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May 27, 2021

Video: Suzzallo bonsai a symbol of peace, resilience and inclusiveness

Close up of man with mask working on small delicate branches

The potted junipers on the steps of Suzzallo Library are undergoing a transformation. Flanking the entrance to one of UW’s most beloved buildings, they are viewed by hundreds of people walking through Red Square each week. Bioengineering postdoctoral researcher Le Zhen is transforming these shrubs into bonsai — miniature trees that are pruned, nurtured and trained with wire to look like their much older, full-sized counterparts living in nature. He hopes this prominent display of bonsai will signal to members of the AAPI community that UW is safe and welcoming.


May 3, 2021

Earthquake early warnings launch in Washington, completing West Coast-wide ShakeAlert system

hand holding phone with alert

The U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Washington-based Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, and state emergency managers on Tuesday, May 4, will activate the system that sends earthquake early warnings throughout Washington state. This completes the rollout of ShakeAlert, an automated system that gives people living in Washington, Oregon and California advance warning of incoming earthquakes.


April 27, 2021

Thousands of baby sea stars born at UW lab are sign of hope for endangered species

adult sea stars eating mussels

Scientists at the University of Washington, in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, are raising sunflower sea stars in captivity, with the goal of learning more about this species and exploring eventual reintroduction to the wild, if determined to be advisable.


April 20, 2021

Oral history project captures Washingtonians’ pandemic experiences

Masked people walking on a city street.

Manuel S. Martinez, a lifelong campesino, trabajador and community organizer, recalls the beginning of the pandemic. Interviewed by UW student Adriana Martinez.  Zoom, masks, family and politics — these are some of the lasting memories shared by participants in a University of Washington student oral history project. Undergraduate seniors in the Public Health Global Health major at…


March 25, 2021

Video: Tasty options as researchers tap a new forestry product

Maple syrup is being poured on a round waffle on a white plate.

Scientists from the University of Washington are testing the viability of making maple syrup in the Pacific Northwest. Long associated with Canada or Vermont, this sweet forest product that has graced many a breakfast table may be part of this region’s future.


March 8, 2021

Watch the UW cherry blossoms virtually this year and avoid coming to campus due to COVID-19

up-close shot of blossoms on a cherry tree

The University of Washington once again is asking people to enjoy the iconic campus cherry blossoms virtually this year to promote physical distancing and safety during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.


March 4, 2021

Video: UW students join the front lines of the vaccination effort

Woman in scrubs pats woman rolling up shirt sleeve

By the end of February, around 350 UW students had signed up to be volunteer vaccinators in clinics from Tacoma to Marysville.


February 26, 2021

Video: You’ve heard of garage bands — now you can hear the ‘UW garage chorale’

The University of Washington Chorale has found an unlikely place to practice. Once a week, 8 of the 60 member singing group meets, standing 6 feet apart, in a campus parking garage for 30 precious minutes. Despite the sounds of passing cars and some machinery whirring nearby, the sound they can make together – in person – is wonderful.


February 10, 2021

List of 1,000 inspiring Black scientists includes seven from UW

collage of portraits

Seven University of Washington scientists are included in Cell Mentor’s list of 1,000 inspiring Black scientists, published in December 2020. Cell Mentor is a collaborative resource between Cell Press and Cell Signaling Technology.


January 27, 2021

On nights before a full moon, people go to bed later and sleep less, study shows

picture of the moon

Sleep cycles in people oscillate during the 29.5-day lunar cycle: In the days leading up to a full moon, people go to sleep later in the evening and sleep for shorter periods of time. The team, led by researchers at the University of Washington, observed these variations in both the time of sleep onset and the duration of sleep in urban and rural settings — from Indigenous communities in northern Argentina to college students in Seattle, a city of more than 750,000. They saw the oscillations regardless of an individual’s access to electricity, though the variations are less pronounced in individuals living in urban environments.


January 12, 2021

Video: Detecting COVID-19 in wastewater

Man in hard hat and gloves in small room holding large vial with clear light brown fluid in it.

When someone has the coronavirus, some of it is shed in their fecal matter. So what we flush has become useful to UW researchers developing a new testing method for COVID-19 in sewage. They’re looking at wastewater that flows from people’s homes, sampling it at manholes and neighborhood pump stations before it goes to sewage treatment plants.


New treatment allows some people with spinal cord injury to regain hand and arm function

A hand picking up a tiny bead

Using physical therapy combined with a noninvasive method of stimulating nerve cells in the spinal cord, University of Washington researchers helped six Seattle area participants regain some hand and arm mobility.


December 28, 2020

Video: News and research highlights from 2020

instructor uses a camera to record his lecture

As the year draws to a close, we present highlights from video stories produced by UW News during 2020 — a year that will be largely defined by the COVID-19 pandemic and the many ways it impacted our lives and work.


December 8, 2020

NSF-funded deep ice core to be drilled at Hercules Dome, Antarctica

closeup of ice in metal barrel

Antarctica’s next deep ice core, a 1.5-mile core reaching back to 130,000-year-old ice, will be carried out by a multi-institutional U.S. team led by UW’s Eric Steig. The site hundreds of miles from today’s coastline could provide clues to the most recent collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.


December 7, 2020

The Smellicopter is an obstacle-avoiding drone that uses a live moth antenna to seek out smells

A hawkmoth in the lower right hand corner of the photo with an out of focus drone behind it

A team led by the UW has developed Smellicopter: an autonomous drone that uses a live antenna from a moth to navigate toward smells. Smellicopter can also sense and avoid obstacles as it travels through the air.


December 3, 2020

Tire-related chemical is largely responsible for adult coho salmon deaths in urban streams

A team led by researchers at UW Tacoma, UW and Washington State University Puyallup has discovered a chemical that kills coho salmon in urban streams before the fish can spawn.


November 2, 2020

Video: Free coronavirus testing for UW community open for more enrollment

preparing a COVID-19 test

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.


October 20, 2020

Video: Local stream watchers add to salmon science

salmon underwater in stream

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 14, 2020

Video: Highlights from UW President Ana Mari Cauce’s annual address

UW President Ana Mari Cauce delivered her annual address to the community Oct. 12 at wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House on the University of Washington campus. Highlights of the speech are reflected in this video. The audience was entirely virtual this year in accordance with public health guidelines.


October 5, 2020

Video: Using ‘Street View’ to track pandemic in Seattle over time

A 360 camera is mounted on top of a sedan

As the city of Seattle shut down in March 2020 to try to slow the spread of COVID-19, a group of University of Washington researchers decided to track how the city would react.


September 27, 2020

UW’s 37th annual New Student Convocation goes online

University of Washington faculty member Ian Schnee, associate teaching professor in the Department of Philosophy, was the featured speaker at the UW’s 37th annual New Student Convocation. The virtual ceremony was held Sept. 27 and was livestreamed to audiences around the world. A recording is available here.


September 24, 2020

Video: ‘Art game’ looks at the pandemic through an artist’s eye

Chanhee Choi is creating a digital art game called “Pandemic,” a vehicle for her thoughts and experiences since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis.


September 23, 2020

Video: UW students move into residence halls

a banner for alder hall

Around 4,000 students are moving into the residence halls at the University of Washington this week. This number is less than half the UW’s normal residence hall capacity. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of special precautions are being taken to ensure minimal contact and proper physical distancing during the move-in process.


September 15, 2020

Video: How to make your own home air purifier

With wildfire smoke blanketing most of the western U.S. this week, public health experts suggest staying inside as much as possible to protect yourself from smoky air. If you don’t have air conditioning or an air purifier in your home, it’s possible to make your own inexpensive purifier. Here’s how.


September 3, 2020

Fighting fire with fire in the Methow Valley

Agencies that are well practiced in putting out wildfires are now learning a new skill: how to set the spark and fan the flames. That’s the case for the state Department of Natural Resources, which is starting to use prescribed burning as part of its strategy for fighting wildfires.


August 28, 2020

UW breaks ground on the future of health sciences education and improving our health

The future of our health and the health of the communities we live in relies, in many ways, on students in the health sciences. The education and experiences that future doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, social workers and public health experts receive will to a large degree shape how those professionals work and work together when…


July 30, 2020

Video: Meet the real-life kraken: the octopus

Seattle’s new hockey team is named for a legendary creature of the sea, and that’s a perfect fit, according to octopus researchers at the University of Washington.


Video: Face coverings an important tool to fight COVID-19

Face coverings will continue to be an important and effective tool in combating the spread of COVID-19.


June 23, 2020

Video: Students create videos, capping new UW class on music as a form of protest

With the nation debating its response to COVID-19 and witnessing protests against racial injustice and police violence, undergraduate students enrolled in “Visual Anthropology of Protest Music” examined how communities use music to share their lived experiences and confront oppression.


June 17, 2020

Video: Virtual classes offer fitness and mindfulness at home

Fitness, dance and mindfulness instructors are teaching virtual classes in light of COVID-19 closures, part of UW Recreation’s effort to make its activities accessible while people are physically distancing during the pandemic.


June 13, 2020

Video: UW’s 145th commencement is held virtually

college of arts and sciences graduates appear virtually during the webcast

More than 18,000 new University of Washington graduates were recognized in a first-ever online ceremony Saturday, June 13. All three UW campuses held a joint event that was broadcast around the globe and watched by thousands of graduates and their families in more than 40 countries.


June 9, 2020

Video: Health care workers march to protest racism as a public health risk

Thousands of doctors, nurses, health care workers and public health experts from the University of Washington and other medical institutions turned out in downtown Seattle on June 6 to demand an end to systemic racism and calling for police reform.


May 22, 2020

Video: How cloth face masks protect people during the pandemic

The dean of the UW School of Public Health shares information about using face coverings, including what kinds of masks are appropriate to wear and how they protect people.


May 11, 2020

B-roll: RV Thomas G. Thompson comes home

The UW’s large research vessel, the RV Thomas G. Thompson, returned May 8 to its home port after more than two years exploring the world’s oceans. A scheduled cruise in Tahiti has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the return is roughly two months earlier than planned.


May 7, 2020

Sleep difficulties in the first year of life linked to altered brain development in infants who later develop autism

Baby sits on mom's lap

New research led by the University of Washington finds that sleep problems in a baby’s first 12 months may not only precede an autism diagnosis, but also may be associated with altered growth trajectory in a key part of the brain, the hippocampus.


April 23, 2020

Face masks sewn for UW housing, dining, custodial staff

A team of staff and students are sewing masks and offering them for free to UW housing, custodial, dining and food service workers.


April 16, 2020

Dose of nature at home could help mental health, well-being during COVID-19

In light of stay-at-home orders, University of Washington researchers say studies show there is much to be gained from nature close to home, whether in a yard, on neighborhood walks or even indoors.


‘Hands-on’ classes online? How some instructors are adapting to a new teaching environment

A postal service box with lab materials inside

When the UW announced it was moving its spring quarter 2020 classes entirely online to combat the novel coronavirus, instructors across campus faced a new, uncharted challenge.


April 14, 2020

How families can use technology to juggle childcare and remote life

A child in front of a laptop.

UW researchers are beginning a national study to help families discover technology that helps them both successfully navigate home-based learning and combat social isolation.


April 13, 2020

UW’s 3D printed COVID-19 face shields: From innovation to delivery

face masks

When the first U.S. COVID-19 patient emerged in Washington, UW Medicine, as the state’s foremost provider of advanced medical care, was thrust into the role of trailblazer. Its clinicians and researchers have since mustered a speedy and sometimes ingenious response.



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