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A favorite childhood pastime — swinging on the playground swing set — also may be teaching kids how to get along. The measured, synchronous movement of children on the swings can encourage preschoolers to cooperate on subsequent activities, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ researchers have found. A study by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµâ€™s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS) shows the potential of synchronized movement in helping young children develop collaborative skills. The study is published online in the Journal of Experimental Child…

  As the World Health Organization steps up its efforts to eradicate a once-rampant tropical disease, a Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ study suggests that monitoring, and potentially treating, the monkeys that co-exist with humans in affected parts of the world may be part of the global strategy. Yaws, an infectious disease that causes disfiguring skin lesions and bone destruction — stems from a bacterium, Treponema pallidum, that also has been found in certain primates in Africa and Asia. The disease, treatable…

The Disklavier is an electromagnetic piano that — like the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ-created encephalophone recently reported on by the Seattle Times — is played by brain waves alone, via an electroencephalogram. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ audiences can see and hear this new technology in “Music of Today: The DXARTS Spring Concert,” April 6, in Meany Hall.

Building upon a long legacy of supporting scientific innovation and education, professor emeritus Larry Dalton and his wife, Nicole Boand, have committed $12 million to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Department of Chemistry.

Hans Georg Dehmelt, Nobel physics laureate and professor emeritus at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ, died in Seattle on March 7, 2017 at age 94. Dehmelt was a celebrated scientist who, in a research career spanning more than half a century, developed methods to isolate atoms and subatomic particles and measure their fundamental properties with high accuracy.

On March 15 at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., Prime Minister Enda Kenny of Ireland honored Adrian Raftery, a professor of statistics and sociology at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ, for his diverse contributions to the field of statistics. Kenny presented Raftery with the St. Patrick’s Day Medal, which is awarded each year by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). Raftery, who has worked at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ since 1986, develops new statistical methodology, with a focus on the social, environmental and health sciences….

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ historian Margaret O’Mara discusses the CSPAN 2017 Presidential Historians Survey. She participated in this ranking of the nation’s presidents in 10 categories of effectiveness.

Three faculty members at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ have been awarded early-career fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The new Sloan Fellows, announced Feb. 21, include Ali Farhadi, assistant professor of computer science and engineering; Emily Levesque, assistant professor of astronomy; and John Tuthill, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics.

Maritime communities take various forms around the planet and through the centuries. Margaret Willson, affiliate associate professor of anthropology and Canadian Studies Arctic Program at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ, is the author of “Seawomen of Iceland: Survival on the Edge,” published in 2016 by Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Press. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Today asked Willson a few questions about the book, in advance of her talk Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. at Seattle’s Center for Wooden Boats. How did you get interested in…

Jennifer Nemhauser leads a research laboratory of scientists, all immersed in the complex world of plant hormones. But last year, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ professor of biology boosted her lab’s roster with some unexpected talent. Claire Cowie — an artist, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ alumna and lecturer — spent three months in 2016 as a part-time artist-in-residence in Nemhauser’s lab. On Feb. 3, Cowie will deliver a talk to share her experiences and help spread the word about the benefits both she and Nemhauser see…

Paleontologists picking through a bounty of fossils from Montana have discovered something unexpected — a new species of lizard from the late dinosaur era, whose closest relatives roamed in faraway Asia.

In an article published Dec. 20 in the journal eLife, researchers present a mathematical model that explores whether “publication bias” — the tendency of journals to publish mostly positive experimental results — influences how scientists canonize facts. Their results offer a warning that sharing positive results comes with the risk that a false claim could be canonized as fact. But their findings also offer hope by suggesting that simple changes to publication practices can minimize the risk of false canonization.

A new study by paleontologists at the Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture and the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ describes an early marsupial relative called Didelphodon vorax that lived alongside dinosaurs and had, pound-for-pound, the strongest bite force of any mammal ever recorded.

Water conducts electricity, but the process by which this familiar fluid passes along positive charges has puzzled scientists for decades. But in a paper published in the Dec. 2 in issue of the journal Science, an international team of researchers has finally caught water in the act — showing how water molecules pass along excess charges and, in the process, conduct electricity.

December brings a full slate of arts events on campus.  The School of Drama kicks off a production about a playwright interacting with his own characters. The School of Music showcases the Harry Partch instrument collection and presents a night of Caribbean music and dance. Robin McCabe opens a three-part series exploring music and literature, and the School of Music presents CarolFest, its annual holiday concert featuring six choral ensembles and 500 singers. Luke Fitzpatrick: Cage & Partch 7:30 p.m.,…

More than 90 percent of ivory in large, seized shipments came from elephants that died less than three years before, according to a new study from a team of scientists at the University of Utah, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ and partner institutions. They combined a new approach to radiocarbon dating of ivory samples with genetic analysis tools developed by Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ biology professor Sam Wasser.