Department of Biology

"It’s no secret that the media eagerly reports potential technical breakthroughs with hyperventilating headlines ... [but] the media often fails to clearly indicate the preliminary nature of the findings they trumpet. Even worse, they seldom report when the studies they hyped previously fail to pan out," writes Executive Editor Leland Teschler. The UW's Jevin West, associate professor in the UW Information School, and Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology at the UW, are quoted.

Daniel Promislow, professor of biology, explains the insights into longevity we can get from dogs.

Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology at the UW, says that even if we never reach herd immunity, dealing with COVID-19 will become more manageable with time.

More than half of adults in the United States have been inoculated with at least one dose of a vaccine. But daily vaccination rates are slipping, and there is widespread consensus among scientists and public health experts that the herd immunity threshold is not attainable — at least not in the foreseeable future, and perhaps not ever. Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Samuel Wasser, research professor of biology and Director of the Center for Conservation Biology, discusses the role that dogs play in his research.

Randall LeVeque, professor emeritus of applied mathematics, and Julie Theriot, professor of biology, have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Rachel Klevit, professor of biochemistry, Randall LeVeque, professor emeritus of applied mathematics, and Julie Theriot, professor of biology, have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Biologist Joanne Chory has laid out a vision for a new kind of agriculture. She wants to create “ideal plants” — crops like wheat or rice that are bred to store huge amounts of carbon in their roots. They could pull as much as 20% of the carbon dioxide emitted by humans out of the atmosphere each year. UW biology professor Jennifer Nemhauser is quoted.

Four University of Washington faculty members are among the leaders in academia, business, philanthropy, the humanities and the arts elected as 2021 fellows of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies.

With a “supermoon” full moon coming early this week it’s likely that you’ll go to bed later and sleep less than on average. Research led UW biology professor Horacio de la Iglesia is quoted.

Biology professor and chair David Perkel and Biology Professor Jeff Riffell have been awarded research grants from the Human Frontier Science Program.

Biology Professor Carl Bergstrom has released a new paper discussing how scientific communication has the potential to spread misinformation.

Testing is still a valuable tool in our COVID-19 prevention toolkit, but the technologies and motivations behind it are shifting. We’ll also have to shift our understanding of test results and metrics. A tool developed by the UW's Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology, and Ryan McGee, a graduate student in biology, are quoted.

Carl Bergstrom, biology professor, explains that Easter travel will likely not bring the same surge in cases as past holiday season travel.

Scientists are struggling to explain why the gray whale population plummeted by nearly a quarter between 2016 and 2020. Sue Moore, affiliate professor of biology and of aquatic and fishery sciences, is quoted.