This RSS news feed maintained by uwnews.org, the University of Washington Office of News and Information, includes the last 40 by Vince Stricherz(vinces@u.washington.edu). http://uwnews.org/apps/uwnews/public/rss.aspx?q=uwnByAuthorId&authorID=81&numToShow=40 http://uwnews.org/images/uwnewslogo_small.jpg http://uwnews.org/ uwnews.org, the University of Washington Office of News and Information (c)2009 University of Washington News and Information | http://uwnews.org | uwnews@u.washington.edu | 206-543-2580 Bob Roseth | roseth@u.washington.edu Ken Fine | kenfine@u.washington.edu Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:35:22 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ For the first time, a group of scientists working in the Kuril Islands off the east coast of Russia has documented the scope of tsunami-caused erosion and found that a wave can carry away far more sand and dirt than it deposits. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=53117 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=53117 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:02:21 GMT Biologists for the first time have documented a second breeding season during the annual cycle of five songbird species that spend summers in temperate North America and winters in tropical Central and South America. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=53093 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=53093 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:53:49 GMT UW scientist instrumental in important step to convert methane gas to a liquid, giving the potential of making it more useful as a fuel and as a source for making other chemicals. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=52992 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=52992 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:45:45 GMT New research on the Kitsap Peninsula, at the west edge of Washington state's Puget Sound, finds evidence that land was raised at least 6 feet by ancient earthquakes. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=52822 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=52822 Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:52:49 GMT Researchers led by a UW chemist have found a way to train tiny semiconductor crystals, called nanocrystals or quantum dots, to display new magnetic functions at room temperature using light as a trigger. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=51638 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=51638 Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:00:00 GMT University of Washington researchers have found a way to measure exactly how much electrical current is carried by tiny bubbles and channels that form inside nanoscale solar cells, paving the way for development of more efficient materials. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=51232 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=51232 Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:35:00 GMT A likely comet collision on Jupiter last week caused a minor sensation, but new research shows that similar impacts on Earth are most likely not responsible for any of the planet's mass extinctions. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=51186 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=51186 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:00:00 GMT UW scientists say Seattle area bracing for triple-digit temperatures this week. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=51162 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=51162 Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:51:55 GMT New research shows that, at least for some insects, wings that flex and deform, something like what happens to a heavy beach towel when you snap it to get rid of the sand, are the best for staying aloft. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=50656 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=50656 Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:07:00 GMT New calculations indicate that, in nearby star systems, tidal forces exerted on planets by their parent star's gravity could limit what is regarded as a star's habitable zone and change the criteria for planets where life could potentially take root. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=50350 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=50350 Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:32:35 GMT A team of astronomers and astrobiologists has devised a technique to tell whether small Earth-like planets orbiting other suns harbor liquid water, which in turn could tell whether they might be able to support life. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=49976 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=49976 Tue, 26 May 2009 10:00:00 GMT In a new book, University of Washington paleontologist Peter Ward suggests that Earth is ultimately inhospitable to life, and that life itself might be the primary reason. Rather than the nurturing idea of the Gaia hypothesis, he invokes the darker Medea from Greek mythology. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=49831 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=49831 Wed, 20 May 2009 15:41:36 GMT There has been recent disagreement about the snowpack decline in the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest, but new research leaves little doubt that a warmer climate has a significant effect on the snowpack, even if other factors keep year-to-year measurements close to normal for a period of years. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=49664 Science Environment Stephanie Kenitzer (425-432-2192) and Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=49664 Tue, 12 May 2009 17:55:37 GMT The space shuttle Atlantis, leaving Monday for the Hubble Space Telescope, will be piloted by UW engineering graduate Gregory C. Johnson. The shuttle will carry a camera that UW astronomers helped build, which will replace Hubble's existing camera. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=49455 Science Technology Hannah Hickey (206-543-2580) and Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=49455 Wed, 06 May 2009 15:45:00 GMT A UW geologist is debunking the recent notion that 'chevrons,' large U- or V-shaped formations found in some of the world's coastal areas, are evidence of megatsunamis caused by asteroids or comets slamming into the ocean. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=49190 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=49190 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:00:00 GMT Astronomers have found hundreds of extrasolar planets in the last two decades, and new research indicates they might have found even more except for one thing - some planets have fallen into their stars and simply no longer exist. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=49159 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=49159 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:56:37 GMT New research shows the sleep disruption associated with jet lag and shift work occurs in two separate but linked groups of neurons below the hypothalamus at the base of the brain. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=48866 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=48866 Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:00:00 GMT Lizards living in tropical forests could be in serious peril from rising temperatures associated with climate change. In fact, those forest lizards appear to tolerate a much narrower range of survivable temperatures than do their relatives at higher latitudes and are actually less tolerant of high temperatures. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=47732 Science Environment Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=47732 Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:01:08 GMT New research shows that the large-scale evolution of microbes was mostly complete 2.5 billion years ago, and that included the beginning of the modern aerobic nitrogen cycle. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=47460 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=47460 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:00:00 GMT Magellanic penguins, like most other species of the flightless birds, are having their survival challenged by wide variability in conditions and food availability, a University of Washington biologist has found. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=47314 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=47314 Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:00:00 GMT New evidence suggests that tectonic plate slippage and nonvolcanic tremor near the Cascadia subduction zone both are signs of processes taking place 25 miles deep at the interface of the Juan de Fuca and North American plates. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=46826 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=46826 Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:00:00 GMT New research shows that, contrary popular belief, much of Antarctica has been warming like the rest of the world for the last 50 years. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=46448 Science Environment Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=46448 Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:00:00 GMT New research shows that rapidly warming climate is likely to seriously alter crop yields in the tropics and subtropics by the end of this century and, without adaptation, will leave half the world's population facing serious food shortages. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=46272 Science Environment Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=46272 Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:00:00 GMT As the International Year of Astronomy dawns, a UW professor recounts the achievements of the renowned Hubble Space Telescope as it prepares for its final chapter. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=46088 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=46088 Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:54:43 GMT New research shows that the great Indian Ocean earthquake that struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra on the day after Christmas in 2004 set off tremors nearly 9,000 miles away in the San Andreas fault at Parkfield, Calif. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=45854 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=45854 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:20:09 GMT UW atmospheric sciences professor's book explains many phenomena of Northwest weather. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=45154 Science Environment Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=45154 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:22:47 GMT DNA evidence shows conclusively that males from a North American warbler species interbred with females from a related species and took over a large part of the other species' range. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=44978 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=44978 Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:52:05 GMT A quarter-million people were killed when a tsunami inundated Indian Ocean coastlines the day after Christmas in 2004. Now scientists have found evidence that the event was not a first-time occurrence. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=44810 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=44810 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:17:21 GMT New research suggests that the edge of the Tibetan plateau might have been preserved for thousands of years by ice and glacial debris at the mouth of many tributaries to the Tsangpo River. Those deposits appear to have acted as dams that prevented the rapidly traveling Tsangpo from carving upstream into the plateau. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=44214 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=44214 Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:00:00 GMT David Montgomery, an Earth and space sciences professor noted for his study of how soil and rivers shape civilizations, is one of 25 new MacArthur fellows. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43719 Campus Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43719 Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:01:00 GMT New simulations challenge a long-held belief, indicating that in galaxies similar to the Milky Way stars such as our sun can migrate great distances. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43593 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43593 Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:45:00 GMT Paleontologists have found a previously unknown amphibious predator that probably made the Antarctica of 240 million years ago something less than a hospitable place. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43565 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43565 Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:01:00 GMT Rose Ann Cattolico is convinced algae can be a major source of environmentally friendly fuels for everything from lawn mowers to jet airplanes. Now an investment company that works with universities to commercialize early-stage technology invested in the University of Washington biology professor's work, forming a startup company called AXI. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43454 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43454 Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:29:09 GMT The newest space telescope is the payoff for years of work for a UW physicist. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43443 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43443 Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:00:00 GMT New UW research shows that bugs -- both the crawling kind and ones you can only see with a microscope -- are responsible for the heat in chili peppers. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43214 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43214 Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:00:00 GMT Brown tree snakes have come to embody the bad things that can happen when invasive species show up where they have few predators. But new research suggests that indirect impacts might be even farther reaching, possibly changing tree distributions and altering already damaged ecosystems. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43191 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43191 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT African elephants are being slaughtered for their ivory at a pace unseen since an international ban on the ivory trade took effect in 1989, but a University of Washington conservation biologist believes there is little outcry because the public seems to be unaware of the giant mammals' plight. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43057 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43057 Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:26:18 GMT Paleontologists in 2005 hailed research apparently showing that soft tissues had been recovered from dissolved dinosaur bones, but new research suggests the supposed recovered tissue is really just biofilm - or slime. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43040 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=43040 Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT Like the proverbial canary in the coal mine, penguins are sounding the alarm for potentially catastrophic changes in the world's oceans, and the culprit isn't only climate change, says a UW conservation biologist. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=42685 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=42685 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT A new mineral, the first to be discovered inside a particle from a comet, has officially been named in honor of UW astronomy professor Donald Brownlee. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=42455 Science Vince Stricherz (206-543-2580) http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=42455 Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:22:24 GMT