Research Landing Page

  • How climate swings shaped the bodies of cats, dogs and bears

    Carnivorans, from mongooses to bears, evolved diverse body shapes in response to two major global cooling events, according to a study of 850 skeletons. Chris Law, a principal research scientist of biology at the UW and an affiliate curator at the UW Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, is quoted.
    12/22/2025 | Earth.com
  • 3I/ATLAS makes closest approach to Earth

    The comet 3I/ATLAS makes its closest approach to Earth on Dec. 19, according to NASA. James Davenport, research assistant professor of astronomy at the UW, is quoted.
    12/22/2025 | KOMO
  • Teens holistic approach to school phone policies rivals adult rules

    What happens if you let teens craft the rules that dictate their use of phones at school? You get policy ideas with a nuanced, holistic perspective that rival those being officially issued by the adults in leadership. The UWs Youth Advisory Board, a group of approximately 20 teens from Seattle-area schools, recently published its first memo tackling this contentious issue. The UW's Rotem Landesman, doctoral student in the Information School, and Luca Magis-Weinberg, assistant professor of psychology, are quoted.
    12/18/2025 | GeekWire
  • Videos show hummingbirds jousting like medieval knights in rare mating

    The sharp, elongated bills of green hermit hummingbirds arent just fine-tuned for feeding; they also allow males to joust like knights over mates. Alejandro Rico-Guevara, associate professor of biology at the UW and curator of birds at the UW Burke Museum, is quoted.
    12/15/2025 | Scientific American
  • Opinion: Why I brought OnlyFans star Ari Kytsya to my college class

    Nicole McNichols, associate teaching professor of psychology at the UW, writes, "On November 17, my students at the University of Washington heard from someone at the center of todays most complicated conversations about sexuality, labor, and the digital world. That person was Ari Kytsya, an enormously successful OnlyFans creator whose online presence is very different from what many people imagine when they hear 'OnlyFans model.'"
    12/08/2025 | Psychology Today
  • A recap of Webb telescope discoveries

    Emily Levesque, an associate professor of astronomy at the UW who specializes in massive stars and supernovas, joined host Leah Pezzetti on The Sky Above to discuss the biggest and best discoveries to come from the James Webb Space Telescope this past year.
    12/02/2025 | KING5
  • Game changer: System to track small animals from space takes flight again

    A space-based wildlife tracking system that could revolutionize the study of animal migrations and behavior is set to get back online with SpaceX's recent launch. Briana Abrahms, associate professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.
    12/01/2025 | Science Magazine
  • Northwest scientists develop a dark matter detector to study one of the biggest mysteries of the universe

    The universe is full of mysteries that scientists have not yet been able to solve. And a big one has to do with what the universe is actually made of. Now physicists from the UW are taking a big swing at answering that question. Alvaro Chavarria, associate professor of physics at the UW, is quoted.
    12/01/2025 | OPB
  • Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list includes 56 UW faculty and researchers

    The University of Washington is proud to announce that 56 faculty and researchers who completed their work while at UW have been named on the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list from Clarivate.

    11/25/2025 | UW News
  • High-tech lollipops that detect disease

    Ashleigh Theberge, a UW professor of chemistry, pursues projects ranging from designing at-home biological sample collection kits to exploring the physics of liquid flow to investigating molecules made by filamentous fungi. Her broad-ranging interests made her a fit for the Schmidt Polymaths Program, which supports mid-career scientists pursuing interdisciplinary research.
    11/03/2025 | Nautilus
  • A giant clam named Chowder is making waves at the Burke Museum

    Discovered in Kansas, this clam is already going viral in Seattle.

    10/28/2025 | University of Washington Magazine
  • Cicadas sing in sync as the sun rises

    Although cicadas are known to sing in unison, a new study shows the striking behavior of cicadas interacting with each other when a few cicadas sing, the others join. Saumya Gupta, a postdoctoral researcher of biology at the UW, is quoted.
    10/27/2025 | Mongabay
  • Were school COVID closures worth it? Not really, UW study finds

    COVID-era school closures caused the U.S. significant economic and educational loss while being less effective than other transmission interventions, according to new research. Adrian Raftery, professor emeritus of statistics and of sociology, is quoted.
    10/20/2025 | KUOW
  • The hidden math of ocean waves crashes into view

    The math of even the simplest ocean waves is notoriously uncooperative. A team of Italian mathematicians has made major advances toward understanding it. Bernard Deconinck, professor of applied mathematics and adjunct professor of mathematics at the UW, is mentioned.

    10/16/2025 | Quanta Magazine
  • The Curious Journey of Chinese Characters

    Several Asian countries adapted the Chinese writing system—the oldest writing system still in use—for their own languages. In a new book, Professor Zev Handel shares how that happened.

    October 2025 Perspectives