https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from University of Washington Is it a doctor's job to get the best outcomes for their patients or to tell the truth? What happens when these two things are not aligned? These are questions that University of Washington students have to wrangle with in Biol 180: Introductory Biology. The goal, says Elli Theobald, UW assistant professor of biology, is to have students experience a more nuanced side of biology. There is not always one right answer, and issues of power and relationships often come into play. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-qa-biology-guidelines-lack-society.html Education Tue, 02 Jun 2026 07:20:01 EDT news699594661 Over the past decade, cities around the world have increasingly turned to nature-based infrastructure to become more resilient in the face of a changing climate. Urban forests provide shade during heat waves and improve air quality; wetlands filter stormwater and reduce flooding; and restored oyster reefs filter water, create habitat and reduce wave energy along shorelines. When carefully designed and managed, these "nature-based solutions" can support climate adaptation, biodiversity and public health. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-qa-evolution-reshape-urban-forests.html Evolution Fri, 15 May 2026 11:40:05 EDT news698061664 Burrowing shrimp are small marine excavators native to Washington. They make their homes deep in the sediment by digging, turning the ground to Swiss cheese. This presents a problem for shellfish farmers, whose clams and oysters are often smothered under layers of displaced sediment. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-method-washington-shellfish-farmers-pesky.html Ecology Thu, 14 May 2026 14:11:28 EDT news697986662 Alaska's Cook Inlet was home to nearly 1,300 beluga whales in the late 1970s, but today the population hovers around 300. Despite almost two decades of recovery work, the whales aren't bouncing back. The Cook Inlet belugas are likely struggling under multiple pressures, including increasing human noise. Researchers are working on deciphering whale-whale communication to better account for the impact of noise on this vulnerable population. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-beluga-deciphered-bolster-efforts.html Plants & Animals Wed, 13 May 2026 11:55:41 EDT news697892101 Artificial intelligence has swept into American schools, and more is sure to come. This year, both Google and Microsoft—the two biggest companies at the forefront of the AI boom—announced major investments in AI training for teachers. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-qa-teachers-reckoning-ai-schools.html Education Tue, 05 May 2026 16:40:02 EDT news697205102 Even though he wanted to bike commute from his Capitol Hill home to the University of Washington, Jared Hwang often took transit because he struggled to find a good bike route. Apps like Google Maps and Strava might suggest hilly, busy streets simply because they have bike lanes. He even headed to Reddit to crowdsource ideas. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-bikebutler-personalized-routes-riders-based.html Software Tue, 28 Apr 2026 10:00:02 EDT news696587041 Mammals and dinosaurs coexisted on Earth until a catastrophic event 66 million years ago killed 75% of life on the planet. Despite the devastation, some animals survived, including rodent-like mammals in the Cimolodon genus. These creatures are part of the multituberculates, a group that arose during the Jurassic Period and survived over 100 million years before going extinct. Studying these animals helps researchers better understand how mammals survived the mass extinction event and then diversified into the variety of mammals around today. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-dinosaurs-hamster-sized-mammal-survived.html Evolution Sat, 25 Apr 2026 14:00:04 EDT news696179114 As far as research subjects go, it's not always easy to find common ground with a single-celled bacterium. Yet the more Paul Wiggins studies his model bacteria, Acinetobacter baylyi, the more he sees surprising commonalities between their behavior and our own as humans. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-qa-scientists-decode-logic-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 22 Apr 2026 19:00:02 EDT news696091107 It took less than 22 years after the discovery of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) for a fast-acting, highly effective treatment to become available. Modern drugs are more than 95% effective at curing hepatitis C infection, yet the virus remains a critical public health problem. It's the most common bloodborne illness in the United States, and disproportionately impacts low-income people and marginalized communities. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-washington-hepatitis-patient.html Mon, 20 Apr 2026 18:00:09 EDT news695920141 Unfortunately for science fiction fans, desert worlds outside our solar system are unlikely to host life, according to new research from the University of Washington. Scientists show that an Earth-sized planet needs at least 20 to 50% of the water in Earth's oceans to maintain a critical natural cycle that keeps water on the surface. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-planets-life-scientists-previously-thought.html Astrobiology Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:40:03 EDT news695485502 University of Washington researchers developed the first system that incorporates tiny cameras in off-the-shelf wireless earbuds to allow users to talk with an AI model about the scene in front of them. For instance, a user might turn to a Korean food package and say, "Hey Vue, translate this for me." They'd then hear an AI voice say, "The visible text translates to 'Cold Noodles' in English." https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-tiny-cameras-earbuds-users-ai.html Hi Tech & Innovation Tue, 14 Apr 2026 13:20:05 EDT news695390521 Weasels are small carnivores with a long body and short legs. They also have a stout skull and sharp teeth. These creatures, along with ferrets and minks, make up the Mustelinae subfamily. Until now, researchers believed that the oldest fossils from this family were from Poland and Germany, dating back to about 3.5 million years ago in the Pliocene epoch. But a fossil discovered in Teruel, Spain, has doubled that estimate, dating back to the late Miocene, around 6.5 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tiny-predator-ancient-spain-weasel.html Evolution Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:00:05 EDT news695383441 New evidence suggests that a disease-causing tapeworm that has been spreading across the United States and Canada has arrived in the Pacific Northwest. The tapeworm, called Echinococcus multilocularis, lives as a parasite in coyotes, foxes and other canid species and can cause severe disease if passed to domestic dogs or humans. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-parasitic-tapeworm-domestic-dogs-humans.html Plants & Animals Mon, 06 Apr 2026 16:40:01 EDT news694697282 Nautilus and Allonautilus cephalopods and their extinct ancestors have been drifting through the mesophotic zone of the ocean for more than 500 million years. Researchers have spent the last 40 years trying to understand how these mysterious "living fossils" thrive in areas with limited nutrients. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-lliving-fossils-nautilus-allonautilus-depths.html Evolution Sun, 05 Apr 2026 19:30:01 EDT news694258565 This winter was one of the warmest on record across the West. As a result, many snowy, alpine areas have seen bouts of winter rainfall where there would ordinarily only be snow. These unusual weather patterns have contributed to an abysmal ski season, but they can also set the stage for dangerous avalanches. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-climate-complicate-avalanche-pacific-northwest.html Earth Sciences Mon, 23 Mar 2026 15:20:04 EDT news693497562 Plowing, or tilling, is an age-old agricultural practice that readies the soil for planting by turning over the top layer to expose fresh earth. The method—intended to improve water and nutrient circulation—remains popular today, but concerns about soil degradation have prompted some to return to regenerative methods that disturb the soil less. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-earthquake-scientists-reveal-overplowing-weakens.html Earth Sciences Thu, 19 Mar 2026 14:00:17 EDT news693133087 Plants, like people, have a circadian clock and they sense seasonal changes to light and temperature. Plants that bloom in the spring use the longer days and warmer temperatures as seasonal cues that it's time to bloom. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-video-bloom-chronobiologist.html Plants & Animals Wed, 18 Mar 2026 09:50:01 EDT news693045902 Anastasios (Andy) Tzanidakis was combing through old telescope data from 2020 when he found an otherwise boring star acting very strangely. The star, named Gaia20ehk, was about 11,000 light-years from Earth near the constellation Puppis. It was a stable "main sequence" star, much like our sun, which meant that it should emit steady, predictable light. Yet this star began to flicker wildly. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-astronomers-rare-evidence-planets-colliding.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 11 Mar 2026 15:50:01 EDT news692461081 In the three-and-a-half years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the fragmented state of abortion access has put medical professionals in a precarious position. Many states have tightened abortion restrictions, with some enacting criminal penalties up to life in prison for physicians who perform abortions. Medical schools have curtailed abortion-related curricula. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-qa-dobbs-decision-abortion-restrictions.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Wed, 04 Mar 2026 15:40:05 EST news691860302 Scientists share their work by publishing articles in journals, such as Nature, Science or PLOS Biology. One major part of the publishing process involves having these manuscripts reviewed by unpaid peers. These scientists specialize in the same topic and volunteer to make sure the science is sound and the authors haven't missed anything critical in their data analysis. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-qa-discuss-potential-solutions-feedback.html Education Sat, 28 Feb 2026 08:30:03 EST news691241883 The Cascadia Subduction Zone is unusually quiet for a megathrust fault. Spanning more than 600 miles from Canada to California, the fault marks the convergence of the Juan de Fuca and North American plates. While other subduction zones produce sporadic rumblings as the plates scrape past each other, Cascadia shows very little seismic activity, fueling assumptions that the plates are locked together by friction. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-stress-cascadia-subduction-zone-reveals.html Earth Sciences Fri, 27 Feb 2026 14:00:03 EST news691317841 Heart rate is an important sign of fetal health, yet few technologies exist to easily and inexpensively track fetal heart rates outside of doctors' offices. This can create risks for pregnancies in low-resource regions where doctors are far away or inaccessible. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-dopfone-app-accurately-track-fetal.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Thu, 26 Feb 2026 14:00:08 EST news691335903 Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas with strong heat-trapping capabilities. Although there is less methane in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, the foremost greenhouse gas, researchers attribute 30% of modern global warming to methane. Observations show that methane levels have increased over time, but the factors driving changes in the rate of accumulation remain unclear. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-satellite-stratospheric-methane-loss-higher.html Earth Sciences Mon, 09 Feb 2026 15:07:43 EST news689872021 Keeping up with the latest research is vital for scientists, but given that millions of scientific papers are published every year, that can prove difficult. Artificial intelligence systems show promise for quickly synthesizing seas of information, but they still tend to make things up, or "hallucinate." https://phys.org/news/2026-02-ai-openscholar-scientific-cites-sources.html Other Wed, 04 Feb 2026 11:00:13 EST news689420235 The Northwest Forest Plan, adopted in 1994, helped quell mounting tensions between timber companies and environmentalists. It protected large swaths of old-growth forest in Washington, Oregon and California to preserve habitat for endangered species, including the Northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-qa-wildfire-northwest-forests-highlights.html Environment Wed, 21 Jan 2026 12:26:47 EST news688220761 The U.S. boasts more than 4 million miles of rivers, peppered with laws and regulations to protect access to drinking water and essential habitat for fish and wildlife. But in the first comprehensive review of river protection, research co-led by the University of Washington shows that the existing regulations account for less than 20% of total river length and vary widely by region. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-vast-majority-rivers-lack-human.html Environment Fri, 09 Jan 2026 13:47:28 EST news687188821 Seattle Public Library (SPL) is the only U.S. library system that makes its anonymized, granular checkout data public. Want to find out how many times people borrowed the e-book version of Toni Morrison's "Beloved" in May 2018? That data is available. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-anthologized-writers-frequently-seattle-library.html Other Thu, 08 Jan 2026 14:38:19 EST news687105481 The ancestors of our furry cats and dogs once looked similar to today's modern mongoose, a mammal with a long body and small, round ears. In fact, all members of the order Carnivora, which includes a variety of mammalian species, such as bears, wolves and even seals, evolved from these 'mongoose-like' creatures. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-qa-climate-shifts-drove-carnivores.html Evolution Wed, 17 Dec 2025 15:59:43 EST news685209541 Careful reanalysis of data from more than a decade ago indicates that Saturn's biggest moon, Titan, does not have a vast ocean beneath its icy surface, as suggested previously. Instead, a journey below the frozen exterior likely involves more ice giving way to slushy tunnels and pockets of meltwater near the rocky core. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-saturn-biggest-moon-ocean.html Astrobiology Wed, 17 Dec 2025 11:00:25 EST news685096441 Once the domain of buttons and knobs, car dashboards are increasingly home to large touchscreens. While that makes following a mapping app easier, it also means drivers can't feel their way to a control; they have to look. But how does that visual component affect driving? https://techxplore.com/news/2025-12-drivers-struggle-multitask-dashboard-touchscreens.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 17 Dec 2025 05:13:31 EST news685170782