Natural Sciences Division

Cigarette smoking is a highly addictive habit that can have long-term, adverse health effects, but there is hope for those who want to quit thanks to innovative apps, help lines and proven coping strategies. Jonathan Bricker, affiliate professor of psychology at the UW, is quoted.

Adam Summers, a professor based at UW Friday Harbor Labs, discusses a new study he authored on how shark intestines function.

Facebook’s back-and-forth with the Biden administration got ugly over the weekend. The social network scrambled to respond to the president’s striking accusation that the company is “killing people” for allowing the spread of misinformation about coronavirus vaccines. Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

After one of the cryptocurrency market’s worst routs, a growing band of disgruntled traders are organizing to pressure — with a combination of social media and legal threats — the online exchange Binance to compensate them for their losses. Tim Leung, professor of applied mathematics at the UW, is quoted.

The odds of living past age 110 are becoming more likely, according to a new study from the UW, which used mathematical modeling to predict the probability of people becoming “supercentenarians” in the years 2020 through 2100. Michael Pearce, a doctoral student in statistics at the UW, is quoted.

Twenty scientists and engineers at the University of Washington are among the 38 new members elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences for 2021. New members were chosen for “their outstanding record of scientific and technical achievement, and their willingness to work on behalf of the Academy to bring the best available science to bear on issues within the state of Washington.”

Michael Pearce, a doctoral student in statistics at the UW, and Adrian Raftery, PhD, a professor of sociology, discuss how long humans coild live.

University of Washington Provost Mark A. Richards today announced Dianne Harris will become dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, beginning Sept. 1.

Seattle-based health data company Truveta today announced $95 million in fresh funding and the addition of three new participating health care systems, bringing its total to 17. Tyler McCormick, associate professor of statistics and of sociology at the UW, is quoted.

Kevin Kuehn, a UW doctoral student in clinical psychology, discusses the results of his new study on student mental health.

Michael Pearce, a doctoral student in statistics at the UW, talks about his study quantifying how likely it is that someone could live to extreme ages.

The heat wave in the Pacific Northwest is creating lasting damage to marine life. Emily Carrington, professor of biology at the UW, is interviewed.

The third and — hopefully — final wave of COVID-19 infections sweeping through the country could be a prolonged affair that stretches into the autumn. And the momentum of the virus means that we end up “overshooting” the herd immunity threshold, experts have said. Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Amid the crushing summer heat wave that has slammed the Pacific Northwest and parts of Canada, Alyssa Gehman, a marine ecologist who lives by the sea in Vancouver, B.C., walked down to the shore to go for a swim. As expected, the beach was packed with others looking to beat the heat. She made her way to the edge of the water. It smelled like putrid shellfish — cooking. Emily Carrington, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Seattle-based Icosavax has filed to go public via an IPO, just four years after it launched out of the University of Washington. The company, a spin-out from the UW’s Institute for Protein Design, is developing vaccines to resemble naturally occurring viruses. The UW’s Neil King, assistant professor of biochemistry, and David Baker, director of the institute, are mentioned.