Department of Biology

P. Dee Boersma, professor of biology and director of the Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, is the co-author of a new study about seabird health.

Nania, a critically endangered forest elephant, became separated from her herd when she was only three months old, and ever since has been hand-reared by wildlife carers in her homeland, Burkina Faso. But now they are searching for her mother using DNA analysis of dung. Sam Wasser, research professor of biology at the UW and director of the Center for Conservation Biology, is quoted.

UW paleontology researchers discuss the changes their field has undergone during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology, discusses the end goal of COVID-19 management if herd immunity isn't achievable.

The UW's Jevin West, associate professor in the Information School, and Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology, are studying how the publishing industry pushes misinformation, and how to make it better.

The Life Sciences Building, which houses the Department of Biology, has earned the COTE® Top Ten Award for sustainable design excellence.

Sam Wasser, research professor of biology at the UW and director of the Center for Conservation Biology, has found that two-thirds of pregnancies in Southern resident orca whales are lost due to nutritional stress through his new research.

"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.