University of Washington
Do we live in a computer simulation? Idea can be tested
December 11, 2012 8:20 am | by Vince Stricherz, UW | News | Comments
A decade ago, a British philosopher put forth the notion that the universe we live in might in fact be a computer simulation run by our descendants. While that seems far-fetched, perhaps even incomprehensible, a team of physicists at the University of Washington has come up with a potential test to see if the idea holds water.
Amazon River exhales virtually all carbon taken up by rain forest
May 21, 2013 2:58 pm | by Hannah Hickey, University of Washington | News | Comments
Until recently people believed much of the rain...
Keeping beverages cool in summer: It’s not just the heat, it’s the humidity
April 26, 2013 10:19 am | by Hannah Hickey, University of Washington | News | Comments
Recent work by University of Washington climate scientists have provided new insights...
Preparing to install the world’s largest underwater observatory
April 16, 2013 9:20 pm | by Hannah Hickey, University of Washington | News | Comments
The basement laboratory near the University of Washington campus is, literally,...
Engineered biomaterial could improve success of medical implants
May 14, 2013 12:24 pm | News | CommentsIt’s a familiar scenario—a patient receives a medical implant and days later, the body attacks the artificial valve or device, causing complications to an already compromised system. Expensive medical devices and surgeries often are thwarted by the body’s natural response to attack something in the tissue that appears foreign. Now, University of Washington engineers have demonstrated in mice a way to prevent this sort of response.
Device can extract human DNA with full genetic data in minutes
May 6, 2013 1:15 pm | News | CommentsTake a swab of saliva from your mouth and within minutes your DNA could be ready for analysis and genome sequencing with the help of a new device. University of Washington engineers and NanoFacture, a Bellevue, Wash., company, have created a device that can extract human DNA from fluid samples in a simpler, more efficient, and environmentally friendly way than conventional methods.
Nuclear fusion-powered rocket could send humans to Mars
April 5, 2013 7:32 am | News | CommentsHuman travel to Mars has long been the unachievable dangling carrot for space programs. Now, astronauts could be a step closer to our nearest planetary neighbor through a unique manipulation of nuclear fusion, the same energy that powers the sun and stars. University of Washington researchers and scientists at a Redmond-based space-propulsion company are building components of a fusion-powered rocket aimed to clear many of the hurdles that block deep space travel, including long times in transit, exorbitant costs, and health risks.
A new method for measuring the viscosity of nanoparticles
March 28, 2013 9:18 am | News | CommentsFor the first time, scientists measured the chemical diffusivity and viscosity of atmospheric organic particles, thanks to a new approach from scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Washington, and Imre Consulting. The team doped atmospherically important organic nanoparticles, known as secondary organic aerosols, with tracer molecules and measured their diffusion rate as they slowly worked their way out of the particles. Knowing the diffusion rate, the scientists calculated the particle's viscosity.
Team achieves tenfold boost in ability to find proteins in cancer cells
March 19, 2013 3:59 pm | by Michelle Ma, University of Washington | News | CommentsNew research offers a more comprehensive way of analyzing one cell’s unique behavior, using an array of colors to show patterns that could indicate why a cell will or won’t become cancerous. A University of Washington team has developed a new method for color-coding cells that allows them to illuminate 100 biomarkers, a ten-time increase from the current research standard
Researchers track sediments’ fate in largest-ever dam removal
March 8, 2013 12:35 pm | News | CommentsSalmon are beginning to swim up the Elwha River for the first time in more than a century. But University of Washington marine geologists are watching what’s beginning to flow downstream—sediments from the largest dam-removal project ever undertaken. It turns out there is even more sediment than originally thought—about 34 million cubic yards.
“True grit” erodes assumptions about evolution
March 5, 2013 1:13 pm | by Sandra Hines, University of Washington | News | CommentsNew research led by the University of Washington challenges the 140-year-old assumption that finding fossilized remains of prehistoric animals with such teeth meant the animals were living in grasslands and savannas. Instead it appears certain South American mammals evolved the teeth in response to the gritty dust and volcanic ash they encountered while feeding in an ancient tropical forest.
Beer’s bitter compounds could help brew new medicines
January 29, 2013 3:44 pm | News | CommentsResearchers employing a century-old observational technique have determined the precise configuration of humulones, substances derived from hops that give beer its distinctive flavor. That might not sound like a big deal to the average brewmaster, but the findings overturn results reported in scientific literature in the last 40 years and could lead to new pharmaceuticals to treat diabetes, some types of cancer, and other maladies.
Organic ferroelectric molecule shows promise for memory chips
January 24, 2013 2:31 pm | News | CommentsAt the heart of computing are tiny crystals that transmit and store digital information's ones and zeroes. Today these are hard and brittle materials. But cheap, flexible, nontoxic organic molecules may play a role in the future of hardware. A team led by the University of Washington and the Southeast University discovered a molecule that shows promise as an organic alternative to today's silicon-based semiconductors.
UW, PNNL tackle big data with joint computing institute
January 10, 2013 7:43 am | News | CommentsThe deluge of data coming from today's countless electronic devices will be harnessed to take on the most pressing problems facing science and society at a new computational institute in Seattle. The Northwest Institute for Advanced Computing is being formed by the University of Washington and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Lab research team solves condensed matter physics puzzle
December 28, 2012 7:32 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers, led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has answered a longstanding, much debated question in condensed matter physics. The question had to do with the rare earth element cerium (Ce), which undergoes a surprising, large isostructural volume collapse at high pressure.
Complex 3D metallic structures manufactured at the nanoscale
October 18, 2012 11:58 am | News | CommentsBy combining ion processing and nanolithography, scientists from Aalto University in Finland and the University of Washington have managed to create complex 3D structures at nanoscale. The breakthrough was made while studying the irregular folding of metallic thin films after they were processed by reactive ion etching. After determining the cause, the researchers realized they could control the bending activity with an ion beam.
Mug handles could help hot plasma give controllable fusion energy
October 11, 2012 4:20 pm | News | CommentsResearchers around the world are working on an efficient, reliable way to contain the plasma used in fusion reactors, potentially bringing down the cost of this promising but technically elusive energy source. A new finding from the University of Washington could help contain and stabilize the plasma using as little as 1% of the energy required by current methods.
Sticky paper offers cheap, easy solution for paper-based diagnostics
October 3, 2012 7:00 am | by Hannah Hickey | News | CommentsA University of Washington bioengineer has recently developed a way to make regular paper stick to medically interesting molecules. The work produced a chemical trick to make paper-based diagnostics using plain paper, the kind found at office supply stores around the world.
Molecules sense curvature at the nanoscale
September 20, 2012 9:47 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers have used surface photochemical reactions to probe the critical role of substrate morphology on self-assembly and ligand environment, determining that molecules on curved surfaces have a greater range of orientations and, as a result, react more slowly than do molecules on flat surfaces.
Chemical makes blind mice see
July 25, 2012 10:02 am | News | CommentsA team of University of California, Berkeley scientists in collaboration with researchers at the University of Munich and University of Washington, in Seattle, has discovered a chemical that temporarily restores some vision to blind mice, and is working on an improved compound that may someday allow people with degenerative blindness to see again.
“Control-Alt-Hack” game lets players try their hand at computer security
July 24, 2012 5:28 pm | by Hannah Hickey | News | CommentsDo you have what it takes to be an ethical hacker? Can you step into the shoes of a professional paid to outsmart supposedly locked-down systems? "Control-Alt-Hack", a new card game developed by University of Washington computer scientists, gives teenage and young-adult players a taste of what it means to be a computer-security professional defending against an ever-expanding range of digital threats.
Plasma startup creates high-energy light to make smaller microchips
June 28, 2012 11:08 am | News | CommentsA University of Washington laboratory has been working for more than a decade on fusion energy, harnessing the energy-generating mechanism of the sun. But in one of the twists of scientific discovery, on the way the researchers found a potential solution to a looming problem in the electronics industry.
New twist on old chemical process could boost energy efficiency
June 7, 2012 10:17 am | News | CommentsChemical reactions on the surface of metal oxides, such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, are important for applications such as solar cells that convert the sun's energy to electricity. Now University of Washington scientists have found that a previously unappreciated aspect of those reactions could be key in developing more efficient energy systems.
Nuclear, coal-fired electrical plants vulnerable to climate change
June 4, 2012 7:03 am | News | CommentsWarmer water and reduced river flows in the United States and Europe in recent years have led to reduced production, or temporary shutdown, of several thermoelectric power plants. A study by European and University of Washington scientists projects that in the next 50 years warmer water and low flows will lead to more such power disruptions.
Mathematicians conjure matter waves inside an invisible hat
May 30, 2012 5:13 am | by Hannah Hickey | News | CommentsOver the past five years mathematicians and other scientists have been working on devices that enable invisibility cloaks. Recent work involving a University of Washington mathematician has resulted in a new solution: an amplifier that boosts light, sound, or other waves while hiding them inside an invisible container. Its developers are calling it Schrödinger's hat.
Engineered microvessels provide 3D test bed for human diseases
May 29, 2012 6:33 am | News | CommentsMice and monkeys don't develop diseases in the same way that humans do. Nevertheless, after medical researchers have studied human cells in a Petri dish, they have little choice but to move on to study mice and primates. University of Washington bioengineers have developed the first structure to grow small human blood vessels, creating a 3D test bed that offers a better way to study disease, test drugs, and perhaps someday grow human tissues for transplant.
Scientists decipher bacterial injection needles at atomic resolution
May 21, 2012 8:05 am | News | CommentsHundreds of tiny hollow needles stick out of the membrane of a bacteria that causes cholera. These are treacherous tools that makes bacterial pathogens so dangerous. Researchers in the U.S. and Germany have now seen this structure in 3D detail at atomic resolution. The images may help drug researchers.
New research brings satellite measurements, global climate models closer
May 8, 2012 4:23 am | News | CommentsOne popular climate record that shows a slower atmospheric warming trend than other studies contains a data calibration problem, and when the problem is corrected the results fall in line with other records and climate models, according to a new University of Washington study.
Fossil raindrop impressions imply greenhouse gases loaded early atmosphere
March 28, 2012 9:38 am | by Vince Stricherz, University of Washington | News | CommentsEvidence from fossilized raindrop impressions dating 2.7 billion years ago, discovered by University of Washington researchers, indicates an abundance of greenhouse gases most likely caused the warm temperatures on ancient Earth.
