Research

More than 65 species of plants have gone extinct in the U.S. and Canada since European colonization, according to a new study. The study was conducted by a group of 16 experts from across the U.S., including Richard Olmstead, professor of biology at the UW. The study showed that far more plant species have gone extinct on the continent than previously documented.

Assistant Professor of statistics Alex Luedtke has identified statistical methods for the analysis of COVID-19 treatment trials.

Richard Olmstead, professor of biology and curator of the Burke Museum Herbarium, discusses his new research on plant extinction.

Assistant Professors Audrey Desjardins (School of Art), Afroditi Psarra (DXARTS), Bonnie Whiting (School of Music), and Jacob Lawrence Gallery Director and Curator Emily Zimmerman, discuss interdisciplinary research project Voices+Voids.

More than 50 University of Washington faculty and researchers have been named on the annual Highly Cited Researchers 2020 list from Clarivate. The highly anticipated annual list identifies researchers who demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field or fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade.

Scientists are finding that some percentage of tropical forests may hold up under global warming — if they’re not cut down. Abigail Swann, associate professor of atmospheric sciences and of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Chipmunk-like animals that lived among the dinos appear to have been social creatures, which suggests that sociality arose in mammals earlier than scientists thought. Luke Weaver, a graduate student in biology, is interviewed on the “60-Second Science” podcast.

Some family separations are due to estrangement, not COVID. That's not necessarily a bad thing, says Communication Professor Kristina Scharp.

In her recent campus tours interview with Honors Director Vicky Lawson, Talia Kertsman ('22, geography; community, environment & planning with Honors) shines light on Dr. Lawson's research, consortium building and values, also delving into what makes the Honors community so vital at our public University.

Daniel. E. L. Promislow, professor of biology, discusses the relation between dogs and aging science.

An English professor’s story is honored, a Jackson School faculty member helps with research for a PBS show, and more.

Mammals appear to have been social creatures much earlier than previously thought, according to U.S. paleontologists. The UW’s Luke Weaver, a graduate student in biology, and Gregory Wilson Mantilla, a professor of biology, are quoted.

A species of tiny mammals that lived among the dinosaurs might have led highly gregarious lives. Luke Weaver, a graduate student in biology at the UW, is quoted.

A new study led by paleontologists at the University of Washington and its Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture indicates that the earliest evidence of mammal social behavior goes back to the Age of Dinosaurs. The evidence lies in the fossil record of a new genus of multituberculate — a small, rodent-like mammal that lived during the Late Cretaceous of the dinosaur era — called Filikomys primaevus, which translates to “youthful, friendly mouse.”

Many mammals work together in packs to stay alive. Since reptiles don’t do this, it seems likely the first mammals weren’t social creatures, raising the question of when this important trait arose. New evidence suggests it dates back to at least the late Cretaceous period. The UW’s Luke Weaver, a graduate student in biology, and Gregory Wilson Mantilla, a professor of biology, are quoted.