Department of Biology

In 1948 the president of Costa Rica announced something truly extraordinary: Henceforth, the nation would take the almost unheard-of step of renouncing its military.

A poetic intersection between life and science, art and photography. The Guardian column Grrl Scientist profiles the work of Adam Summers, professor of biology.

Like humans, some song sparrows are more effusive than others, at least when it comes to defending their territories.

A University of Washington penguin researcher, one of the top in the world, is getting global attention for a novel idea she has to help save one of the most charismatic animals of all: Penguins.

Because the ivory trade is illegal, its size worldwide is hard to pin down. Samuel K. Wasser, director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington, calculated it was worth $264 million from 2000-2010.

Anti-poaching advocates will have to contend with the voracious appetite for accessories and art made from ivory in Asia - especially in China, which represents the largest market for illegal tusks and carvings, said Samuel Wasser

Researchers from the University of Washington Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences and Temple University have found the first evidence revealing a key aspect of the brain processing that occurs in babies to allow learning by observation.

In a letter to the editor, Eliot Brenowitz, professor of biology, comments on the intelligence of birds.

Undersea life is often plagued by disease outbreaks, according to University of Washington marine ecologist Robert Paine, even though their causes are seldom identified.

There are many ways genetic engineering can produce food that is unsafe to eat. But the human diet has always been fraught with the same kind of risks, said Toby Bradshaw, a plant geneticist and chairman of the Biology Department at the University of Washington.

UW's Conservation Canines are at it again. Learn more about their work with orcas.

To hear UW biology professor Michael Dickinson tell it, there is nothing in the world quite as wonderful as a fruit fly.

Zoos all around the world love penguins. But as carefree as they might look, zoo penguins are stalked by an unrelenting killer: malaria. Penguin expert Dee Boersma weighs in.

Biology professor Toby Bradshaw seeks to calm fears about genetically modified food.

A UW biology grad student is working to identify rays killed for medicinal purposes.