Weasels are small carnivores with a long body and short legs. They also have a stout skull and sharp teeth. These creatures, along with ferrets and minks, make up the Mustelinae subfamily.

Until now, researchers believed that the oldest fossils from this family were from Poland and Germany, dating back to about 3.5 million years ago in the . But a fossil discovered in Teruel, Spain, has doubled that estimate, dating back to the late , around 6.5 million years ago.

The research team, including , a 91探花 principal research scientist in the biology department, has identified this fossil as belonging to a new species, named Galanthis baskini. The researchers estimate that this creature was about 5 ounces, comparable in size to the smallest living carnivoran today, the or Mustela nivalis. Much like the modern weasel, G. baskini was also likely a carnivore, based on its teeth.

The team in Palaeontology.

“This study begins to uncover the evolutionary history of modern weasels, specifically, why do they have unique small, elongated bodies compared to all other mammals?” said Law, who is also an affiliate curator at the 91探花Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. “We had hypothesized that events during the mid- to late-Miocene 鈥� both the expansion of open habitats, such as grasslands, and the diversification of rodents 鈥� would have allowed weasels to evolve bodies that were small and flexible enough to chase rodent prey in small crevices underground. G. baskini is exciting because it confirms that weasels were present in the Late Miocene. And it’s pretty cool that G. baskini was the size of the least weasel 鈥� that means small weasels were already around more than 6 million years ago.”

To compare this fossil to other weasel family members, the researchers used a combination of classical comparative anatomy with advanced analytical techniques, such as micro-computed tomography, or micro-CT. Micro-CT allowed the team to three-dimensionally reconstruct the internal structure of teeth and jaws as well as observe anatomical features that were not externally visible.

“The new genus, Galanthis, is named after a figure from Greek mythology who was transformed into a weasel, symbolizing the fossil鈥檚 significance as representing the origin of the weasel family and the lineage leading to modern species,” said senior author , assistant professor of paleontology at Complutense University of Madrid.

The fossils come from excavations carried out in the 1990s in the Teruel area of Arag贸n, Spain.

“This research is a clear example of the remarkable richness of Arag贸n鈥檚 fossil record of mammals, recognized worldwide,” said co-author , professor at the University of Zaragoza. “Our team has been contributing for decades to excavations and the study of fossil mammals.”

The study also revises the classification of another fossil of a similar age discovered in China. This fossil has now been assigned to the genus Zdanskyictis.

The next step, the researchers said, will be to find new fossils that help reconstruct in greater detail the early evolution of weasels and their relatives.

“Ideally, we will find an entire skeleton of a fossil weasel,” Law said. “That way we can actually quantify just how elongate these ancient weasels were and when body elongation actually evolved.”

A full list of co-authors and funding .

For more information, contact Law at cjlaw@uw.edu.听

Adapted from a release from Complutense University of Madrid.

As judges across the United States face growing political pressure, public attacks and threats to their personal safety, the 91探花 School of Law will host on April 17 and 18 to examine how to protect America鈥檚 independent federal judiciary and the rule of law.

The two-day symposium, 鈥淣either Sword Nor Purse,鈥� at the School of Law, is sponsored by the American College of Trial Lawyers and planned in partnership with Keep Our Republic/Article 3 Coalition, the Society for the Rule of Law, and the Task Force for American Democracy. It convenes a slate of prominent judges, scholars and journalists who will examine the rule of law and the constitutional foundations of judicial independence.

鈥淭his symposium is designed to address a core constitutional concern,鈥� said Toni Rembe Dean . 鈥淎ttacks on an impartial and independent judiciary undermine public confidence in the courts, which weakens the foundation of the American legal system and its protections.鈥澨�

The U.S. judiciary system was designed to be independent precisely so it could uphold the rule of law, said , the 91探花School of Law jurist-in-residence and a retired member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

鈥淎t this moment, independence is under sustained challenges,鈥� Henry said. 鈥淭his symposium will confront those challenges directly.鈥�

, School of Law associate dean emeritus, said the participation in the symposium of respected judges, scholars and journalists reflect a rising concern that the U.S. system is in peril.

鈥淭he extraordinary group of judges and scholars share a commitment not just to diagnosing the problem, but to identifying meaningful ways to address it,鈥� Spitzer said.

The symposium begins on Friday, April 17 and continues through Saturday, April 18.

The Peace Corps announced Tuesday that the 91探花 is again since the international program launched in 1961.

For 2025, the 91探花placed No. 7 among universities with 15,000 or more enrolled undergraduates in total number of Peace Corps volunteers, according to the Peace Corps. In total, more than 3,175 91探花graduates have gone on to service opportunities abroad as volunteers.

The 91探花is proud to prepare students to engage meaningfully with the world, said Ahmad Ezzeddine, 91探花vice provost for global affairs.听

鈥淭he Peace Corps remains one of our nation’s most effective avenues for citizen diplomacy, and we are grateful for its long history of strengthening communities around the globe,鈥� Ezzeddine said.

Volunteers in the Peace Corps work side by side with communities to help to address real needs through agriculture, community economic development, education, environment, health and youth in development projects, Peace Corps acting Director Richard E. Swarttz said.听

鈥淪ixty-five years after our founding, the Peace Corps is still going strong,鈥� he said.

According to the Peace Corps, 38 91探花alumni served in 26 countries around the world during the past fiscal year, including Albania, Montenegro, Armenia, Cameroon, Colombia, countries in the Eastern Caribbean, Ecuador, Fiji, Georgia, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Vanuatu and Zambia.

To better reflect the combined contributions of volunteers who serve traditional 27-month assignments and Peace Corps Response volunteers who serve for 6-12 months, the Peace Corps counted alumni volunteers who served at any point during the 2025 fiscal year for the 2026 rankings. Previously, colleges and universities were ranked on a one-day annual headcount of volunteers on Sept. 30, the last day of the fiscal year.听

More than 250,000 Americans have served in the Peace Corps around the world since President John F. Kennedy initiated the program in 1961.

Learn more about .

Using preliminary data from the Simonyi Survey Telescope at the NSF鈥揇OE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, scientists have discovered over 11,000 new asteroids in our solar system. The findings were confirmed by the International Astronomical Union鈥檚 Minor Planet Center (), and include hundreds of distant worlds beyond Neptune as well as 33 previously unknown near-Earth objects.

The discoveries 鈥� Rubin Observatory鈥檚 largest asteroid haul yet 鈥� were made using data from the observatory鈥檚 early optimization surveys and processed with software developed at the 91探花鈥檚 . The new findings are a powerful preview of the observatory鈥檚 transformative impact on solar system science.

鈥淭his first large submission after is just the tip of the iceberg and shows that the observatory is ready,鈥� said , a 91探花professor of astronomy and leader of Rubin鈥檚 solar system team, which is located at the UW. 鈥淲hat used to take years or decades to discover, Rubin will unearth in months. We are beginning to deliver on Rubin鈥檚 promise to fundamentally reshape our inventory of the solar system and open the door to discoveries we haven鈥檛 yet imagined.鈥�

The submission to MPC comprises approximately 1 million observations, taken over the span of a month and a half, of over 11,000 new asteroids and more than 80,000 already known asteroids, including some that had previously been observed but were later 鈥渓ost鈥� because their orbits were too uncertain to predict their future locations. The new batch adds to roughly 1,500 asteroids previously discovered by Rubin as part of its First Look project.

The newly discovered near-Earth objects, or NEOs, are small asteroids and comets whose closest approach to the sun is less than 1.3 times the distance between Earth and the sun. None of the new NEOs pose a threat to Earth. Once in full operation, Rubin is expected to reveal an additional nearly 90,000 new NEOs, some of which may be potentially hazardous. By enabling early detection and continuous monitoring of these objects, Rubin will be a powerful tool for planetary defense.

The dataset also contains roughly 380 trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) 鈥� icy bodies orbiting beyond Neptune. Two of the newly discovered TNOs 鈥� provisionally named and 鈥� have been found to be on extremely large and elongated orbits. At their most distant points, these two objects reach roughly 1,000 times farther away from the sun than the Earth is, placing them among the 30 most distant known asteroids.

A total of 12,700 asteroids discovered with Rubin are shown here during the 1.6 years of observation. The discoveries come in three bursts: 73 were discovered during the first early test observations using Rubin鈥檚 Commissioning Camera in late 2024; 1,514 were discovered during First Look observations in April and May 2025; and the recent 11,000 asteroids were discovered in Rubin鈥檚 early optimization surveys in Summer 2025.

The discoveries were enabled by Rubin Observatory鈥檚 unique combination of a large mirror, the world鈥檚 most powerful astronomical digital camera, and highly sophisticated, software-driven pipelines developed at the 91探花that can detect faint, fast-moving objects against a crowded sky. These capabilities will allow Rubin to build the most detailed census of our solar system ever, and the resulting discoveries will help scientists work out the story of the solar system鈥檚 history.

鈥淩ubin鈥檚 unique observing cadence required a whole new software architecture for asteroid discovery,鈥� said , a 91探花research scientist of astronomy who, together with 91探花astronomy graduate student , built the software that detected them. 鈥淲e built it, and it works. It seems pretty clear this observatory will revolutionize our knowledge of the asteroid belt.鈥�

Particularly striking is the rapid growth of the TNO population. The 380 candidates discovered by Rubin in less than two months adds to the 5,000 discovered over the past three decades. As with less distant asteroids, finding the TNOs depended critically on developing new sophisticated algorithms.

鈥淪earching for a TNO is like searching for a needle in a field of haystacks 鈥� out of millions of flickering sources in the sky, teaching a computer to sift through billions of combinations and identify those that are likely to be distant worlds in our solar system required novel algorithmic approaches,鈥� said , a senior astrophysicist at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and former director of the Minor Planet Center, who spearheaded the work on the TNO discovery pipeline.

鈥淥bjects like these offer a tantalizing probe of the solar system鈥檚 outermost reaches, from telling us how the planets moved early on in the solar system鈥檚 history, to whether a hitherto undiscovered ninth large planet may still be out there,鈥� said , a research scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who, with Holman, developed the algorithms to detect distant solar system objects with Rubin data.

The verification of this large group of discoveries enables the entire global community to access the data, refine orbits and begin analysis immediately. And these 11,000-some asteroids are just the start. Once the decade-long Legacy Survey of Space and Time () begins later this year, scientists expect Rubin to discover this many asteroids every two to three nights during the early years of the survey. This will ultimately triple the number of known asteroids and increase the number of known TNOs by nearly an order of magnitude.

Rubin Observatory is jointly operated by NSF NOIRLab and SLAC.

For more information, contact Juri膰 at mjuric@uw.edu.听

This story was adapted from a .

Operations of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory are funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy鈥檚 Office of Science.

Other team members include , a former DiRAC postdoctoral fellow at the UW, now at the Institute for Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences of the University of S茫o Paulo; , a 91探花research software engineer and B612 Asteroid Institute team member who earned his doctorate in astronomy at the UW; , a former 91探花postdoctoral researcher in astronomy, now at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne; and at Princeton University.

Four 91探花 researchers have been named AAAS Fellows, according to . They are among 449 newly elected fellows from around the world, who are recognized for their 鈥渟cientifically and socially distinguished achievements鈥� in science and engineering. New Fellows will receive an official certificate and a gold and blue rosette pin 鈥� representing science and engineering, respectively 鈥� to commemorate their election.

A tradition dating back to 1874, election as an AAAS Fellow is a lifetime honor. AAAS Fellows play a crucial role in shaping public policy, advancing scientific research and influencing national and global perspectives on critical issues. Becoming a AAAS Fellow is among the most distinct honors within the scientific community, and those elevated to the rank have made distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. All fellows are expected to meet the commonly held standards of professional ethics and scientific integrity.

This year鈥檚 91探花AAAS fellows are:

, professor of biochemistry at the 91探花School of Medicine and the director of the 91探花Medicine Institute for Protein Design, was recognized for his groundbreaking work in computational protein design. Baker鈥檚 early work was in predicting how chains of chemicals fold into molecular structures that determine protein functions. He went on to design new proteins from scratch to carry out tasks in medicine, technology and sustainability. His team is developing vaccines, targeted drug delivery for cancer, enzymes to break down environmental pollutants and innovative biomaterials, among other endeavors. Baker received the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his scientific achievements to benefit humankind. He has also been awarded the Overton Prize in computational biology, Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology, Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences and Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences.

, professor and chair of neurobiology and biophysics at the 91探花School of Medicine, was honored for her distinguished contributions to cognitive and systems neuroscience. Buffalo, who is the Wayne E. Crill Endowed Professor, is particularly noted for her pioneering research on the neural basis of remembering and learning, and for advancing translational research into broader insights on human brain function. She studies the relationship between eye movements and activity in the hippocampus and other nearby brain regions involved in forming memories, navigating and recalling the emotional context of past events. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, which presented her with the Troland Award for innovative, multidisciplinary studies. She also helps train postdoctoral scholars at the 91探花Medicine Institute for Translational Immunology.

, professor and chair of genome sciences at the 91探花School of Medicine, was noted for her distinguished contributions to the fields of genetics and genomics. She is known for advancing knowledge of the mechanisms underlying molecular evolution and genetic variation in yeasts and in humans. Her lab develops new tools to study mutations and their consequences, genome structure, gene interactions, and the evolution of gene expression. She has a longstanding interest in how copy number variations 鈥� how many times a particular segment of DNA repeats 鈥� affect adaptation, and how these variations arise. Dunham applies her genomics methods to diverse topics, including the biology of aging and the emergence of multi-drug antibiotic resistance. Dunham is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University and was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Faculty Scholar.

, 91探花professor of chemistry, was honored for distinguished contributions to the theoretical understanding of nanoscale light-matter interactions, particularly for the design and interpretation of advanced spectroscopies that use electrons and light to probe material excitations. Masiello is an applied physicist whose research focuses on creating simple-yet-rich theoretical models that bring insight and understanding to observations spanning from quantum materials to nanophotonics. Masiello was hired as an assistant professor at the 91探花in 2010. He is a faculty member in both the Molecular & Engineering Sciences Institute and the Institute for Nano-Engineered Systems, and is also an adjunct professor of applied mathematics and of materials science and engineering. Masiello’s honors include receiving an NSF CAREER Award and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, called PECASE, awarded by President Obama at the White House.

The 91探花 is the best in the U.S. and No. 2 in the world for library and information management, according to the 2026 released Wednesday. Three other 91探花subject areas placed in the top 10 in the world: geology, geophysics and Earth and marine sciences.

This ranking tracks an analysis of reputation and research output, conducted by . The consultancy looks at more than 18,300 individual university programs at more than 1,700 universities in 100 locations around the world. The ranking spans 55 academic disciplines across five broad faculty areas including arts and humanities; engineering and technology; life sciences and medicine; natural sciences; and social sciences and management.

The 91探花has 29 programs in the top 100, 14 in the top 50, and four in the top 10, including:

• Library and information management 鈥� No. 2
• Geology 鈥� No. 8
• Geophysics 鈥� No. 9
• Earth and marine sciences 鈥� No. 10

Visit the rankings site for .

Plants, like people, have a circadian clock and they sense seasonal changes to light and temperature. Plants that bloom in the spring use the longer days and warmer temperatures as seasonal cues that it鈥檚 time to bloom.

Mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue, malaria and Zika, . Mosquitoes are increasingly becoming resistant to current insecticides, leading to a pressing need for new methods to prevent mosquito bites 鈥� and the potential transmission of disease.

New research by an international team, including researchers at the 91探花, provides insight into how an organic compound common in plant-based mosquito repellents affects mosquitoes. The study, , reveals that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes use a specific sensory receptor to detect and avoid borneol (pronounced “bor-nee-ohl”), an organic compound found in several aromatic plants, including camphor trees, rosemary and other aromatic herbs.

“We were surprised by how sensitive the mosquitoes were to this repellent,” said co-author , a 91探花professor of biology. “By identifying the odorant receptor, we can now develop and test repellents that are even more effective than borneol, in that they last longer and are more repellent.”

The researchers discovered that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which are the major carrier of dengue and yellow fever viruses, have a single odor receptor, called OR49, that is highly tuned to detect borneol.

When a mosquito encounters this compound, OR49 activates a specific nerve cell in a mosquito’s maxillary palp, one of its primary organs for detecting odors and locating human hosts. That signal then travels from the nerve cell to a distinct region of the mosquito鈥檚 brain, triggering avoidance behavior.

To test how critical this receptor is, the researchers disabled the Or49 gene. Without OR49, the repellent signal essentially disappeared. The mosquitoes鈥� neurons no longer responded to borneol and the insects were far less likely to avoid it.

Researchers at the 91探花were instrumental in collecting neural recordings from the mosquito brains to identify how the mosquito olfactory system processes borneol and other similar compounds and repellents.

“Because the repellency through the OR49 receptor is so strong, we might be able to identify other volatile odors that activate the same receptor to ‘push’ mosquitoes away from people,鈥� said co-senior author , associate professor of biology at Baylor University. 鈥淭he new compounds might be easier and cheaper to produce, or safer and more acceptable to the human nose than existing repellent formulations.”

This research bridges basic neuroscience and public health, offering fresh insight into how tiny sensory signals can have life-saving implications. That is central to the premise of the team’s larger research goal: understanding the genetic basis for how Aedes aegypti is attracted to sources of nectar. The team hopes to create a new generation of mosquito attractants that can be used in traps for enhancing mosquito surveillance and control.

鈥淭he knowledge gained in these studies will inform similar studies in mosquitoes that transmit malaria, plus other biting insects that continue to exert negative impacts on human flourishing on a global scale,鈥� Pitts said.

, a 91探花postdoctoral scholar in the biology department, is a co-author on this paper. A full list of co-authors is included . This research was funded by the Israel Science Foundation; the National Institutes of Health; the National Science Foundation; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; the Science and Technology Development Plan Project of Jilin Province, China; and the Ministry of Science & Technology, Israel.

For more information, contact Riffell at jriffell@uw.edu.

Adapted from .

[April 6] UPDATE: Flower petals are falling on the Quad as the trees lose their blossoms. The waning bloom is still quite a site but it’ll be a while before the trees are back on full display.

[March 23] UPDATE: The cherry trees are officially in peak bloom! Visit campus anytime in the next week or so to see the blossoms in all their glory.

[March 18] UPDATE: Recent temperature swings have slowed bud development for the Quad cherries. About half of the trees are still in peduncle elongation stage while half have moved on to the 鈥減uffy white鈥� stage that precedes full bloom. Cool temperatures in the coming days may delay peak bloom as trees gradually blossom. Warm weather could produce a sudden transition. Check the live cams for updates.

[March 13] UPDATE: It’s snowing but the blossoms are still growing! The Quad cherries are now in the “peduncle elongation” stage, where the flower-bearing stalk extends from the bud. Some have also begun to flower.

Each spring, large crowds gather on the 91探花 Quad to admire 29 puffy pink cherry trees making their seasonal debut. The trees begin to wake up as the weather warms, and this year, estimates suggest that they will reach 鈥減eak bloom鈥� on March 20.

The UW鈥檚 iconic cherry trees achieve peak bloom when 70% of the blossoms have opened, but the week before and after still offer visitors an optimal viewing experience.

The cherry blossom visitors鈥� website provides updates on bloom status as well as details on transportation, activities and amenities. The cherry blossoms also have live video feeds for virtual viewing and their own social media accounts on and .

The cherry trees are both beautiful and ecologically significant. Tracking when the buds burst each year helps researchers predict peak bloom and determine how climate warming is impacting the trees, which were planted in the Washington Park Arboretum in 1936 and then relocated to 91探花in 1962.

This year, many plants began to emerge early as a mild winter gave way to spring. Recent 91探花research described how plants rely on both temperature and light cues to time their flowering. Temperature is particularly important to cherry trees, which estimate the arrival of spring based on how cold it has been. They accrue 鈥渃hilling units鈥� as winter progresses and 鈥渉eating units鈥� as it yields to spring.

鈥淭he buds need to accumulate a specific amount of chilling units before they can start accumulating the heating units. When it is not as cold, the chilling units accumulate much slower, so it takes them longer to wake up from dormancy, which is very counterintuitive,鈥� said , a 91探花doctoral student of environmental and forest sciences.

Theil is now overseeing data collection on campus, with the help of approximately 20 undergraduate students. The researchers make observations as the trees begin to wake up and feed the data into a computer model that incorporates weather forecasts to predict peak bloom.

Historically, the onset of peak bloom has fallen between March 12 and April 3, with an average date of March 23. While the weather impacts peak bloom year to year, climate change drives longer term trends over multiple decades.

Research shows that bloom time has shifted approximately two days earlier each decade since the 1960s. Researchers began monitoring the trees in 2012 and referenced newspaper archives to estimate peak bloom dates for the preceding years.

鈥淲ith the climate warming more rapidly in the spring, I expected to see the flowers blooming earlier,鈥� said lead author , a recent doctoral graduate from the 91探花school of environmental and forest sciences. 鈥淏ut as we dove into the literature and examined the data, we saw a delay in bloom, as a result of winter warming in Seattle.鈥�

The study focused on the Somei-yoshino, or Yoshino, cherry tree cultivar. These trees, sometimes called the Japanese flowering cherry, are found throughout Japan. They also line the National Mall in Washington D.C. and paint many Seattle neighborhoods pink in the springtime.

The bloom delay Maust observed applies only to Yoshino cherry trees in Seattle. In colder climates, such as Washington D.C., the trees have ample time to accrue chilling units. Still, the two populations are quite similar, genetically.

Propagation, or breeding more trees, occurs by grafting one tree onto another. This process limits genetic variability in favor of consistency. Because all Yoshino cherry trees are sterile clones of one another, they do not produce fruits or seeds, but they do reliably bloom in beautiful pink hues each spring.

For more information on bloom time, contact Theil at mtheil@uw.edu or Maust at听 amaust@uw.edu. For information about the Yoshino Genome Project, contact Steinbrenner at astein10@uw.edu.

Location of proposal: 3919 West Stevens Way NE. The site is generally bounded by Okanogan Ln to the north and east, Benson Hall to the south, and West Stevens Way NE to the west.

Title and description of document being adopted: 91探花 2018 Seattle Campus Master Plan Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Seattle Campus Master Plan guides development on the Seattle Campus and includes guidelines and standards for new development on the campus. It is formulated to maintain and enhance the fundamental mission of the University; its multiple important roles in undergraduate and professional education, and its dedication to research and public service. The Draft and Final EIS for the master plan analyzed the potential impacts of all identified development sites.

As lead agency, we have identified and adopted this document as being appropriate for this proposal after independent review. This proposal and site is consistent with the Campus Master Plan. It has been determined that it does not have a probable significant adverse impact on the environment. An EIS is not required under RCW 43.21C.030(2)(c). This decision was made after adoption of the 2018 Seattle Campus Master Plan EIS for the project and preparation and review of a SEPA consistency checklist.

This DNS is issued under WAC 197-11-340(2). The comment period will end March 23, 2026.

Responsible Official: Julie Blakeslee, AICP, Environmental & Land Use Planner, jblakesl@uw.edu