Natural Sciences Division

Our ability to confront global crises, from pandemics to climate change, depends on how we interact and share information. Social media and other forms of communication technology restructure these interactions in ways that have consequences. Unfortunately, we have little insight into whether these changes will bring about a healthy, sustainable and equitable world. As a result, researchers now say that the study of collective behavior must rise to a “crisis discipline,” just like medicine, conservation and climate science have done, according to a new paper published this month.

Dianne Xiao, UW assistant professor of chemistry, has recieved an award from the U.S. Department of Energy and Charles Johnson, professor emeritus of English, has guest-edited and contributed to the Chicago Quarterly Review.

Three of the UW Department of Astronomy's newest and brightest stars on the outer limits of what's possible.

The UW Institute of Learning and Brain Sciences found that babies already have the building blocks of generous social behavior. Andrew Meltzoff, professor of psychology at the UW and co-director of the institute, is interviewed.

Toro, a UW mathematics professor, will lead one of the world’s preeminent centers for collaborative research in mathematics.

For four months, Facebook censored claims that the coronavirus originated in a lab in Wuhan, China. But the company has reversed its stance, in a prime example of how the pandemic has intensified the free speech questions already plaguing social media titans. The decision has thrown into sharp relief the challenges of evaluating misinformation amid evolving scientific debates. Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Starting June 8, you could win a cool $250,000 from the state, assuming you’re vaccinated, of course. Today we ask: Why do these vaccine lottery programs work? Jane Simoni, professor of psychology at the UW, is interviewed on the “Seattle Now” podcast.

Abigail Swann, Associate Professor of Atmospheric Sciences and Ecology, comments on a new study about the formation of the Amazon rain forest.

The global trade in ivory is worth about $23 billion. While governments are starting to crack down on the trade, it might be too little, too late. Sam Wasser, research professor of biology at the UW and director of the Center for Conservation Biology, is quoted.

Three years after Walid Salem was plucked off a Cairo street by plainclothes police officers, blindfolded and then imprisoned, the University of Washington doctoral student remains stuck in Egypt, unable to visit his young daughter or finish his dissertation in Seattle. Michael McCann, professor of political science at the UW, and UW President Ana Mari Cauce are quoted.

Christina Zhao, a postdoctoral researcher at I-LABS and lead author of a study on the effect of music on 9-month-old babies explains the results.

Distinguished Teaching Award winners Andrea Carrol, associate teaching professor of chemistry, discusses how her life has changed during the COVI-19 pandemic.

Tatiana Toro, Craig McKibben & Sarah Merner Professor in Mathematics, will be the next director of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute.

Caitlin Zaloom reviews “American Bonds: How Credit Markets Shaped a Nation,” by Sarah Quinn, associate professor of sociology at the UW.

An orphaned elephant named Nania may soon get to return to their family — if conservationists can find their family, that is. Scientists are searching for relatives using DNA extracted from dung. Sam Wasser, research professor of biology at the UW and director of the Center for Conservation Biology, is interviewed. [This is the fifth segment of "The Record"]