Research

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.

Scientists are pioneering novel technology to help ailments of the brain and nervous system. The UW’s Sara Goering, professor of philosophy, and Chet Moritz, associate professor of rehabilitation medicine and of electrical and computer engineering, are interviewed about the ethical concerns of neurotechnology. [This is the second segment of “The Record”]

Ancient food scraps found at Australia’s earliest site of human occupation, in the Kakadu region of the Northern Territory, are helping researchers generate rainfall records dating back 65,000 years. A new study led by the University of Queensland and involving the University of Washington provides a glimpse into the region’s climate at the time when people first entered the Australian continent from the north.

Robert Crutchfield, an emeritus professor of sociology and co-author of a new study has found that Black youth who have police contact at a young age may be more likely to have more contacts with police later in life.

Eric Agol and Victoria Meadows, professors of astronomy, have authored a new study on the TRAPPIST-1 star system.

Concerned it would threaten their cultural preservation, history and treaty rights, 40 tribes in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska joined a Jan. 4 lawsuit with Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson to stop the federal government from selling the National Archives facility in Seattle and shipping its millions of boxes of records to California and Missouri. Alexandra Harmon, professor emerita of American Indian studies and of history at the UW, is quoted.

A new UW study has found that "prototypical" women who look and act more feminine are more likely to believed when making allegations of sexual harassment.

Researchers at the UW examined 125 years of astronomical observations of a nearby stellar binary called HS Hydrae, and discovered changes to its eclipses.

A University of Washington-led study, involving more than 4,000 people, found that people were more likely to think “prototypical” women — who are conventionally attractive and appear and act feminine — would be harassed. Bryn Bandt-Law, a doctoral student in psychology at the UW, and Cheryl Kaiser, professor of psychology at the UW, are quoted.