Department of Biology

How elephant dung and ivory tusk samples can help save the African elephant

Illegal wildlife trade has become the world’s fourth-largest international organized crime, according to a recent UW Biology study.

A new research project led by the University of Washington aims to uncover the aeronautical secrets of some of nature’s best designed flyers.

New research shows that mosquitoes find targets by following the scent of the air we exhale, then using sight and body heat sensors to close in.

A team of biologists from the University of Washington and the California Institute of Technology has cracked the cues mosquitoes use to find us.

The UW-based Conservation magazine has won a gold award in a national competition sponsored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

One of the questions raised by climate change has been whether it could cause more species of animals to interbreed.

DNA analysis and the work of Biology's Sam Wasser has proved a game changer in wildlife crime investigation.

UW's Conservation Canines are back on the case, helping researchers discover the interrelationships of wolves and other carnivores in Eastern Washington.

A team of University of Washington researchers has engineered yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) that can “talk” to one another.

A team of UW biologists has identified a key mechanism plants use to decide when to release their floral scents to attract pollinators.

A UW Biology study finds Argentinian hunter-gatherers without electricity sleep longer than those with power.

The root cause of why we get less sleep now than our ancestors could come down to a very simple reason: artificial light.

To stop elephant slaughter in Africa, zoologist Sam Wasser spent years extracting DNA from elephant dung and tissue. Much of the world's poached ivory, he discovered, comes from just three places.

UW biologist Samuel Wasser's pioneering work is helping stop illegal ivory trade that's decimating the African elephant population.