Department of Biology

With vaccines and a new administration, the pandemic will be tamed. But experts say the coming months “are going to be just horrible.” Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology at the UW, is mentioned.

A rare snowy owl has been spotted in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood, and the new resident knows how to draw a crowd. Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology at the UW, is interviewed.

Richard Olmstead, professor of biology and curator of the Burke Museum Herbarium, discusses his new research on plant extinction.

Like many big state universities, the University of Michigan tried to open with some semblance of normalcy. Outbreaks ensued. Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Scientists are finding that some percentage of tropical forests may hold up under global warming — if they’re not cut down. Abigail Swann, associate professor of atmospheric sciences and of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Chipmunk-like animals that lived among the dinos appear to have been social creatures, which suggests that sociality arose in mammals earlier than scientists thought. Luke Weaver, a graduate student in biology, is interviewed on the “60-Second Science” podcast.

Wrinkle-faced bats incorporate whistles, wing flaps and furry masks into their mating rituals, researchers have found. Sharlene Santana, associate professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Daniel. E. L. Promislow, professor of biology, discusses the relation between dogs and aging science.

Mammals appear to have been social creatures much earlier than previously thought, according to U.S. paleontologists. The UW’s Luke Weaver, a graduate student in biology, and Gregory Wilson Mantilla, a professor of biology, are quoted.

A species of tiny mammals that lived among the dinosaurs might have led highly gregarious lives. Luke Weaver, a graduate student in biology at the UW, is quoted.

A new study led by paleontologists at the University of Washington and its Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture indicates that the earliest evidence of mammal social behavior goes back to the Age of Dinosaurs. The evidence lies in the fossil record of a new genus of multituberculate — a small, rodent-like mammal that lived during the Late Cretaceous of the dinosaur era — called Filikomys primaevus, which translates to “youthful, friendly mouse.”

Many mammals work together in packs to stay alive. Since reptiles don’t do this, it seems likely the first mammals weren’t social creatures, raising the question of when this important trait arose. New evidence suggests it dates back to at least the late Cretaceous period. The UW’s Luke Weaver, a graduate student in biology, and Gregory Wilson Mantilla, a professor of biology, are quoted.

A dog named Eba almost died as an abandoned puppy. Now she helps conservation biologists study Southern Resident killer whales. Deborah Giles, research scientist at the UW Center for Conservation Biology, is quoted, and Sam Wasser, research professor of biology at the UW and director of the center, is mentioned.

UW Press looks back on a century of publishing, featuring works by Quintard Taylor and Bill Holms. George Behlmer’s 'Risky Shores’ honored.

There is widespread speculation about the true state of President Trump’s health – and whether the drugs he is taking suggest a more serious case than the president and his doctors have described. Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.