Research

The pledges countries made to reduce emissions as part of the 2015 Paris agreement are woefully inadequate, and the world must nearly double its greenhouse gas-cutting goals to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, according to research published Tuesday. Adrian Raftery, professor of statistics at the UW, is quoted.

Seven UW scientists were included on Cell Mentor's list of 1,000 inspiring Black scientists, including postdoctoral chemistry fellow Tam’ra-Kay Francis and Assistant Professor of mathematics Bobby Wilson.

One of the first actions by President Biden after his inauguration was bringing the U.S. back into the Paris climate agreement. A new study from a researcher at the University of Washington shows people how much more we will have to do, to meet the goals in that accord. Adrian Raftery, a professor of statistics, is quoted.

Adrian Raftery, professor of statistics, and Peiran Liu, doctoral student in statistics, have co-authored a new study that found that the planet has a less than 5% chance of staying within the goal of 2 degrees Celcius warming this century.

Assistant Professor of chemistry Alexandra Velian has been named a Cottrell Scholars by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, receiving $100,000 for the continuation of her research and educational accomplishments.

Five months after findings pointing to life floating in the clouds of Venus, scientists are not quite sure what to make of the data and what it might mean. It might spur a renaissance in the study of Venus, which has largely been overlooked for decades. It could point to exotic volcanism and new geological puzzles. It could indeed be aliens. Or it could be nothing at all. Victoria Meadows, professor of astronomy, is quoted.

Eli Shlizerman, an assistant professor in both the applied mathematics and the electrical and computer engineering departments, is the senior author on a new project that used machine learning to create a system that creates audio from muted piano performances.

Ecologists have shown that climate change has not been an equal opportunity stressor. As the Mojave Desert warmed by about 2°C over the past century, bird numbers and diversity declined dramatically, but small mammals like little pocket mice are holding their own. Lauren Buckley, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

The detection of phosphine on Venus, theorized to be from microbes, may have been caused instead by sulfur dioxide, which is not a clear sign of life. Victoria Meadows, professor of astronomy at the UW, is quoted.

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey and other sky surveys are adopting speedy robots. They will save valuable observation time and allow the surveys to keep up with Europe’s Gaia satellite, the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile and other efforts that produce huge catalogs of objects needing spectroscopic study. Eric Bellm, research assistant professor of astronomy at the UW, is quoted.

Scientists stunned the world last year by claiming to have discovered traces of phosphine in the Venusian clouds. New research suggests this gas — which, excitingly, is produced by microbes — was not actually responsible for the signal they detected. Instead, it was likely sulfur dioxide, a not-so-thrilling chemical. Victoria Meadows, professor of astronomy at the UW, is quoted. Andrew Lincowski, a doctoral student in astronomy and astrobiology at the UW, is mentioned.

Professor of Biology Horacio de la Iglesia and postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biology Leandro Casiraghi have conducted a study that found that sleep cycles could be disrupted by the phases of the moon.

A new study by Professor of Biology Horacio de la Iglesia and postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biology Leandro Casiraghi has found that sleep cycles in people oscillate during the lunar cycle.

A study by Professor of psychology Dr. Cheryl Kaiser concluded that women who don't look or act stereotypically feminine are less likely to be believed when making claims of sexual harassment is mentioned.

A research team, including researchers from the UW, has released a study that casts doubt on phosphine on Venus as evidence of life.