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New research led by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ demonstrates a new class of hydrogels that can form not just outside cells, but also inside of them. These hydrogels exhibited similar mechanical properties both inside and outside of cells, providing researchers with a new tool to group proteins together inside of cells.

Field observations from an unusual lake show that in environments known as “soda lakes� phosphate can concentrate at the very high levels needed for the basic molecules of life to emerge. A shallow, salty lake in western Canada gives new support to Charles Darwin’s idea that life could have emerged in a “warm little pond.�

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ development partner Greystar submitted permit numbers paperwork this week for a multiphase plan to invest in some of the University’s existing housing in the neighborhoods east of the main Seattle campus to increase housing options, affordability for its students, faculty, and families, and improve student housing quality.

President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Tricia Serio announced an organizational and leadership restructuring in the areas of finance, planning and budgeting aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of these areas’ service to the University community. The changes, which take effect Tuesday, Jan. 16, come after an external review determined a unified organization will better serve faculty and academic personnel, as well as staff and students.

Researchers led by Jiun-Haw Chu, a Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ associate professor of physics, and Philip Ryan, a physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, have found a superconducting material that is uniquely sensitive to outside stimuli, enabling the superconducting properties to be enhanced or suppressed at will. This discovery could enable new opportunities for switchable, energy-efficient superconducting circuits.

The Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ has again prevailed on all claims brought by Alexandria Real Estate (ARE) following the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµâ€™s selection of another developer for a new building that will house important clean-energy and medical innovation research, along with other tenants. This time, the clear and concise ruling came from the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division II, confirming Thurston County Superior Judge Carol Murphy’s dismissal of ARE’s three claims — bringing apparent closure to ARE’s nearly three-year effort to delay progress on the project.

With several university athletic programs around the country — including the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ — announcing moves to new conferences that will likely increase travel for student-athletes, a group of sleep and circadian scientists and physicians have published a white paper describing the significance of repeated, chronic jet lag on student-athlete health and performance — both in academics and in sports, and suggesting strategies to reduce the consequences of travel across time zones.

Currently, more than half of all cervical cancers diagnosed in the United States are in people who are overdue for screening or have never been screened. In a new study, researchers report that mailing HPV test kits significantly increased cervical cancer screening rates.

Ahead of the Dec. 25 release of “The Boys in the Boat,â€� the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ — joined by The Seattle Times, Microsoft and additional community partners — is launching a six-week “Pull Together” campaign to support young people and celebrate the civic spirit of our city and region. 

A team led by researchers at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ has developed deep-learning algorithms that let users pick which sounds filter through their headphones in real time. Either through voice commands or a smartphone app, headphone wearers can select which sounds they want to include from 20 classes, such as sirens, baby cries, speech, vacuum cleaners and bird chirps.

Seven researchers at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ conducted a three-month autoethnographic study — drawing on their own experiences as people with and without disabilities — to test AI tools’ utility for accessibility. Though researchers found cases in which the tools were helpful, they also found significant problems.

Late last academic year, concerns were reported about a faculty hiring process in the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµâ€™s Department of Psychology. A review was requested by Dianne Harris, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, after she learned of these potential issues. The review was completed in September and indicates that race was inappropriately considered and used in a way that is inconsistent with University policy in the hiring process for an assistant professor position in the department.

The Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµâ€™s newest freshman class is one of the most diverse in the school’s 162-year history, and Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Bothell and Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Tacoma are welcoming their largest incoming classes.

The Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµâ€™s animal facilities on the Seattle campus underwent a routine, unannounced inspection by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) between Sept. 12 and 14. The inspection identified four non-compliant items, all of which had previously been self-reported by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ and rectified before the inspection took place.

In 1996, two Kenyan scholars were awarded Fulbright Scholarships — honors the U.S. Department of State grants to promising young academics worldwide. Fred Muyia Nafukho, who joined the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ earlier this year as the vice provost for academic personnel, vividly remembers the day he was called to the U.S. embassy in Nairobi.

The Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ has appointed Troy Dannen to serve as its 16th Director of Athletics, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ President Ana Mari Cauce announced today. Dannen most recently served as the Director of Athletics at Tulane University, where during his eight-year tenure the Green Wave had 49 All-Americans and 21 conference champions, and made 41 postseason appearances, including a Cotton Bowl victory over USC earlier this year. Dannen will begin his duties at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ on Monday, Oct. 9, and will be…

Astronomers with the International Astronomical Union are trying to understand how the brightness and transmissions of the BlueWalker3 satellite will interfere with Earth-based observations of the universe — and what can be done to minimize these effects as more of these satellites are launched.

The National Science Foundation has awarded the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ $52.4 million over five years to continue operating the Regional Cabled Array, a cabled deep-ocean observatory about 300 miles offshore from Newport, Oregon. The grant is part of a $220 million total investment that will fund the internet-connected ocean observatory, known as the Ocean Observatories Initiative, through 2028.

Two years ago, as life regained its rhythm and public transit once again filled with people, train and bus operators spotted a troubling trend. Some operators reported instances of people smoking drugs on their vehicles, and worried that the haze it created could linger, potentially affecting workers’ physical and mental health.  Spurred by operators’ concerns, five transit agencies in Washington and Oregon approached researchers at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ with a yes-or-no question: Were transit operators being exposed to drug…

The case studies in Medicine for a Changing Planet, collated from clinical encounters around the world, support health professionals in recognizing and treating a variety of health-related conditions that can be traced to environmental stressors.

A new paper from the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ and Polar Bears International quantifies the relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and the survival of polar bear populations. The paper combines past research and new analysis to provide a quantitative link between greenhouse gas emissions and polar bear survival rates.