UW News

A UW-led research team has discovered the best-preserved fossil feathers from the Mesozoic era — in fossilized dinosaur poop. Some of these feathers have features that look like modern birds’ feathers. This finding can help researchers better understand why and how some birds survived the catastrophic event 66 million years ago that killed 75% of life on the planet.

American public health agencies don’t routinely test wastewater for sexually transmitted infections, but new research led by the University of Washington and the Washington State Department of Health found that such methods could be used to effectively identify Chlamydia trachomatis, the bacteria that causes chlamydia.

A new UW study shows a nine-fold increase in coyote density in Seattle compared to natural areas of Washington state. Coyotes in urban environments have fewer predators and more prey, which may help explain the national trend.

University of Washington researchers are leading and collaborating on four research projects as part of Phase 1 in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Genesis Mission, a national initiative to build an AI-for-science ecosystem which accelerates breakthroughs in energy, discovery science and national security.

This week, UW President Robert J. Jones wrote to UW Faculty Senate leadership that he will delay sending the Regents proposed changes to the Student Conduct Code so that faculty, students and staff may provide additional feedback on the proposals related to non-academic student conduct. Revisions to provisions on academic student conduct, which are not part of the proposed changes, will be handle…

Melinda Webster, a research scientist at the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory, is the lead author on a new study that catalogs changes in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice over the past 50-plus years. She spoke with UW News about the story behind the numbers.

University of Washington researchers gathered eight kids on campus to explore how they played with AI toys. The kids initially were curious, asking introductory questions, such as “What is your name?” But after communication breakdowns, the kids turned to antagonizing the toys, calling them “ugly” and “evil” and joking about throwing them in the ocean.

Explore recent research from the University of Washington: nectar-stealing Hawaiian honeycreepers, ChatGPT and anxious attachment, the cost of nursing for marine mammals, new magnetic nanomaterials, and a new strategy to subdue finicky plasma.

Astronomers at the University of Washington simulated four Milky Way-sized galaxies for five billion (virtual) years to test a leading theory about how dark matter might influence streams of orbiting stars. The results could help researchers separate true evidence of dark matter from false positives.

Dominic Muren, UW teaching professor of design, and Adrienne Russell, UW professor of communication, examine environmental problems from a perspective beyond the hard sciences. They spoke to UW News about what today’s energy crises reveal about contemporary societies’ dependence on fossil fuels and how we can create a “solar-powered system.”

A new study attributes Antarctica's brief stabilization to a short term climatic shift that increased precipitation over east Antarctica between 2021 and 2023, adding enough snow to temporarily balance ice loss at the continent’s edges.

Hossein Naghavi, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the UW, explores new applications for an underused segment of the electromagnetic spectrum known as the “terahertz band.” Naghavi recently received a grant from the Department of Energy to create powerful yet lightweight sensors using terahertz waves, which could aid emergency responders, autonomous vehicles, securi…

Ten faculty members at the University of Washington have been elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences while another was elected to the WSAS Board of Directors.

After tracking birds in the Puget Sound lowlands for 12 years, researchers conclude that birds respond better to some development configurations than others, highlighting measures developers can take to protect native species while still meeting the region’s growing demands.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), an independent research organization at the University of Washington, has received a landmark 10-year grant from the Gates Foundation to strengthen freely available, scientifically rigorous health evidence used by governments, researchers, and leaders to improve the health and well-being of people in Washington, the United States, and around…

The University of Washington is dedicated to the free exchange of ideas, including on controversial topics and involving provocative speakers. After Hasan Piker was announced as a speaker for the 2026-27 Speaker Series, there was a review of the process by which the event was planned. It was determined that that the process for organizing this event did not meet the necessary level of rigor for U…

AI systems such as Google’s Gemini Storybook now let parents or teachers conjure illustrated, personalized kids stories. UW researchers found that when six leading AI models made stories about talking animals, 57% of characters were either gender neutral or ungendered, 41% were male, and just 2% were female. Source

As fires rage and smoke smothers the Pacific Northwest, UW News sat down with five UW experts in fire science, forestry, air pollution and more to ask how they manage wildfire season.

A new study using data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope found that star formation in the nearby Andromeda galaxy has undergone a 500-million-year decline, with an even steeper drop in the last 40 million years.

A new study using data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope finds that star formation in the nearby Andromeda galaxy has undergone a 500-million-year decline, with an even steeper drop in the last 40 million years.