Department of Biology

Ecologists have shown that climate change has not been an equal opportunity stressor. As the Mojave Desert warmed by about 2°C over the past century, bird numbers and diversity declined dramatically, but small mammals like little pocket mice are holding their own. Lauren Buckley, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

"Suciasaurus rex has a leg up — OK, a femur — on other dinosaurs that might have fought tooth and claw to be named the Washington state dinosaur; there simply are no other dinosaur fossils known that could challenge S. rex for the honor," writes The Everett Herald Editorial Board. Christian Sidor, professor of biology at the UW, is referenced.

Research finds people stay up later and sleep less before full moon, and do the opposite before new moon. Horacio de la Iglesia, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Professor of Biology Horacio de la Iglesia and postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biology Leandro Casiraghi have conducted a study that found that sleep cycles could be disrupted by the phases of the moon.

A new study by Professor of Biology Horacio de la Iglesia and postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biology Leandro Casiraghi has found that sleep cycles in people oscillate during the lunar cycle.

The Seattle Times speaks with several Burke Museum curators to learn the story behind some of its artifacts.

Anyone who has been stung by a jellyfish might think they know more than enough about cnidocytes, the cells that deliver the sting. But a researcher has found that these cells have much more to tell, including insight into a simple evolutionary mechanism that may enable jellyfish, sea anemones, corals, and their relatives — collectively known as cnidarians — to quickly adapt to new environments. Billie Swalla, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

A South African tip led to the discovery of mutations around the world. With infections skyrocketing, “it’s a race against time.” Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

It’s a moth, it’s a plane, it’s … the Smellicopter, a little drone that senses odors with an onboard moth antenna. Seriously, that’s the scientists’ real name for their creation, a system that monitors the electrical signals sent from the antenna of an actual moth, allowing the drone to lock onto the source of a scent and navigate toward it. The UW’s Melanie Anderson, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering, and Thomas Daniel, professor of biology, are quoted.

A 19th-century claim has fueled a 21st-century debate about how a warming climate might reshape animals. One "rule," declaring that animals in warmer regions usually have darker exteriors, whereas those in cooler regions are lighter, is being reconsidered. Lauren Buckley, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

A trove from a Portuguese trading ship that sank in 1533 preserved genetic traces of whole elephant lineages that have vanished from West Africa. Sam Wasser, research professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Jason Hodin, a biology research scientist at UW’s Friday Harbor Laboratories, talks about his work successfully breeding sunflower sea stars.

Election-related falsehoods have subsided, but misleading claims about the coronavirus vaccines are surging — often spread by the same people. Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

The Conservation Canines program, which is part of the UW Center for Conservation Biology, trains dogs in what might seem at first to be unusual detective work: tracking wild animal scat. Deborah Giles, a research scientist at the center, and Sam Wasser, research professor of biology at the UW and director of the center, are quoted.

There’s no doubt that 2020 has been a strange year. So strange, in fact, that the idea of an obstacle-dodging, autonomous cyborg drone that uses a real live moth antenna to track down smells doesn’t sound too much like weird science fiction. That’s probably a good thing, too, because it’s something that researchers from the University of Washington have actually built. And they’ve called it "smellicopter," because … why the heck not? The UW's Melanie Anderson, a doctoral student of mechanical engineering, and Thomas Daniel, professor of biology, are quoted.