy classroom simulation aids comprehension in hearing-impaired children
A new report by a UW researcher showed about a 50 percent increase in speech comprehension in background noise when children with hearing impairments followed a three-week auditory training regimen.
February 6, 2013
Smartphones, tablets help UW researchers improve storm forecasts
Atmospheric scientists are using pressure readings from some new smartphones and tablet computers to improve short-term thunderstorm forecasts. A weather station in every pocket would offer an unprecedented wealth of data.
January 31, 2013
Cyclone did not cause 2012 record low for Arctic sea ice
A huge Arctic cyclone in August was not responsible for the historic minimum seen soon after in Arctic sea-ice extent.
January 29, 2013
Beer’s bitter compounds could help brew new medicines
A UW researcher has determined the precise configuration of substances derived from hops that give beer its distinctive flavor, a finding that could lead to important new pharmaceuticals.
January 24, 2013
Astronomy to go: UW readies new portable planetarium
The University of Washington astronomy department is readying a traveling planetarium to take to schools for outreach — and collaboration — in Seattle and beyond. It may look like a carnival bouncy house or an inflatable igloo, but the portable planetarium is in fact an innovative tool for teaching and spreading interest in astronomy. The…
Organic ferroelectric molecule shows promise for memory chips, sensors
A paper in Science describes an organic crystal that shows promise as a cheap, flexible, nontoxic material for the working parts of memory chips, sensors and energy-harvesting devices.
January 23, 2013
Greenland ice core shows Antarctica vulnerable to warming
A UW scientist’s work aided a Greenland ice study that could indicate where Earth is headed with climate change.
January 22, 2013
Brain structure of infants predicts language skills at 1 year
Researchers at UW’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences have found that the anatomy of certain brain areas – the hippocampus and cerebellum – can predict children’s language abilities at 1 year of age.
January 17, 2013
Early signals warn of prolonged sports concussion symptoms
Researchers found little correlation between loss of consciousness and duration of concussion symptoms.
January 15, 2013
International study: Where there’s smoke or smog, there’s climate change
A new international assessment found that soot, or black carbon, is a major contributor to global warming — second only to carbon dioxide.
January 14, 2013
Salmon runs boom, go bust over centuries
Salmon runs are notoriously variable: strong one year, and weak the next. New research shows that the same may be true from one century to the next.
Potential harvest of most fish stocks largely unrelated to abundance
Fisheries managers should sharpen their ability to spot environmental conditions that hamper or help fish stocks, and not assume that abundance translates to sustainable harvest.
January 10, 2013
Multiple sclerosis study reveals how killer T cells learn to recognize nerve fiber insulators
Misguided killer T cells may be the missing link in sustained tissue damage in the brains and spines of people with multiple sclerosis, research in immunologist Joan Goverman’s lab suggests.
Life possible on extrasolar moons
Exomoons, or moons orbiting planets outside the solar system, might be as good candidates for life as exoplanets, research shows.
January 2, 2013
While in womb, babies begin learning language from their mothers
Babies only hours old are able to differentiate between sounds from their native language and a foreign language, scientists have discovered. The study indicates that babies begin absorbing language while still in the womb, earlier than previously thought.
December 31, 2012
News Digest: Honor: Daniela Witten
Daniela Witten named one of Forbes’ rising stars
In rain and snow at home, Seahawks much more likely to win
The Seahawks win four times as many home games as they lose when the weather is inclement, compared to less than two to one when it’s not.
December 26, 2012
Piranha kin wielded dental weaponry even T. rex would have admired — with video
Taking into consideration size, an ancient relative of piranhas weighing about 20 pounds delivered a bite with more force than prehistoric whale-eating sharks or – even – Tyrannosaurus rex.
December 21, 2012
Training Xchange puts UW research advances into practitioners’ hands
The UW is expanding its Training Xchange initiative to help researchers transmit innovations in healthcare and other fields to professionals locally and beyond the Northwest.
December 20, 2012
Mild brain cooling after head injury prevents epileptic seizures in lab study
Traumatic head injury is the leading cause of acquired epilepsy in young adults, and at present there is no treatment to prevent or cure it.
December 19, 2012
American Academy of Pediatrics issues policy statement on pesticide exposure in children
Chronic low levels of pesticides are detrimental to children’s health: evidence suggests they may induce neurodevelopmental and behavioral problems, birth defects, asthma and cancer.
December 17, 2012
Plumes across the Pacific deliver thousands of microbial species to West Coast
Microorganisms – 99 percent more kinds than had been reported in findings published just four months ago – are hitching rides in the upper troposphere from Asia.
December 13, 2012
Energy Dept. funds UW project to turn wasted natural gas into diesel
The U.S. Department of Energy this month awarded $4 million to a team, led by UW chemical engineers, that aims to develop bacteria to turn the methane in natural gas into diesel fuel for transportation.
Dark Ages scourge enlightens modern struggle between man and microbes
Discoveries reported today help explain how the stealthy agent of Black Death avoids tripping a self-destruct mechanism inside germ-destroying cells.
December 10, 2012
Armbrust shares $35 million to investigate tiniest ocean regulators
Oceanographer Ginger Armbrust has received a multi-million dollar award to spend as she wishes on her research into ocean microbes and their role in regulating ocean environments and our atmosphere.
Do we live in a computer simulation? UW researchers say idea can be tested
A British philosopher once suggested the possibility that our universe might be a computer simulation run by our descendants. A team of physicists at UW has devised a potential test to see if the idea has merit.
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