Natural Sciences Division

  • How the environment impacts early brain development

    Recent work done at UW's Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences found babies' brains were activated in specific areas while watching adults.
    11/06/2013 | KING 5

  • Detector at UW on the hunt for dark matter

    The University of Washington's Center for Experimental Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics is about to go hunting. Their quarry: A theorized-but-never-seen elementary particle called an axion.
    11/06/2013 | UW Today

  • Researcher reveals the science behind college drinking

    Alcohol may not be the social lubricant everyone thinks it is, according to University of Washington health psychologist Jason Kilmer.
    10/31/2013 | University of Virginia The Cavalier Daily

  • Let's Give Birds the Respect They Deserve

    In a letter to the editor, Eliot Brenowitz, professor of biology, comments on the intelligence of birds.
    10/22/2013 | New York Times

  • Mass starfish die-off may be headed for Washington

    Undersea life is often plagued by disease outbreaks, according to University of Washington marine ecologist Robert Paine, even though their causes are seldom identified.
    10/14/2013 | KUOW

  • I-522: Claims conflict on safety of engineered foods

    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.
    10/12/2013 | The Seattle Times

  • Fecal finders: how poop-sniffing dogs are helping killer whales

    UW's Conservation Canines are at it again. Learn more about their work with orcas.
    10/10/2013 | The Verge

  • Focusing on Fruit Flies, Curiosity Takes Flight

    To hear UW biology professor Michael Dickinson tell it, there is nothing in the world quite as wonderful as a fruit fly.
    10/07/2013 | The New York Times

  • Zoos Try to Ward Off a Penguin Killer

    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.
    10/06/2013 | The New York Times

  • Are we hard-wired for war?

    UW psychology professor David P. Barash says there's evidence that cooperation may have played just as much of a role in human evolution as war did.
    09/28/2013 | The New York Times

  • GMOs: tolerable or pressing health risk?

    Biology professor Toby Bradshaw seeks to calm fears about genetically modified food.
    09/22/2013 | The Olympian

  • Mantas, devil rays butchered for apothecary trade now identifiable

    A UW biology grad student is working to identify rays killed for medicinal purposes.
    09/19/2013 | UW Today

  • Arts & Sciences faculty named to state academy of sciences

    Professors of mathematics, chemistry, and sociology were named to the Washington State Academy of Sciences.
    09/13/2013 | UW Today

  • Arts Roundup

    The Henry Art Gallery and Jacob Lawrence Gallery have new exhibits and the Burke Museum is offering a unique look at New Zealand.
    09/12/2013 | UW Today

  • Hearing Loss Gets Personal at UW EAR

    “The fabric of my life has been ever so enriched by each and every one of you.” A grey-haired gentleman is speaking during a sharing session at the close of UW EAR (Experience Auditory Rehabilitation), a conference for people with hearing loss and their communication partners. His voice cracks as he reaches for a tissue. “I haven’t used Kleenex in such a long while.”

    September 2013 Perspectives